Guatemalan president resigns

Guatemalan President Otto Perez has been charged with criminal association, corruption and fraud in connection with a corruption ring that specialized in bringing items into the country while avoiding millions of dollars in customs fee.

This week, Congress stripped him of immunity over corruption allegations and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

New Vice President Alejandro Maldonado is due to assume power, ahead of a general election on Sunday during which voters will choose a new president to take office in 2016.

Uncovered by a UN probe alongside Guatemalan prosecutors, the fraud ring was centered around business people avoiding import taxes by bribing officials through the country's customs agencies. The ring is believed to be led by Perez.

The scandal has already seen former Vice President Roxana Baldetti jailed and facing charges.

Perez, 64, has offered to cooperate with prosecutors. He has also disputed the charges through his attorney. "This is part of a show, a spectacle. It is unnecessary," said his attorney, Cesar Calderon, repeating that Perez will turn himself in to authorities.

Shortly after the National Congress voted to rescind the immunity, a judge issued an order prohibiting the president from leaving the country while the attorney general's investigations continue.

The rulings came just days before Sunday's general elections. Perez, whose mandate ends in January, is not a candidate due to Guatemala's one-term limit.

dr/kms (AP, AFP, dpa)