Guatemala ex-president behind bars as VP sworn in

GUATEMALA CITY – Otto Perez Molina spent his first night as an ex-president in military custody following a historic day in which he resigned and Guatemala’s Congress swore in Vice President Alejandro Maldonado to serve the remainder of his term.

The judge hearing a corruption and fraud investigation against Perez Molina ordered the former president held in custody until the hearing reconvened this morning. Perez Molina left the court under heavy police guard and was later seen entering a military barracks in the capital.

Shortly after taking the oath of office Thursday, Maldonado demanded that ministers and top officials submit their resignations so he could form a transition government and promised an honest and inclusive administration.

Reaching out to protesters who took to the streets against the country’s entrenched corruption, he vowed to leave “a legacy of honesty” and restore faith in Guatemala’s democracy in his brief few months in office.

“You can’t consider your work done,” Maldonado said in remarks aimed at all those demanding change. “In what is left of this year, there must be a positive response.”

The unprecedented political drama was the climax of a week in which Perez Molina was stripped of his immunity from prosecution, deserted by key members of his Cabinet and saw his jailed former vice president ordered to stand trial – all just days before Sunday’s election to choose his successor.

Perez Molina appeared in court Thursday to face accusations that he was involved in a scheme in which businesspeople paid bribes to avoid import duties through Guatemala’s customs agency. He is the first Guatemalan president to resign.

Judge Miguel Angel Galvez ordered Perez Molina’s detention citing a need to “ensure the continuity of the hearing” and guarantee the ex-president’s safety.