Reuters:
GUATEMALA CITY, Dec 7 – A Guatemalan court on Wednesday sentenced both former President Otto Perez and his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, to 16 years in prison each in a graft case years after explosive corruption revelations forced the two out of office early and into prison.
The pair were found guilty of illicit association and customs fraud, but were acquitted on a charge of illicit enrichment.
Perez, who was president of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015, has spent the last seven years in prison awaiting a verdict in the case. Baldetti was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison in 2018 in a separate fraud case.
Perez, a 72-year-old retired general who took office promising to crack down on crime, was forced to resign with just four months left in his term amid protests over corruption scandals.
“All that’s left is to appeal,” Perez told reporters during a break in the trial, adding he felt “cheated” because the conviction was made “without a shred of proof.”
Perez and Baldetti were accused of leading a customs fraud network that stole some $3.5 million in state funds during their administration, with both Perez and Baldetti accused by investigators of receiving hefty cuts.
