HomeNewsBriefGuatemala's Ex-President Accused of Taking Bribe, Betraying 'El Chapo'
BRIEF

Guatemala's Ex-President Accused of Taking Bribe, Betraying 'El Chapo'

EL CHAPO / 9 SEP 2015 BY ARRON DAUGHERTY EN

A new report alleges Guatemala's recently resigned president Otto Perez Molina accepted a bribe from Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, an accusation that, if confirmed, would further tarnish the already disgraced leader.

According to Guatemalan news program Noticiero Guatevision, Perez Molina accepted a $1.5 million bribe from El Chapo in 1993 in exchange for shielding him from Mexican authorities, but later betrayed the drug lord. 

El Chapo -- who in July escaped a maximum-security Mexican prison for the second time -- was arrested in Guatemala in 1993 and sent to a Mexican prison (from which he escaped in 2001). Perez Molina, at the time a general in the Guatemalan army, claimed he lead the 1993 operation against El Chapo, and that the Sinaloa Cartel leader offered a bribe "10 to 15 times" larger than what Perez Molina is accused of receiving in an ongoing customs fraud scandal know as La Linea.

The ex-president is currently facing charges of fraud, racketeering, and receiving bribes in relation to the scandal. 

SEE ALSO: Guatemala News and Profiles

According to investigators, Perez Molina received around $800,000 from the La Linea scam, a claim he countered by telling of the time he arrested El Chapo. (See video below) Why, Perez Molina asked the court, would he risk his reputation and career over a smaller sum with La Linea, when he'd already rejected a much greater amount from El Chapo?

Perez Molina claiming he refused a bribe from El Chapo 

InSight Crime Analysis

Perez Molina's bizarre defense of denying bribery charges by evidencing another alleged bribe may backfire.

Noticiero Guatevision, citing the International Journalism Service's Mexico branch, said Mexico's Attorney General's Office confirmed it had uncovered details of the alleged bribe during an investigation into the 1993 murder of a Catholic archbishop.

If Mexico's Attorney General's Office comes forth with evidence that Perez Molina did take El Chapo's money, Perez Molina will be further damned in the eyes of a country where his resignation was widely celebrated, and it would be a huge blow to his defense in the current La Linea case.

Meanwhile, El Chapo remains at large, and is likely smiling at the predicament of a man who once turned him over to Mexican authorities, and possibly cheated him out of $1.5 million in the process. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

HUMAN SMUGGLING / 17 MAY 2021

A boat that capsized off California’s shores carrying some 30 people who paid more than $15,000 each to be shuttled…

COCAINE / 13 APR 2022

The arrest of yet another alleged Sinaloa Cartel emissary in Colombia has once again raised questions about the extent of…

GULF CARTEL / 30 AUG 2021

It was a Saturday, around 12:30 p.m. local time, when a caravan of three vehicles loaded with well-armed men and…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…