Guatemala: The United States embassy said Friday it will seek the extradition of Guatemala's former vice president Roxana Baldetti and ex-interior minister Mauricio Lopez on drug trafficking charges.
Ms Baldetti and Mr Lopez were indicted in US federal court in Washington on Wednesday on charges of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine from January 2010 to May 2015, knowing it would ultimately be imported illegally into the United States.
"The US Department of Justice has not yet forwarded an extradition request to the US embassy," a statement from the mission in Guatemala City read.
Ms Baldetti is already in prison in Guatemala, serving time on tax fraud and other corruption charges, along with Lopez, who is accused of embezzlement.
The Guatemalan prosecutor's office has identified her as the alleged leader of a customs fraud network, for which Mr Perez is also being tried and detained.
Guatemalan politics have been upended by a string of scandals that culminated in Perez's resignation and arrest in September 2015.
The charges have stoked outrage in a country where more than half the 15.8 million people live on less than $1.50 a day.
But Mr Morales's administration has also become ensnared in scandal. His son and brother were arrested earlier this month on corruption charges over suspected fraud in a state food contract.
Ms Baldetti and Mr Lopez were indicted in US federal court in Washington on Wednesday on charges of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine from January 2010 to May 2015, knowing it would ultimately be imported illegally into the United States.
"The US Department of Justice has not yet forwarded an extradition request to the US embassy," a statement from the mission in Guatemala City read.
Ms Baldetti is already in prison in Guatemala, serving time on tax fraud and other corruption charges, along with Lopez, who is accused of embezzlement.
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The Guatemalan prosecutor's office has identified her as the alleged leader of a customs fraud network, for which Mr Perez is also being tried and detained.
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Guatemalan politics have been upended by a string of scandals that culminated in Perez's resignation and arrest in September 2015.
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The charges have stoked outrage in a country where more than half the 15.8 million people live on less than $1.50 a day.
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But Mr Morales's administration has also become ensnared in scandal. His son and brother were arrested earlier this month on corruption charges over suspected fraud in a state food contract.
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