Posted: August 20th, 2010, 10:12am MSD
[JURIST] A Guatemalan judge ruled Wednesday that former president Alfonso Portillo [CIDOB profile, in Spanish] and two of his former ministers will stand trial on charges of embezzlement. Portillo, president of Guatemala from 2000-2004, is accused of diverting approximately USD $15 million in funds from the Ministry of Defense. The ministers of finance and defense who served under Portillo face similar charges. The judge issued his ruling after the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) [official website, in Spanish] provided sufficient evidence to the court of Portillo's corruption. The judge's determination was also aided by evidence provided by the...