GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – The United States has requested the extradition of former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo on money-laundering charges, authorities said yesterday as they searched for him at several of his properties.
Portillo, who also faces corruption charges in Guatemala, was not at any of the locations searched by police, the government said.
“The (extradition) request was approved by a court in Guatemala on Friday,” Interior Ministry spokesman Nery Morales told Reuters. “We are still looking for him.”
Portillo won office in 2000 promising to redistribute wealth, but fled the country shortly after his four-year presidential term ended in 2004 and spent the next four years in Mexico.
He was extradited from Mexico to Guatemala in 2008 to face charges he embezzled millions of dollars of public money during his presidency.