GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – The last remaining ministers of Guatemalan President Otto Perez’s original cabinet said yesterday they could no longer work in his government after prosecutors sought to impeach him for corruption, piling pressure on the head of state to resign.
Economy Minister Sergio de la Torre and Education Minister Cynthia del Aguila said they were standing down a day after the attorney general asked the Supreme Court for permission to prosecute Perez over a suspected customs racket.
“I took office without political affiliation. We’re disappointed and cannot continue in our posts,” de la Torre told a news conference in Guatemala City.
Asked whether Perez should resign, de la Torre said: “That is up to the president, it’s not for us to answer this.”
The president has denied any wrongdoing, but his position is in increasing jeopardy after prosecutors on Thursday also arrested his former vice president over the customs scandal and said they believed the 64-year-old Perez was in on the scam.
The impeachment bid follows months of corruption allegations against leading officials, which in May prompted Perez to fire several senior cabinet ministers. It also risks throwing the country’s upcoming presidential elections into disarray.
