- Title: Mexican investigators detail case on arrested ex governor
- Date: 17th April 2017
- Summary: GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA (APRIL 16, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF MATAMOROS PRISON WHERE JAVIER DUARTE IS BEING HELD PRISONER GATE IN FRONT OF PRISON SIGN OUTSIDE PRISON THAT READS IN SPANISH, "WELCOME, FOR YOUR SECURITY YOU WILL BE IDENTIFIED, REGISTERED AND FILMED" CAR ENTERING PRISON GROUNDS
- Embargoed: 1st May 2017 02:33
- Keywords: Mexico Guatemala corruption Javier Duarte
- Location: GUATEMALA CITY AND PANAJACHEL, SOLOLA, GUATEMALA
- City: GUATEMALA CITY AND PANAJACHEL, SOLOLA, GUATEMALA
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA0036CSCJ7N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Mexican authorities said they are investigating people and companies who might have helped a former state governor hide from the law before his capture on Saturday (April 15) in Guatemala.
Javier Duarte, wanted on charges of graft and organized crime, was detained in a hotel lobby in the picturesque lakeside town of Panajachel, 80 miles (130 km) west of Guatemala's capital.
The former governor of the state of Veracruz was on the run from police for more than five months and came to symbolize corruption within the country's ruling party.
Duarte now awaits extradition, which could take months, but during a news conference at the Mexican Embassy in Guatemala City, Mexican investigators said the investigation was still open.
Duarte likely entered Guatemala by land sometime in early November, and used private planes within Guatemala while on the run, said Omar Garcia, chief of criminal investigations within Mexico's attorney general's office, at a Sunday (April 16) news conference at the Mexican embassy in Guatemala.
Duarte, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, was at the hotel for a couple of days using an assumed identity along with his wife; she has not been charged with any crimes.
Garcia declined to detail Duarte's travels in the Central American country, or who was helping him, but said he had kept a low profile in Panajachel and hadn't left his hotel room for days.
Duarte has been accused of carrying out massive personal enrichment schemes with illicit resources, potentially totalling in the hundreds of millions of dollars and involving assets in Mexico and abroad.
The attorney general's office has said some $400 million pesos has been returned to the state of Veracruz and that authorities have secured a number of assets that were taken from the state.
Several of Duarte's top cabinet officials have been arrested on corruption charges, while others are being investigated.
Authorities said the investigation into those who helped Duarte avoid capture and move about within Guatemala remains open.
Duarte, 43, was transferred early on Sunday to the Matamoros prison in downtown Guatemala City, a facility known for holding drug traffickers and former Guatemalan government officials charged with corruption. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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