The retired President of Guatemala was arrested

The President of the Guatemala Otto Perez was arrested and imprisoned on charges of corruption, reports Reuters. At an extraordinary session, the country's congress approved the president’s request for a resignation, written on Thursday evening.

After the meeting, Perez said that his persecution is absolutely unreasonable and he would appeal this decision. In his letter of resignation, the president emphasized that he would meet the charges “with a clear conscience”.

Vice President Alejandro Maldonado is in the oath. He will act as the president’s remaining several months of the transfer of Peres. The previous vice president, Roxanne Balldetti, lost her post in May against the backdrop of a corruption scandal, in which the president was involved. On August 21, she was arrested. The next elections in Guatemala will be held on Sunday.

In Washington, they stated that they respect the decision of the transfer to resign, and emphasized that they were ready to work with Maldonado. “We highly appreciate the behavior of the residents of Guatemala during this crisis and continue to emphasize our support for the democratic and constitutional institutions of Guatemala,” said Josh Ernest, press secretary of the White House.

Earlier, the court issued an arrest warrant . The decision was made at the request of the Prosecutor General of the country of Telma Aldana. It is alleged that Perez is involved in the activities of the criminal group La Línea ( Spanish "Line"), which extorted a bribe from importers for reducing customs duties.

Perez, as the president, had immunity from criminal prosecution, but on Tuesday the country's Congress with a unanimous decision deprived him of immunity and forbade him to leave the country.

All this year in Guatemala, protests continued with the demand for the early resignation of Perez. The president, however, declared his innocence and refused to leave the post before the expiration of four years of cadence in January 2016.

Peres is 64 years old, he is an army brigade general general. He was elected president under the slogans of the fight against crime, in particular corruption.