NOVANEWSThe attorney general said she would be requesting the arrest of President Otto Perez Molina shortly, after Congress stripped him of his presidential immunity. A Guatemalan federal judge this Tuesday prohibited President Otto Perez Molina from leaving the country. The ruling came hours after Congress stripped the head of state of his immunity to face trial on corruption charges. “The prosecutor's office requested a travel ban against Otto Perez, and this was granted by Judge Miguel Angel Galvez,” the prosecuting team said. The Attorney General Thelma Aldana told local reporters that they requested the president's travel ban because “the possibility of him leaving the country always exists.” “You would think that since he is a president that he wouldn't just pick up and leave the country, but as attorney general I have to take decisions, and I believe a travel ban is a necessary measure for the time being,” Aldana explained. She added that at this point whether the president resigns or not it does not affect the case, because from this point on he is considered just another civilian being charged with a crime. Aldana warned that her office will soon be requesting the arrest of the president. She gave no precise dates for his arrest, saying she needs to meet with the prosecuting team to determine the details. Earlier in the day, amid a mass graft scandal that has brought the government to the brink of collapse, Guatemala’s Congress voted to remove Perez Molina's immunity from criminal prosecution. Although only 105 votes were needed, 132 lawmakers unanimously voted to strip the president of his immunity. The other 26 lawmakers, which make up the parliament, did not attend the session, most of them (22) from the governing LIDER party. “This is a historic day because, through legal means, the Congress helps in building this democratic process in Guatemala which has cost so many lives and sacrifices,” said a Guatemalan lawmaker. Crowds gathered outside the parliament to show support for the removal of immunity. Once the results of the vote were known, hundreds of Guatemalans chanted the national anthem in celebration. The decision to remove Perez Molina's immunity was fueled by a series of allegations against the president, made by influential sectors in Guatemala, including the office of human rights, the agricultural, rural, industrial, and financial committees, the Peasant Unity Committee, the Catholic and Evangelical churches and members of civil organizations. By lifting his immunity, the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and the U.N.-backed international commission against impunity in Guatemala CICIG will be able to charge the president and bring him to trial. RELATED: Central America Rising Last month the CICIG filed a formal complaint with Guatemala’s Supreme Court seeking the removal of the president’s immunity from prosecution. Pressure has been growing on Perez Molina to step down over the last four months over his alleged involvement in the “La Linea” scandal, which has thrown the country into one of its worst political crises in history. Tens of thousands took to the streets to demand his resignation and hundreds of businesses and schools have closed in support of the protests. Several other officials involved in the scandal have been either fired by Perez Molina, or have resigned from their posts, including former Vice President Roxana Baldetti, who is in remand pending a trial on her alleged involvement in the case. Since revealing evidence that Perez Molinia is one of the masterminds of “La Linea”, CICIG prosecutors have recomended Perez Molina’s removal. However, the president continues to deny any involvement in the case and refuses to resign. "From a telephone call they want to link a call I made to the superintendent of the tax authority and they're giving a context that responds to a criminal structure. I reject that it is like this," he said to the press Monday, referring to an audio recording, released recently where the president appears to be pressuring people at the customs agency to make changes linked to “La Linea”. RELATED: Guatemalans Say Reforms Needed Before Any Future Election The Central American country is still struggling to recover from the U.S.-funded civil war (1960-1996), which saw more than 200,000 Guatemalans killed, most of them Indigenous Mayans. It currently faces high rates of poverty and ranks among one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to the 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. General elections are scheduled for Sep. 6, but many Guatemalans have been chanting in their marches that the “conditions aren’t right” for elections, and may abstain in large numbers.
