A former state governor who had come to symbolise corruption within Mexico’s ruling party, was arrested on Saturday in Guatemala, Mexico’s attorney general’s office said, in what could be a boost for embattled President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Javier Duarte, former governor of Veracruz state wanted on graft and organised crime charges, was detained in a hotel in the colonial town of Panajachel, about 129km west of Guatemala’s capital, the national police said in a statement.
“They found him in the lobby of the hotel,” police spokesman Pablo Castillo said.
The Mexican government will seek Duarte’s extradition, but it was not immediately clear how quickly that could happen or whether he will try to block it.
Mexican authorities have up to two months to formerly request Duarte’s extradition.
