A businessman testifying against former Guatemalan president Otto Perez in a corruption case is "in danger" and needs witness protection, the head of UN-backed body tackling graft said on Wednesday.
"It is the duty of Guatemala's authorities to protect the life of Salvador Estuardo Gonzalez -- (known as) Eco -- who is in danger because of his cooperation," Ivan Velasquez, a former Colombian judge in charge of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), wrote on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Gonzalez told a judge that Perez and his former vice president, Roxana Baldetti, pocketed half the bribes from an alleged scheme under which authorities illegally exonerated companies from import taxes.
His testimony, confirming a declaration he made in September in which he said he participated in the scheme, was made in an effort to become a protected witness and broker a plea deal. He said his family has already left the country out of fear.
Perez, Baldetti and Gonzalez are all in jail in Guatemala pending a possible trial on corruption charges related to the alleged bribery.
The scandal, exposed by the CICIG, last year brought down Perez's government and led to the election of Jimmy Morales, a former TV comedian vowing tough anti-graft policies, to replace him.
A businessman testifying against former Guatemalan president Otto Perez in a corruption case is “in danger” and needs witness protection, the head of UN-backed body tackling graft said on Wednesday.
“It is the duty of Guatemala’s authorities to protect the life of Salvador Estuardo Gonzalez — (known as) Eco — who is in danger because of his cooperation,” Ivan Velasquez, a former Colombian judge in charge of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), wrote on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Gonzalez told a judge that Perez and his former vice president, Roxana Baldetti, pocketed half the bribes from an alleged scheme under which authorities illegally exonerated companies from import taxes.
His testimony, confirming a declaration he made in September in which he said he participated in the scheme, was made in an effort to become a protected witness and broker a plea deal. He said his family has already left the country out of fear.
Perez, Baldetti and Gonzalez are all in jail in Guatemala pending a possible trial on corruption charges related to the alleged bribery.
The scandal, exposed by the CICIG, last year brought down Perez’s government and led to the election of Jimmy Morales, a former TV comedian vowing tough anti-graft policies, to replace him.
