Ex-cabinet ministers arrested in public funds probe

MEXICO CITY (AP):

Authorities in Guatemala say police have arrested two former cabinet ministers in connection with the alleged misuse of public funds.

The former officials served under ex-president Otto Perez Molina and allegedly bought him a helicopter using government money.

A national police spokesman said yesterday that former Defence Minister General Manuel Lopez Ambrosio had been arrested.

A United Nations commission investigating corruption in Guatemala said former Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla was also detained.

The two are alleged to have bought the helicopter as a personal gift for Perez Molina. They face charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

Perez Molina and his former vice-president Roxana Baldetti are jailed, awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases.