Guatemala arrests former interior minister

GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemalan prosecutors working with a U.N. anti-corruption commission have arrested former Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann and several members of his 2004-2008 administration.

Vielmann arrived handcuffed at a federal court Monday and told reporters that he holds the U.N. commission responsible for his life and the prosecutor’s office responsible for his arrest. He said he didn’t know why he was being arrested.

A former head of police and investigations under Vielmann, Stu Velasco, was also arrested.

An investigator close to the process who is not authorized to speak publicly told the Associated Press that the case is about alleged extrajudicial killings of inmates that occurred under Vielmann and while Oscar Berger was president.