Guatemalan prosecutors mount new push to indict president

Guatemala City, Aug 21 (EFE).- The Guatemalan Attorney General's Office and the U.N.-sponsored CICIG anti-impunity commission made a formal request to lawmakers on Friday to clear the way for a prosecution of President Otto Perez Molina on corruption charges.

The accusations arise from what is known as the "La Linea" case, involving corruption in the customs service.

The move comes just eight days after a previous attempt to revoke the president's immunity fell 17 votes short in Congress.

Friday also saw the arrest of former Vice President Roxana Baldetti, who faces charges of bribe-taking and criminal conspiracy in the La Linea case.

Baldetti resigned in May amid a public outcry over her suspected involvement in the customs service scandal.

"The documentation seized in searches, in conjunction with the available telephone intercepts, lead one to see it as probable that the president of the republic participated in the same punishable acts" attributed to the La Linea conspirators, Attorney General Thelma Aldana told reporters Friday.

The La Linea probe began in May 2014 and has led to 27 arrests so far.

Investigators examined nearly 89,000 phone intercepts and 175,000 documents, finding connections to 22 companies and 100 individuals.

Guatemalans are set to go to the polls Sept. 6 to elect a successor to Perez Molina, whose term ends in January, but leftist parties say the vote should be postponed given the current disarray in the country's institutions.