Police captured fugitive former PresidentAlfonso Portillo in northern Guatemala onTuesday, a day after US prosecutors indicted him on charges of laundering moneystolen from foreign donations meant to buy children's books.
Dozens of agents raided a ranch in the to execute the arrest, AttorneyGeneral Amilcar Velasquez said.
An indictment unsealed Monday in federalcourt in alleges that in a four-yearscheme starting in 2000, Portillo embezzled $1.5 million in donations from intendedto buy school library books.
It accused Portillo of endorsing checks drawnfrom a New York bank and depositing them in a account; the money then was transferred to a account in the name of his ex-wife anddaughter.