Ex-Panama president's sons arrested in Guatemala on corruption charges

Two sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli were arrested in Guatemala City on Monday and face extradition to the United States on money laundering charges, Guatemalan police said. Luis Enrique Martinelli, 38, and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, 40, were detained at the main international airport when they attempted to board a flight to Panama, Guatemala's police said in a statement.

The two are wanted in the United States for "conspiracy to commit money laundering," according to the Guatemalan police, but for now they will remain in custody in the Central American country. in 2017, Panamanian prosecutors accused the Martinelli’s sons of receiving $49 million from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, which has been at the centre of a far-reaching Latin American bribery scandal, while their father was president. Former President Martinelli and his successor were banned from leaving Panama last week while under investigation for money laundering in separate corruption cases.