Ecuador’s Ex-president Bucaram Arrested on Organized Crime Charges
In the image, the former Ecuadorian president Abdala Bucaram (c), is escorted after being arrested in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Photo: Marcos Pin / explica.co
HAVANA TIMES – Ecuador’s former president Abdala Bucaram was arrested on Wednesday on charges related to organized crime, linking him to the allegedly illegal sale of Covid-19 medical supplies, prosecutors said, reported dpa news.
The 68-year-old, who was president from 1996 to 1997, had already been briefly detained in early June after an unlicensed gun was found in his house.
Police discovered it when investigating allegations that Bucaram was involved in embezzlement in the purchase of medical supplies for
Covid-19 patients.
Wednesday’s arrest was related to an investigation that was launched in May after two Israelis were detained in connection with the allegedly illegal sale of Covid-19 medical supplies.
The two, who claimed to have sold supplies to Bucaram’s son Jacobo, were attacked in jail on Saturday. One of them died as a result of the attack.
A Quito official was arrested alongside the ex-president, according to prosecutors, who said that Jacobo Bucaram and three other officials could also be involved.
Abdala Bucaram held the presidency for only about six months in 1996-97. Congress removed him from office following corruption allegations and mass protests, and he went into exile in Panama for two decades.
I used to read or hear about ex-presidents or other high-ranking officials of Latin American countries getting arrested after their term of office for corruption and sometimes (rarely) actually going to jail and I quietly reassured myself that despite all of the many problems that the US has and continues to face, one good thing about our government’s history is that our Presidents have been relatively honest. Richard Nixon being the exception. But these days, I not only believe that Trump is going to get charged with something once he leaves office, I openly wish for it.