She lost the presidential election last month, and, tonight, Guatemalan politician with Belizean roots, Sandra Torres is in jail, accused of violating campaign financing rules.
Press reports indicate that for more than a decade now, Torres has been facing allegations of corruption, which she continues to deny.
The charges she faces are in connection with a case that was investigated by the anti-corruption body known as CICIG, or the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala. That organization says that her political party, National Unity of Hope or UNE for short, received some 3.5 million dollars in undeclared financing during the 2015 presidential elections.
This morning Torres - who is Narda Garcia's sister - was detained by several police officers at her house, which is a few miles outside of Guatemala City.
According to the Guatemala Attorney General's Office, she is, quote, "charged with the crimes of failing to register election financing and unlawful association." End quote.
Those closest to her have denied this allegation, and they are calling her arrest politically motivated.
Today in court, the judge sent her to Mariscal Zavala prison until the hearing and denied her requests for special medial treatment.
Sandra Torres is a former Guatemalan first lady, and her vice-presidential running mate, Carlos Raul Morales, is married to a Belizean.
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