Ex-soccer player arrested in Guatemala linked to Odebrecht case

Guatemalan security forces arrested former soccer player and lawyer Manuel León Sandoval on Monday for an alleged case of corruption linked to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

The arrest of Leon Sandovala former Guatemalan soccer player, was confirmed by the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office), like other detainees for the same case and accused of the crimes of money laundering, illicit association and ideological falsehood.

Of Leon Sandoval He was a teammate at the Petapa club, formerly in the second division of local soccer, of the son of former presidential candidate Manuel Baldizón, one of the main defendants in the Odebrecht case and sentenced by the United States to 50 months in prison in 2019 for laundering money from drug trafficking .

Although the details of the case are under confidentiality by the Guatemalan Judiciary, local media have indicated that Leon Sandoval modified a company related to bucketwhich was later bought with capital from the Dominican Republic.

Said company has benefited from million-dollar contracts for the construction of public infrastructure by the current government that presides over Alejandro Giammattei.

Along with De León Sandoval, the lawyer Hector Aldana and company representatives Loyda Mérida, Pedro Salín and Astrid González were also arrested, while seven other people remain with an arrest warrant.

The 35-year-old former soccer player was part of Municipal for several years, one of the two most popular teams in Guatemala, and was also part of the national team that played in the World Cup qualifiers for South Africa 2010.

For his part, Manuel Baldizon recently paid a million-dollar bail, regained his freedom and now seeks to be registered as a candidate for deputy to participate in the general elections on June 25 in the Central American country.

Source: EFE