In Guatemala, a criminal court has agreed to extradite former President Alfonso Portillo to the US where he faces money-laundering charges. He was arrested in January following US charges that he had laundered money stolen from a children's charity and embezzled state funds. He has since been held in a high-security prison in Guatemala City. Mr Portillo, 58, has repeatedly denied the charges levelled against him, which he says are political. He fled to Mexico after his term finished in 2004 but was sent back in 2008 to face corruption charges.