Guatemala's ex-president Alfonso Portillo has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiracy in New York as part of a bribery scandal, according to Reuters.
His exact prison term is of five years, 10 months, Reuters reported. The 62-year-old ex-president pleaded guilty in March, admitting that he accepted $2.5 million in bribes to continue to recognize Taiwan diplomatically.
In March, Portillo pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering conspiracy, but he said the $2.5 million was actually a bribe from Taiwan in exchange for Guatemala's continued diplomatic recognition, according to Reuters.
Lawyers for Portillo have in court papers said he was far from the only Guatemalan or Central American leader to receive gifts or bribes from Taiwan, Reuters reported.
The sentence, delivered by U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson in New York, ensures the fallen leader will remain incarcerated beyond the more than four years his lawyers said he has already served following his arrest in 2010, according to Reuters.
"The case has importance in how we treat violations of laws against corrosion and the impact on this country and in terms of what role we're going to play," Patterson said, Reuters reported.
Portillo agreed not to appeal any prison term between four and six years, according to Reuters. Portillo was Guatemala's president from 2000 to 2004 and was extradited to the United States a year ago and remains in custody.
David Rosenfield, Portillo's lawyer, says Portillo has been in custody for more than four years, most of it in Guatemala, but it's not yet clear if Portillo's sentence will be credited for that time served, Reuters reported.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office said Thursday current Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou rejects "checkbook diplomacy," according to Reuters.
