Javier Duarte arrested in Guatemala

A former governor of Veracruz in Mexico has been arrested in Guatemala after six months on the run.

Mexico's Attorney General's Office said Javier Duarte was arrested in Panajachel, a picturesque tourist town on Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan highlands, with the co-operation of the local police and Interpol.

The 43-year-old was located in a hotel where he was staying with his wife. He voluntarily agreed to leave his room when police arrived and was arrested without incident in the lobby.

He looked pale and visibly tired when he was brought to a prison at a military base in the capital Guatemala City on Sunday where he is under heavy guard ahead of an extradition hearing.

His half a year as a fugitive has made him a high-profile symbol of government corruption in Mexico after he was accused of having links to a series of phantom businesses which allegedly won state contracts worth millions of pesos.

Duarte has denied stealing any money from the state and of diverting government funds overseas.

He said: "I don't have foreign accounts. I don't have properties anywhere".

Despite this the Mexican government has allegedly found millions of dollars linked to the politician - frozen from more than 100 bank accounts and has also seized property and businesses tied to him.

A reward of 15 million pesos (£637,110) was offered for his capture.

Duarte was governor from 2010 until he resigned to fight the charges in October 2016 and disappeared a few days later. His temporary successor, Flavino Rios Alvarado, was arrested on suspicion of helping him flee last month.

The governor's tenure was marked by allegations of corruption from the very beginning along with allegations that he has attempted to silence his critics.