A Guatemalan court has approved an order to extradite former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo to the United States on money-laundering charges. A federal grand jury has indicted Portillo for allegedly using US banks to embezzle millions of dollars taken from Guatemalan coffers. Portillo, however, says he’s the target of a political witch hunt dating back to his opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Alfonso Portillo: “I’m glad to tell Guatemalans I’m being chased for political reasons, for not following US policies in Latin America. I was the only Central American president who didn’t sign the letter supporting the US war and invasion in Iraq, and my argument was that my country had already been invaded in the past and signing a letter to support another country’s invasion was against my principles. I remember the ambassador and counselor’s words at that time: 'revenge will come in the future.' And the extradition request is the instrument of revenge.”

Portillo’s lawyers are appealing the extradition order.