The head of Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou's personal security detail was arrested on Monday at the presidential residence on charges of falsifying documents.
News of the arrest of security chief Alejandro Astesiano, who was detained shortly after returning to Uruguay from a family trip, appeared to leave Lacalle Pou shaken.
"I'm as surprised as you all are," Lacalle Pou said at a news conference on Monday in the capital of Montevideo. "I'm sick," the president added.
Lacalle Pou denied that Astesiano had a criminal record, although on Monday afternoon several local media outlets reported on prior inquiries into the security chief for 20 police matters, such as fraud, misappropriation and theft, among others.
(Reporting by Fabian Werner; Editing by Sandra Maler)
