U.S. authorities keep finding more unceremonious ways to arrest top soccer executives from around the world. Hector
Trujillo, general secretary of Guatemala's soccer federation and a
judge on the country's constitutional court, was hauled off a cruise
ship at 6 a.m. ET Friday, to face criminal bribery charges.
He
is one of 16 current and former FIFA executives charged in an
indictment announced Thursday by Attorney General Loretta Lynch. In all,
41 people from soccer's world governing body and associated marketing
companies are facing charges in a sprawling criminal case that has
thrown world football into crisis.
Customs
and Border Protection agency officers arrested Trujillo on the ship at
Port Canaveral, Florida, a popular departure point for vacationers
seeking sunburns in the Caribbean.
A
day earlier, Swiss Police working with the FBI, roused two top FIFA
executives from their beds in a luxury hotel in Zurich before dawn. A
similar fate met seven other FIFA officials in May when the first
charges in the case were brought.
Kelly
Langmesser, FBI spokeswoman, says Trujillo would face a judge in the
Tampa federal district and then be transferred to face charges brought
by the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn.