Guatemala City, June 19 (RHC-teleSUR)-- A U.S. extradition request for former Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti has been approved by a Guatemalan judge.  Baldetti, who will first be tried in a Guatemalan court on charges of corruption, accepted her extradition to the U.S., which is based on drug trafficking charges. 

The Associated Press reports that the initial request for her extradition was made by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in February.  The indictment claimed that between 2010 and 2015, Baldetti and a host of other Guatemalan officials formed part of a clandestine cocaine trafficking ring. 

While Baldetti denies the charges, prosecutor Alejandro Guzman claims that she received money and gifts in exchange for her well-established political connections to allow drug traffickers to “operate with impunity in Guatemala.” 

Julia Barrera, spokeswoman for the Guatemalan prosecutor's office, said that Baldetti is wanted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for crimes related to "criminal association and conspiracy to commit drug trafficking." 

Resisting the charges brought against her, Baldetti has characterized her extradition request as an act of “revenge” for her "exemplary" political career.  She resigned as vice president in 2015, a year before being officially charged for corruption.