Days after a judge sent him to jail, former Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina maintains his innocence, suggesting the United States may have played a role in the case that landed him behind bars.

"There are many things behind this," he told CNN Español. "It is not only what you saw in the hearing. There is a series of interests of another type, I would say including geopolitical interests, not only in Guatemala, but extending to Honduras and El Salvador."

Pérez Molina resigned from his post last week after lawmakers stripped him of the immunity that would have protected him prosecution. Shortly afterward, he found himself in custody after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
Arrest warrant issued for resigned Guatemalan President

Guatemala's attorney general and a U.N. investigating commission accuse Pérez Molina and a group of close aides within his administration of receiving bribes in exchange for lowering taxes for companies seeking to import products into the Central American country. The case shook his government for months and sparked protests throughout the country calling for his resignation.

Pérez Molina denied the accusations Wednesday, adding that the steps leading up to his resignation and arrest mirrored the steps of a "soft coup" forcing him from power.

And he said he believes the United States is at least partly to blame.