ALBAWABA - The first leftist president in El Salvador Mauricio Funes passed away aged 65 in Nicaragua, where he fled in 2016 after being accused of corruption in his country, the Nicaraguan government announced on Tuesday.
Funes died at 9:35 p.m. local time "as a result of a serious chronic ailment," Nicaragua's health ministry revealed in a statement.
AFP further noted citing the health ministry's statement that the cause of death of the ex-president, who led El Salvador from 2009 to 2014, was unmentioned.
Before announcing his passing, the Nicaraguan ministry detailed that the former leader's health condition had been "aggravated by chronic ailments that have afflicted him."
In May 2023, an El Salvador court sentenced the first leftist leader in absentia to 14 years in jail accusing him of conducting illegal secret talks with criminal gangs terrorizing the Central American nation.
It is worth mentioning that Mauricio Funes was also accused of embezzling $351 million from state coffers, in addition to many corruption charges during his leadership.
Funes fled to Nicaragua in 2016 and was granted asylum, AFP reported.
