Salvadoran former president Mauricio Funes dies in Nicaragua

Mauricio Funes, the first leftist president of El Salvador (2009-2014), passed away Tuesday at the age of 65 in Nicaragua, where he had fled in 2016 after being accused of corruption in his home country.

"Unfortunately, the patient citizen Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena, former president of El Salvador, (...) has passed away," the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health announced in a statement published in the pro-government media outlet 19digital.

Funes, who came to power through a coalition led by the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), passed away at 9:35 p.m. local time "as a result of a serious chronic ailment," according to the official statement. A senior FMLN leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Funes had been battling "gastric cancer."

Accused of embezzling $351 million

Funes, a journalist by profession and an incisive interviewer on a television news program, ran in the March 2009 elections, ending 20 years of rule by the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA).

During his presidency, Funes promoted social programs and, on behalf of the Salvadoran state, issued an apology for the victims of the Army during the brutal civil war (1980-1992), which resulted in over 75,000 deaths.

However, he was accused of embezzling $351 million, among other corruption charges during his administration, leading to five criminal proceedings against him. Funes fled to Nicaragua in mid-2016, where he was granted asylum. Three years later, Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega granted him nationality.

Convicted in absentia

In May 2023, Funes was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison, convicted of being part of illicit groups and dereliction of duty for his involvement in a truce with gangs intended to reduce homicides in the country.

Later, in June 2024, Funes was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for money laundering and asset laundering. He was found guilty of helping a Guatemalan company secure the contract for a bridge construction project, in exchange for receiving a light aircraft as a gift, according to the Attorney General's Office (FGR).

His ex-wife, Brazilian Vanda Pignato, was sentenced to three years in prison last November by a court in El Salvador in a case related to the embezzlement of millions in public funds. Additionally, three former officials from Funes' government were convicted in this case, receiving sentences ranging from eight to 14 years. Juan Guzmán, the father of Funes' partner after his breakup with Pignato, was also convicted for money laundering.

Funes, who had six children, was a graduate of the Jesuit Central American University (UCA). During the armed conflict, he lost his older brother, Roberto, a student leader who was assassinated by the National Police on August 14, 1980.