Resisting Arrest, Ex-Peru President Dies After Shooting Himself
Peru has declared 3 days of mourning in honor of ex-President following his death by suicide amid corruption probe.
advertisement
Former Peruvian President Alan García is dead after shooting himself in the head as police came to detain him in connection with a corruption probe. García had shot himself in the head on Wednesday morning, 17 April, moments after police came to detain him in connection with the Odebrecht corruption scandal.
Doctors say former Peruvian President García died from a “massive cerebral hemorrhage from a gunshot and cardiorespiratory arrest.”
Peru has declared three days of mourning in honour of former President Alan García following his death by suicide amid a corruption probe.
The executive decree declares Wednesday, Thursday and Friday days of national mourning. It also authorises García to receive presidential honours at his funeral.
García had not been charged but a judge ordered his preliminary detention. He repeatedly professed his innocence.
‘President Took the Decision to Shoot Himself’
The former chief of state twice served as president and at his peak was hailed the "president of hope."
Peru’s former President Alan Garcia had shot himself in the head at his home on Wednesday as police were about to arrest him in a sprawling corruption case, his lawyer and hospital officials said.
The 69-year-old Garcia was undergoing emergency surgery for “a bullet wound to his head” at the Casimiro Ulloa Emergency Hospital in Lima, the hospital said. Peru's Health Minister Zulema Tomas said Garcia was in "very serious and critical" condition.
"We've had to resuscitate him three times. He has had three cardiac arrests," said Tomas.
"He is in a delicate condition and the prognosis is reserved," added the health ministry, which said the bullet went straight through Garcia's head.
The attempted arrest took place at 6:30 am (1130 GMT) at Garcia's home in the posh Miraflores neighborhood of Lima.
"This morning there was a regrettable accident: the president took the decision to shoot himself," Erasmo Reyna, Garcia's lawyer, told reporters outside the hospital.
One of the Four Peruvian Ex-Prez Embroiled in Various Corruption Scandals
Garcia, who was president from 1985-90 and again from 2006-11, is suspected of having taken bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in return for large-scale public works contracts.
In November he sought refuge in the Uruguayan Embassy and applied for asylum but he left the next month after it was denied.
Odebrecht has admitted to paying $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials over three administrations.
Some of those payments were allegedly made during Garcia's second term in office to secure a contract to build the Lima metro.
Peruvian press reports also claim Garcia received a $1,00,000 payment from an illicit Odebrecht fund for giving a speech to Brazilian business leaders in Sao Paulo in May 2012.
(With inputs from PTI and AP)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)