Peru's Ex- President, Alan Garcia Who Shot Himself To Evade Arrest Dies

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Peru's ex- president who shot himself to evade arrest has died. Alan Garcia died in a hospital in Lima after shooting himself as police arrived at his house to arrest him in connection with a bribery probe, authorities said.

Garcia, who had repeatedly denied wrongdoing, was 69.

President Martin Vizcarra said on Twitter that he was "consternated" by Garcia's death, and sent his condolences to his family members.

Garcia, a skilled orator who led Peru's once-powerful Apra party for decades, governed Peru as a nationalist from 1985 to 1990 before remaking himself as a free-market proponent and winning a new five-year term in 2006.


Garcia was under investigation in connection with Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which triggered Latin America's biggest corruption scandal when it admitted publicly in 2016 that it won lucrative contracts in the region with bribes.

In November, he sought refuge in the Uruguayan embassy and applied for asylum but he left the next month after it was denied.

Corruption has plagued Peruvian politics for decades. The country's last five presidents have either been jailed on corruption charges or are currently under investigation for fraud.

Former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was also detained last week as part of a money-laundering probe into his ties to the Odebrecht.