Spanish king distances himself from scandal-hit father

Yahoo – AFP, March 15, 2020

Juan Carlos handed over power to his son, Felipe in 2014 (AFP Photo/Juanjo Martín)

Madrid (AFP) - King Felipe VI of Spain moved Sunday to distance himself from his scandal-hit father, stripping him of his palace allowance and renouncing what he was due to inherit from him.

A statement from the palace announced that he had stripped the former king Juan Carlos, of his allowance and was himself renouncing what he was due to inherit from him.

The announcement came after media reports that Juan Carlos had received 100 million dollars (90 million euros) from Saudi Arabia via an offshore account -- and that King Felipe himself was also a beneficiary.

The money was lodged in a Swiss bank account in the name of a Panamanian foundation.

In the palace statement, the reigning king said that in April he had made it clear to a notary that he would accept no money from the foundation in question.

He also that he had absolutely no knowledge of having been named as a beneficiary to another foundation, which according to press reports paid millions of euros towards his father's flights in private jets.

On Tuesday, the Spanish parliament decided against launching an investigation into suspected money laundering by the former king Juan Carlos.

Reported Saudi payments to ex-king

Spain's hard-left Podemos party had called for it after reports earlier this month that in 2008 Juan Carlos received $100 million from Saudi king Abdallah via the Swiss account of an entity listed in Panama.

The Swiss daily Tribune de Geneve added that in 2012, $65 million of that sum was given by the king to his former mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.

Then a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph said that 52-year-old King Felipe was also a beneficiary of the fund, which it said had been set up when Juan Carlos was still on the throne.

Juan Carlos, now 82, came to the throne after the death of the military dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and is widely respected for having favoured a transition to democracy.

But he lost his immunity from prosecution after handing power to his son, Felipe, in June 2014 following a 39-year reign.

He resigned from public life last year after a series of scandals about his private life.

In 2012, he outraged Spaniards by going elephant hunting in Botswana at the height of the country's recession.

Spanish reports say Juan Carlos has until now received an annual allowance from the state of more than 194,000 euros.

Chile to amend constitution, a key demand of protesters

Yahoo – AFP, November 11, 2019

The Chilean government is in the process of preparing "a draft amendment of the
constitution," President Sebastian Pinera has said (AFP Photo/MARTIN BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - Chile has announced it will move to draft a new constitution and replace one dating back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship -- a key demand of protesters who have rocked the country for three weeks.

The new constitution will be drafted by a body called a constituent assembly and then put to a referendum for ratification, Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel said Sunday.

Blumel made the announcement after meeting with a coalition of center-right and right-wing parties, which had been reluctant to change the constitution inherited from the era of the US-backed general Pinochet (1973-1990).

The government was in the process of preparing "a draft amendment of the constitution," President Sebastian Pinera said in an interview published Saturday by the daily El Mercurio.

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera says "a better definition of human rights" is 

among proposed changes to the constitution (AFP Photo/JAVIER TORRES)

Among the proposed changes are "a better definition of human rights" and their means of enforcement, plus clarification on "the obligations of the state" and "better mechanisms of participation" for citizens, added the president.

The current constitution, in force since 1980, has already undergone more than 200 changes in more than 40 articles, Pinera said.

But it does not establish the state's responsibility to provide education and healthcare -- two demands made by millions of Chileans who have taken to the streets.

Some opposition leaders reacted optimistically.

"The government is beginning to have a sense of reality," said Felipe Harboe of the opposition Party for Democracy.

Protests in Chile have left 20 dead - five at the hands of state forces -
and more than 1,000 injured (AFP Photo/Dante ROSSI)

A general public- sector strike began on Monday. Dozens of people protested before the presidential palace in Santiago and protests snarled traffic elsewhere in the capital.

The crisis is Chile's biggest since its return to democracy in 1990, leaving 20 dead -- five at the hands of state forces -- and more than 1,000 injured.

The unrest that began on October 18 with protests against a rise in rush-hour metro fares has mushroomed into a broader outcry against the status quo, with burning, looting and daily confrontations between demonstrators and police.

Protesters cite low wages, high costs for education and healthcare and a yawning gap between rich and poor in a country dominated politically and economically by a few elite families.

The unrest in Chile began on October 18 with protests against a rise in rush 

hour metro fares (AFP Photo/RODRIGO ARANGUA)

After weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations, most polls show the protest movement is supported by 75 percent of Chileans.

A slightly larger number -- 87 percent, according to a survey by pollster Cadem published this month -- say they favor the protesters' demand for constitutional reforms.

A few days after Pinera became president in March 2018, his government announced it would not allow the consideration of a bill to amend the constitution that the previous president, the socialist Michelle Bachelet (2014-2018), had submitted to congress.

Chile said it will hold a referendum to replace the country's dictatorship-era constitution -- a key demand of protesters after nearly a month of violent civil unrest https://t.co/aTZcJH5Lfm

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 16 november 2019

Brazil's leftist icon Lula walks free from jail

Yahoo – AFP, Paula Ramon, with Allison Jackson in Rio de Janeiro, November 9, 2019

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures as he leaves the
Federal Police Headquarters, where he was serving a sentence for corruption and
money laundering, in Curitiba, Parana State, Brazil, on November 8, 2019 (AFP
Photo/HENRY MILLEO)

Curitiba (Brazil) (AFP) - Brazil's leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walked free from jail Friday after a year and a half behind bars for corruption following a court ruling that could release thousands of convicts.

The former president, wearing a black T-shirt and suit jacket, pumped his fist as he exited the federal police headquarters in the southern city of Curitiba and was quickly mobbed by hundreds of supporters and journalists.

In an impassioned address in a sometimes hoarse voice, Lula vowed to keep fighting for poor people and denounced the economic policies of the current right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro.

"People are hungrier, they have no jobs, people work for Uber or delivering pizzas on a bike," Lula said in remarks sometimes drowned out by cheers from the crowd and fireworks overhead.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leaves the Federal Police 

Headquarters, where he was serving a sentence for corruption and money 

laundering, in Curitiba, Parana State, Brazil, on November 8, 2019 (AFP Photo/

CARL DE SOUZA)

Lula's highly anticipated exit from the facility where he had been held since April 2018 came hours after his lawyers requested the immediate release of the 74-year-old, who has been serving a nearly nine-year sentence for corruption and money laundering.

Late Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned a rule requiring convicted criminals to go to jail after losing their first appeal. Lula is one of several thousand convicts who could benefit from the decision.

Those convicts would remain free until they had exhausted their rights to appeal -- a process critics say could take years in cases involving people able to afford expensive lawyers.

Many of those affected by the 6-5 ruling are political and business leaders caught up in a massive corruption probe dubbed Car Wash that began in 2014.

The Supreme Court ruling had given Lula "hope that there could be justice," his lawyer Cristiano Zanin said.

"Our judicial battle continues, our focus is to get the legal case nullified."

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been serving eight years and 10 months for

corruption (AFP Photo/NELSON ALMEIDA)

A hero to millions

Lula, who led Brazil through a historic boom from 2003 to 2010, earning him the gratitude of millions of Brazilians for redistributing wealth to haul them out of poverty, was serving eight years and 10 months for corruption.

He was sentenced to almost 13 years in jail in February in a separate corruption case and still faces another half dozen corruption trials.

Lula has denied all the charges, arguing they were politically motivated to keep him out of the 2018 presidential election that was won by Bolsonaro.

"I'm coming for you, wait for me!" Rosangela da Silva, Lula's girlfriend, tweeted after the Supreme Court announced its decision.

"If all the others did worse and are free, why not him too?" Eleonora Cintra, a 74-year-old resident of Sao Paulo, told AFP.

Bolsonaro has been unusually quiet about the court's ruling that freed his nemesis. But his sons have taken to Twitter to attack the decision.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva embraces a woman 

as he leaves prison (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

"Thousands of prisoners will be released and rattle everyone, regardless of their political beliefs, generating serious internal and external social and economic reactions," Carlos Bolsonaro tweeted.

Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who convicted Lula when he was a judge in 2017, said the Supreme Court's decision must be respected, but he noted "Congress can modify the Constitution or the law" to allow the jailing of convicted criminals after their first appeal.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro led many leftist leaders in Latin American in cheering Lula's release, saying "the Venezuelan people are happy and welcome Lula's freedom."

And in the US, liberal presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said that in Brazil no one had done more than Lula to reduce poverty and defend workers.

"I am delighted that he has been released from jail, something that never should have happened in the first place," Sanders tweeted.

Lula in prison (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)

Even though he has been freed, Lula's criminal record will prevent him from resuming his political career. He was the founder of the Workers Party (PT).

That could change, however, if the Supreme Court were to decide in a separate case that Moro had been biased.

Lula's release could invigorate the left and, paradoxically, also help Bolsonaro, who was swept to power in 2018 on a wave of anti-PT sentiment, said Thomaz Favaro of Control Risks consultancy.

"You will have Lula more present on the political scene and that allows Bolsonaro to reinforce his role as leader of the anti-PT field," Favaro said.

Lula will spend his first day of freedom visiting the metalworkers' union he once led near Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city.

Chilean president vows major reshuffle after week of protests

Yahoo – AFP, October 26, 2019

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, in an address to the nation on October 26, 2019,
promised a major government reshuffle after a week of massive protests (AFP Photo/
Pedro Lopez)

Santiago (AFP) - Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Saturday announced a major government reshuffle, a day after more than one million people took to the streets in a massive protest for economic and political change.

"I asked all ministers to resign in order to form a new government and to be able to respond to these new demands," he said in an address to the nation, adding that a highly controversial state of emergency might be lifted Sunday if "circumstances permit."

The military also announced that an overnight curfew would be lifted Saturday.

"We are in a new reality," Pinera said. "Chile is different from what it was a week ago."

The government has been struggling to craft an effective response to the massive protests that were sparked by a rise in subway fares but fueled by a growing list of economic and political demands that include Pinera's resignation.

The breadth and ferocity of the demonstrations appear to have caught the government of Chile -- long one of Latin America's richest and most stable countries -- off guard.

A poster reading "Pinera Resign," combining pictures of Chilean President 

Sebastian Pinera (L) and the late dictator Augusto Pinochet, is seen on a 

lamppost during a demonstration in Santiago (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Another reshuffling

At least 19 people have died in the worst political violence in decades, and there has been widespread looting and arson.

Pinera, who assumed office in March 2018, had already shuffled his cabinet twice in 15 months as doubts grew about a slowing economy and his leadership.

One of the most controversial members in the current cabinet is Interior Minister Andres Chadwick, the president's cousin.

The police and army troops have been accused of using unnecessary force in putting down the protests. The United Nations is sending a team to investigate allegations of abuse.

More than one million people, representing a range of political backgrounds and from all social classes, took to the streets of Santiago and other cities on Friday in some of the largest protests ever seen in this country of 18 million.

Demonstrators carrying indigenous and national flags sang popular resistance songs from the 1973-90 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship era.

Santiago's governor Karla Rubilar praised the march, saying it represented "the dream of a new Chile." Police said 820,000 people marched in the capital.

People protest under a giant Chilean national flag in Santiago, on October 25

 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

'Dream of a new Chile'

For the past week, pent-up anger has erupted over a socio-economic structure that many feel has left them by the wayside, with low wages and pensions, costly health care and education, and a big gap between rich and poor.

The protesters' demands now includes not only better social benefits but also the scrapping and replacing of the nation's Constitution, which dates from the Pinochet dictatorship.

Pinera apologized earlier in the week for failing to anticipate the outbreak of social unrest, and he announced a raft of measures designed to placate people, such as increases in minimum pensions and wages, higher taxes on the wealthy, and a rollback in the subway fare increase.

He called on legislators to "urgently approve these projects rather than arguing and debating so much."

Pinera, a conservative billionaire, said Friday on Twitter that "we have all heard the message. We have all changed. With unity and help from God, we will travel the road towards a Chile that is better for all."

Francisco Anguitar, a 38-year-old software developer attending the demonstrations Friday, told AFP, "We're asking for justice, honesty, ethical government. It's not that we want socialism or communism."

Drivers angry over toll charges demonstrate as part of protests over 

socio-economic woes (AFP Photo/Pablo VERA)

Drop in violence

In an initial burst of violence, metro stations were destroyed, supermarkets torched and looted, traffic lights and bus shelters smashed, and countless street barricades erected and set alight.

The national human rights institute INDH said 584 people have been injured and 2,410 detained during the protests.

Authorities deployed some 20,000 police and soldiers in Santiago, using tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators.

Soldiers have been guarding Santiago's metro stations as three of the seven lines -- which usually carry three million people per day -- have reopened.

Despite a recent decrease in serious incidents and arrests, the violence has been the worst since Chile returned to democracy after the Pinochet dictatorship.

The movement still lacks recognizable leaders and was mostly roused through social media, which analysts say makes it harder for the government to negotiate any resolution.

Demonstrators play the guitar performing Chilean musician Victor Jara's "The 

Right to Live in Peace" in Santiago, on October 25 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

APEC summit still on

The government said on Thursday that next month's APEC trade summit in Santiago would go ahead despite the protests.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are among those expected to attend the November 16-17 meeting.

Ecuador govt, protesters agree deal to end deadly unrest

Yahoo – AFP, Hector Velasco, Katell ABIVEN, October 14, 2019

Thousands flooded into the streets of Quito to celebrate shortly after the
deal was announced (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Quito (AFP) - Ecuador's president and indigenous leaders reached an agreement Sunday to end nearly two weeks of violent protests against austerity measures adopted to obtain a multi-billion-dollar loan from the IMF.

The demonstrations have left seven people dead and were sparked when President Lenin Moreno scrapped fuel subsidies to obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, causing prices to double.

Moreno met with Jaime Vargas, the head of the indigenous umbrella grouping CONAIE, for four hours of talks in the capital Quito broadcast live on state television.

"With this agreement, the mobilizations... across Ecuador are terminated and we commit ourselves to restoring peace in the country," said a joint statement, adding the government had withdrawn an order that removed fuel subsidies.

Thousands flooded into the streets of Quito shortly after the announcement, waving the national flag, honking horns and setting off fireworks in celebration.

News of the deal to reinstate fuel subsidies was met with joy on the streets 

of Ecuador's capital (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

The statement was read by an official from the United Nations, which mediated the talks along with the Catholic Church.

"The measures applied in all our territories are lifted," confirmed Vargas, referring to roads and oil facilities in the Amazon blocked by protesters for almost two weeks. Those actions suspended the distribution of almost 70 percent of the country's crude oil.

Indigenous groups make up a quarter of Ecuador's 17.3 million people. Thousands who had traveled from disadvantaged communities across the Amazon and the Andes to spearhead the protests in Quito, started to head home after the deal was announced.

"Indigenous brothers, I have always treated you with respect and affection," Moreno said as the talks opened. "It was never my intention to affect the poorest sectors."

The demonstrations were sparked by President Lenin Moreno scrapping fuel 

subsidies to obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (AFP 

Photo/Cristina VEGA)

Moreno had previously declared a curfew and placed Quito under military control to quell the unrest.

On Sunday, violent clashes continued before the talks began as police fought to disperse protesters who tried to put up a barricade of debris from Saturday's unrest.

Authorities said 1,349 people had been injured and 1,152 detained in the demonstrations.

The violence forced Moreno to relocate his government to Ecuador's second city, Guayaquil, and hit the oil industry hard with the energy ministry suspending more than two-thirds of its distribution of crude.

Buildings ransacked

CONAIE had previously rejected an offer of dialogue but reversed course Saturday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres earlier called on all groups "to commit to inclusive and meaningful talks, and to work in good faith towards a peaceful solution."

Authorities said 1,349 people had been injured and 1,152 detained in the 

demonstrations (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Demonstrators on Saturday ransacked and set fire to the building housing the comptroller general's office, which was shrouded in thick smoke after being attacked with fire bombs.

The prosecutor's office said 34 people were arrested.

Protesters on Saturday also targeted a television station and a newspaper.

The Teleamazonas TV channel interrupted its regular broadcast to air images of broken windows, a burned vehicle and heavy police presence on the scene.

The station evacuated 25 employees, none of them hurt.

Nearby, protesters built barricades in front of the National Assembly building as police fired tear gas at them.

"We have nothing to do with the events at the comptroller's office and Teleamazonas," said CONAIE.

Demonstrators set up barricades near the National Assembly in Quito on 

Saturday (AFP Photo/RODRIGO BUENDIA)

El Comercio newspaper reported on Twitter that its offices were attacked by a "group of unknowns."

Protesters did not immediately heed the curfew that went into effect on Saturday, with security forces struggling to impose order in some parts of the city.

"Where are the mothers and fathers of the police? Why do they let them kill us?" cried Nancy Quinyupani, an indigenous woman.

The restrictions in Quito, a city of 2.7 million, came on top of a state of emergency Moreno had declared on October 3, deploying some 75,000 military and police and imposing a nighttime curfew in the vicinity of government buildings.

Moreno is struggling with an economic crisis that he blames on waste and corruption by Correa's administration.

Ecuador's president, protest leaders in talks to end deadly violence

Yahoo – AFP, Hector Velasco, Katell ABIVEN, October 13, 2019

A man walks amid rubble, following a 10-day protest over a fuel price hike ordered
by the government to secure an IMF loan, in Quito on October 13, 2019 (AFP Photo/
Martin BERNETTI)

Quito (AFP) - Indigenous leaders and Ecuador's president prepared Sunday for face-to-face talks after nearly two weeks of violent street protests over austerity measures instituted to obtain a multibillion dollar loan from the IMF.

As both sides geared up for negotiations in the afternoon, one indigenous leader said protesters who have converged from far away will stay in the capital Quito until some kind of agreement is reached on painful reforms such as a doubling of some fuel prices.

"Not just the leaders but the rank and file -- and we will stay until there is a solution," said Salvador Quishpe of an indigenous umbrella grouping called CONAIE.

The 12 days of rolling demonstrations have left six people dead and nearly 2,100 wounded or detained, according to authorities. Protesters on Saturday targeted a television station and a newspaper, and set fire to the comptroller general's office.

President Lenin Moreno declared a curfew and placed the city under military control to stop the unrest. On Sunday, police dispersed a group of protesters who tried to erect a barricade with debris from Saturday's violence.

View of a damaged vehicle, following a 10-day protest over a fuel price hike ordered 

by the government to secure an IMF loan, in Quito on October 13, 2019 (AFP Photo/

Cristina VEGA)

The crisis broke out in early October after Moreno ordered fuel subsidies cut as part of a deal struck by his government to obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

CONAIE had previously rejected an offer of dialogue but reversed course Saturday and said the talks would focus on "the repeal or revision of the decree" that has left consumers paying more than double for fuel.

"Our hope is that, God willing, today we can sit down and talk and end all this," said Quishpe, a former governor of an Amazon province.

Ecuador's indigenous groups make up a quarter of the country's 17.3 million people. Thousands from disadvantaged communities in the Amazon and the Andes have traveled to Quito where they are spearheading demands that the subsidies continue.

Media attacked

Demonstrators on Saturday ransacked and set fire to the building housing the comptroller general's office, which was shrouded in thick smoke after being attacked with fire bombs.

Ecuadorean riot policemen patrol the streets following a 10-day protest over a fuel 

price hike ordered by the government to secure an IMF loan, in Quito on October 13, 

2019 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

The prosecutor's office said 34 people were arrested.

Nearby, protesters built barricades in front of the National Assembly building as police fired tear gas at them.

The Teleamazonas TV channel interrupted its regular broadcast to air images of broken windows, a burned vehicle and heavy police presence on the scene.

The station evacuated 25 employees, none of them hurt.

El Comercio newspaper reported on Twitter that its offices were attacked by a "group of unknowns." It did not provide further details.

"We have nothing to do with the events at the comptroller's office and Teleamazonas," said CONAIE.

Protesters did not immediately heed the curfew that went into effect at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT), with security forces still struggling to impose order in some parts of the city as night fell.

Demonstrators set up barricades near the National Assembly in Quito (AFP Photo/

RODRIGO BUENDIA)

"Where are the mothers and fathers of the police? Why do they let them kill us?" cried Nancy Quinyupani, an indigenous woman.

The restrictions in Quito, a city of 2.7 million, came on top of a state of emergency Moreno had declared on October 3, deploying some 75,000 military and police and imposing a nighttime curfew in the vicinity of government buildings.

The violence has forced Moreno to relocate his government to Ecuador's second city, Guayaquil, and has hit the oil industry hard with the energy ministry suspending more than two-thirds of its distribution of crude.

Protesters seized three oil facilities in the Amazon earlier this week.

Moreno is struggling with an economic crisis that he blames on waste and corruption by Correa's administration.

Mexico's AMLO doubles down on stump speech in key address

Yahoo – AFP, September 1, 2019

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador shows his first annual report at 
the National Palace in Mexico City, on September 1, 2019 (AFP Photo/Alfredo 
ESTRELLA)

Mexico City (AFP) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador brushed off problems including a stagnant economy and spiralling violence to insist Sunday in his first state of the nation address that he is delivering the "transformation" he promised.

Elected last year in a swell of anti-establishment sentiment, the left-wing populist has radically changed the style of the presidency -- ditching the presidential mansion, guards and jet -- but has struggled to deliver on key promises, including economic growth and an end to rampant violence fueled by drug trafficking.

In his first annual "Government Report," the leader known as "AMLO" briefly acknowledged that "the economy is growing little," and that "we still suffer from insecurity and violence."

But he devoted much of his address to rehashing his campaign stump speech, heavy on anti-corruption, austerity-crusading rhetoric and finger-pointing at the leaders of the past.

"The essence of our approach is to turn honesty and austerity into a way of life and a form of government," he said.

"Nothing has harmed Mexico worse than the dishonesty of its leaders. That is the main cause of social and economic inequality, of the violence from which we suffer."

In a sign of the polarizing nature of his presidency, some 2,500 protesters marched down Mexico City's main avenue, Paseo de la Reforma, chanting "Get out, Lopez Obrador!"

But the opposition remains badly fragmented from the July 2018 elections, which Lopez Obrador and his upstart party, Morena, won in a landslide.

Nine months in, the president remains overwhelmingly popular: recent polls put his approval rating around 65 percent.

Many Mexicans like his folksy style -- a break with the elite ruling class of the past -- and most appear willing to wait for him to deliver concrete results.

The question is how long.

Latin America's second-largest economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019, and registered zero growth in the second -- far from Lopez Obrador's pledge to deliver two-percent growth this year and an average of four percent across his six-year term.

And the number of people murdered -- a closely watched indicator of the violence from the country's "drug war" -- appears on track to set a new record this year, with 20,135 homicides so far.

Facing arrest, former Peru president Garcia kills himself

Yahoo – AFP, Luis Jaime CISNEROS, April 17, 2019

Former Peruvian president Alan Garcia, pictured here May 28, 2010, was resuscitated
three times in surgery, before finally succumbing (AFP Photo/Cris BOURONCLE)

Lima (AFP) - Peru's former president Alan Garcia died in hospital on Wednesday after shooting himself in the head at his home as police were about to arrest him in a sprawling corruption case. He was 69.

The health ministry said Garcia died at 10:05 am (1505 GMT) of "a massive cerebral hemorrhage from a gunshot wound and cardiorespiratory arrest."

Garcia was resuscitated three times after suffering heart attacks while undergoing emergency surgery, before finally succumbing, Peru's Health Minister Zulema Tomas said.

The Casimiro Ulloa Emergency Hospital in Lima earlier confirmed he had suffered "a bullet wound to his head."

"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 after Garcia was admitted.

"Alan Garcia has died, long live APRA," said Omar Quesada, the general secretary of Garcia's American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) party.

The attempted arrest unfolded at 6:30 am (1130 GMT) at Garcia's home in Lima's upmarket Miraflores neighborhood.

Police were acting on an arrest warrant for money laundering that would have allowed Garcia to be held for 10 days, giving authorities time to gather evidence and prevent him from fleeing, the prosecutor's office said.

Ricardo Pinedo, Garcia's secretary, said the former president had four or five weapons in his home that were gifts from the armed forces. Police said he used one of those to shoot himself.

Interior Minister Carlos Moran said police "heard a gunshot a few minutes" after entering Garcia's house before finding him "sitting down with a head wound."

'Condolences'

Peru's President Martin Vizcarra expressed his sympathy on his Twitter account.

"Dismayed by the death of ex-president Alan Garcia. I send my condolences to his family and loved ones," Vizcarra wrote in a tweet.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Bolivia's Evo Morales added their own condolences, while Colombian leader Ivan Duque said "with sadness we raise prayers" for Garcia's family, adding: "Rest in peace."

APRA congressman Mauricio Mulder said Garcia "took a dignified and honorable decision. An honorable act in the face of fascist persecution."

Dozens of tearful supporters congregated at the hospital entrance when the news was announced.

Garcia, who was president from 1985-90 and again from 2006-11, was 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 after a court ordered him not to leave the country for 18 months.

He applied for asylum but following 16 days in the embassy he left when his request was denied.

Garcia, a social democrat, claimed to be the target of political persecution, an accusation denied by centrist Vizcarra.

On Tuesday, Garcia had said he would neither try to flee nor hide again.

He had recently insisted that "there is no statement, evidence or deposit that links me to any crime and even less so with the Odebrecht company or the execution of any of its projects."

Although under investigation by the public prosecutor's office, Garcia had not been charged with anything. He had strongly protested his innocence and seemed prepared to cooperate with authorities.

Money laundering and bribes

He was one of four Peruvian ex-presidents embroiled in various corruption scandals -- alongside Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-18), Ollanta Humala (2011-16) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-06).

Kuczynski, who is accused of money laundering and was being held under a 10-day preliminary detention until April 20, was also taken to hospital on Wednesday suffering from high blood pressure.

The 80-year-old was being treated in intensive care and had a cardiac catheter fitted, lawmaker Gilbert Violeta said.

Toledo faces extradition from the United States, having been charged with taking a $20 million Odebrecht bribe.

Odebrecht has admitted 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 $100,000 payment from an illicit Odebrecht fund for giving a speech to Brazilian business leaders in Sao Paulo in May 2012.

Prosecutors allege that Garcia and 21 other officials conspired to enable Dutch company ATM Terminals to win a 2011 concession to operate a terminal at the port of Callao, near Lima.

Another ex-president, Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity and corruption.

His daughter, opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, is being held in pre-trial detention for up to three years, accused of accepting $1.2 million in illicit party funding from Odebrecht for her 2011 presidential campaign.