Peru’s ex-president shot himself in the head as cops came to arrest him

When police arrived to arrest Former Peruvian President Alan García at his home on Wednesday, he asked for a moment to make a phone call.

García, who was in trouble for allegedly accepting bribes, closed the door behind him. Moments later, cops heard a shot. They found García with a bullet wound in his head. He had shot himself.

García was taken to a hospital in Lima, but emergency surgery was not able to save him, authorities say. He was revived three times before he was pronounced dead. Current President Martín Vizcarra confirmed García’s death Wednesday.

García, 69, served as Peru’s president from 1985 to 1990 and then again from 2006 to 2011. The ex-president was accused of money laundering and taking bribes, accusations unearthed in a massive corruption scandal. García was one of numerous Latin American leaders implicated.

He had allegedly received bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company that received a $800 million contract to build roads, dams, bridges, public transit, and other infrastructure across Peru. Up to his death, García denied the claims, tweeting Tuesday that all accusations against him were speculation.

“I never sold myself,” he tweeted.

Last November, García requested asylum in Uruguay after a Peruvian court banned him from leaving the country. His request was denied.

Cover: Peruvian former president, Alan Garcia, arrives at the prosecutor office in Lima on November 15, 2018. (Photo: ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP/Getty Images)