The former president of Guatemala, Álvaro Colom, died on Monday at the age of 71, according to sources close to the family of the Latin American politician.
The former president (2008-2012) suffered from larynx cancer and pulmonary emphysema, which was complicated during the time he was detained, according to the Guatemalan newspaper ‘La Hora’.
Colom was imprisoned in 2018, along with nine other people, most of them members of his cabinet, for an alleged corruption case linked to the implementation of a new transportation model, specifically with the acquisition of a fleet of buses operating in the capital.
However, six months after his imprisonment, the former president was released from prison after posting bail of US$200,000 (approximately 184,000 euros), at which point he was placed under house arrest.
Colom won the Presidency of Guatemala in the 2007 general elections with the National Union of Hope (UNE) party, a party that has mourned his death through its social networks.
«The National Unity of Hope, the Executive Committee and all its affiliates regret the sensitive death of Engineer Álvaro Colom Caballeros, former president of the Republic of Guatemala and founder of the UNE,» said the party, which has also conveyed its condolences to the family members.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
