El Salvador's first leftist president, Mauricio Funes, died Tuesday aged 65 in Nicaragua, where he fled in 2016 after being accused of corruption in his country, the Nicaraguan government said.

Mauricio Funes, former El Salvador President, died in Nicaragua at 65. Having governed El Salvador from 2009-2014, he spent his later years in Nicaragua to avoid corruption charges back home. Granted citizenship by Daniel Ortega,

Mauricio Funes, ex-president of El Salvador, passed away in Nicaragua, where he sought refuge from corruption charges since 2016. Funes, president from 2009 to 2014, was renowned for battling corruption in journalism before his political career.

El Salvador's former president, Mauricio Funes, who came into politics after a career as a whistleblowing journalist, died Tuesday night in Nicaragua at the age of 65.

Former El Salvador president Mauricio Funes, who spent the final years of his life in Nicaragua to avoid various criminal sentences, has died aged 65. Nicaragua’s Health Ministry said Mr Funes had died of a serious chronic illness.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Former El Salvador President Mauricio Funes who lived in exile in Nicaragua dies at 65.