Alan Garcia, a former president of Peru suspected in a continent-wide corruption scandal, died in a Lima hospital Wednesday after shooting himself as police arrived to search his home.
President Martin Vizcarra confirmed his death in a tweet.
Garcia killed himself when officers attempted to detain him, his lawyer, Erasmo Reyna, said.
“President Garcia made the decision of a free man,” Mauricio Mulder, a lawmaker with Garcia’s Apra party, told reporters outside the hospital. “For we Apristas, who are his family, it’s an act of dignity and honor in the face of a fascist, sick, persecution.”
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