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Former Salvadorian president Francisco Flores has died while facing multi-million dollar corruption charges, his right-wing party announced early Sunday.
Flores slipped into a coma earlier January, after suffering a stroke and being left with “severe brain swelling,” according to a clinical report delivered to a Salvadorian court. At the time, the report noted that Flores, 56, did not meet the criteria of being brain dead.
Flores' political party ARENA has now confirmed the former leader died without awaking from the coma.
"We mourn the death of president Francisco Flores, and express solidarity with his family at this time,” the far right party tweeted.
The former president was set to stand trial in January over allegations of corruption.
Flores was president of El Salvador from 1999 to 2002. He was accused of intentionally diverting at least US$10 million of a donation from the government of Taiwan to the private account of his right-wing ARENA party.
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The donation had been earmarked as relief funds after a major earthquake rocked El Salvador in January 2001, killing over 900 people and damaging hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings.
Flores’ trial for charges of illicit enrichment and embezzlement was set to begin Jan. 18, 2016, but was rescheduled to an unspecified date due to failure to secure a witness.
Money laundering charges against Flores were dropped last month.
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