El Salvador frees former president Saca after 10-year corruption sentence

Elias Antonio “Tony” Saca, a former Salvadoran president imprisoned for corruption, was released on Thursday, his lawyer said, standing alongside the politician as they exited a courthouse.

Saca, 61, served a reduced 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to diverting and laundering more than US$300 million from the state budget during his 2004-2009 administration.

His lawyer, Mario Machado, said the former president had served his sentence in full without receiving early-release benefits. “The 10 years were completed,” Machado said.

“We have come to the court to formally report the release. This was requested just yesterday.”

Although Saca was sentenced in 2018, his prison term was backdated to 2016, when he was arrested during his son’s wedding. A plea deal allowed Saca to reduce a potential 30-year sentence.

Saca is one of four Salvadoran presidents to have faced corruption charges, although the other former leaders avoided the prospect of jail time. Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sanchez Ceren fled to Nicaragua, and Francisco Flores died before his trial could begin.

Saca, a businessman and radio broadcaster, served as president as part of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA).

In 2014, after his expulsion from the party, he sought to return to the presidency with the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), but the Supreme Court ruled his candidacy unconstitutional.

Prosecutors had alleged that Saca diverted state funds for personal use and to benefit his allies, including by funneling large sums of money to his party. Saca was ordered in separate civil proceedings to repay millions of dollars to the state.