A Salvadoran court Monday sentenced former President Mauricio Funes (2009-2014) to 14 years in prison for his alleged negotiations with criminal gangs. Funes, currently living in Nicaragua, got 8 years for illicit groupings and 6 years for breach of duty. Nicaragua gave him citizenship in 2019.
Former guerrilla commander Salvador Sanchez Ceren on Sunday was sworn in as president of El Salvador for the second consecutive five-year mandate of the FMLN, an ex-guerrilla movement and current political party.
Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and El Salvador Mauricio Funes have the highest approval ratings with 80% and 72% among presidents of the Americas, according to a report from Consulta Mitofsky. At the other extreme stand Sebastian Piñera from Chile, Laura Chinchilla from Costa Rica and Paraguayan Federico Franco with the lowest support.
President Barack Obama is nearing the end of a five-day tour of three Latin American nations to underscore the advance of democracy, and strong economic growth in the region.