Ex-president of Peru ‘shoots himself’ moments before police arrest
Peru's former president Alan Garcia shot himself in the neck as police arrived at his home to arrest him, according to reports.
Mr Garcia has been rushed to hospital, where his condition was not immediately known.
The 69-year-old is under investigation in Peru over allegations of bribery tied to the sweeping Odebrecht corruption scandal.
Late last year, Uruguay rejected his request for asylum after he had spent about two weeks in that country's embassy in Lima.
He had requested asylum at the embassy in November shortly after a judge had barred him from leaving Peru for 18 months.
The former president, who lives much of the year in Spain, allegedly received bribes during the construction of an electric train in Lima, Peru's capital, by Brazilian company Odebrecht.
He has denied the allegations and claimed he is a victim of political persecution.
After Uruguay’s announcement, he returned to one of his homes in a residential district of Lima.
When police arrived at his house to arrest him on Wednesday he shot himself in the neck, Peruvian media said.
Authorities had ordered the detention of Mr Garcia and nine other people, including his former secretary general Luis Nava, for ten days.
He was Peru’s president from 1985 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2011.
After Uruguay denied his asylum request, Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra said the decision was welcome.
Mr Vizcarra tweeted: “In Peru, no one is untouchable. Our democracy guarantees the separation of powers and due process."
Mr Garcia said in a statement last December after his request was denied: “There is no proof that connects me with any crime and even less to Odebrecht or any of its projects."
At the time, he said he would remain at his home in Peru and would cooperate with authorities.
The prosecutor in the case, Jose Perez, has also accused the former president of receiving £76,000 for taking part in a conference in Brazil.
Mr Perez has said the money likely came from an Odebrecht fund used to pay bribes in several Latin American countries.
The sweeping Odebrecht corruption scandal has implicated dozens of high-ranking officials across Latin America who have been accused of taking bribes in exchange for public works contracts.
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