As police wait to arrest him, ex-Peru president kills self

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Former Peruvian President Alan Garcia shot himself in the head and died Wednesday as officers waited to arrest him in a massive graft probe that has put the country's most prominent politicians behind bars and provoked a reckoning over corruption.

Authorities broke through a door at Garcia's mansion in a leafy, upscale neighborhood of the Peruvian capital after hearing gunfire. The 69-year-old former head of state was rushed to a hospital, where a team of doctors performed emergency surgery but could not save him.

"The president, upset over this situation, knowing his absolute innocence ... had this terrible accident," said his lawyer, Erasmo Reyna.

It was a shocking end for a man who twice ruled Peru — once in the 1980s and then again more than two decades later. In more recent years, he became ensnared in Latin America's biggest corruption scandal, a sweeping investigation of politicians' dealings with the Brazilian construction giant known as Odebrecht.

No country outside Brazil has gone as far in prosecuting politicians tied to Odebrecht, which admitted in a 2016 plea agreement that it paid nearly $800 million throughout Latin America in exchange for lucrative public-works contracts.

In Peru, politicians have described the accusations as a political witch hunt. Prosecutors and anti-corruption advocates insist the arrests show the South American nation is finally holding leaders accountable.

Several leaders called on Peruvians to set aside politics as the nation mourns the one-time populist firebrand whose second presidency helped usher in a commodities-led investment boom.

"It doesn't matter your political hue, Peru is in mourning," politician Gilbert Violeta wrote on Twitter. "This is a tragedy for our country."

Condolences poured in from throughout Latin America as leaders recalled a man who at his peak was called the John F. Kennedy of Latin America.

"With virtues and imperfections, he realized great changes that allowed Peru's economy to become one of the fastest-growing in Latin America and in the world," former Mexican President Felipe Calderon said.

Garcia was born into a middle-class family in the capital, the child of a politician father whose party became Garcia's own. He went on to a career marked by epic triumphs and devastating setbacks, a rollercoaster of a political life fueled by his charisma and capacity for reinvention.

Ultimately, though, the former president was an increasingly isolated figure. As investigators closed in, he argued that he was the victim of false testimony about taking bribes from Odebrecht during the construction of Lima's metro. He had not been formally charged.

In December, Garcia sought asylum in Uruguay's embassy, staying there for a little more than two weeks before his request was denied. Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez said there was no evidence to support Garcia's contention he was being political targeted.

He vowed to cooperate with any investigation and defended himself up to the day before his death.

"I am not mentioned in any document and in any evidence," he wrote Tuesday on Twitter. "They're left to SPECULATE or invent intermediaries. I never sold out and it's proven."

When authorities arrived Wednesday at Garcia's home, they met him on the staircase to the second floor. He asked for a moment to call his attorney, entered another room and closed the door behind him. Moments later, gunfire rang out. Police found him seated, bleeding profusely, Interior Minister Carlos Moran said.

Supporters who had gathered outside the hospital wept as word of his death spread. Some held each other in embrace. Others cried out. A line of officers in helmets and riot shields stood guard, keeping them at a distance.

His sudden death was sure to provoke reflection both over one of the most storied careers in Peruvian politics and the nation's battle against corruption.

Tall and handsome, Garcia was first swept into office on a wave of optimism in 1985 as Latin America's youngest president at age 36. He was hailed as "the president of hope."

Fed by state spending, wage increases and price controls, Garcia's policies initially created an artificial economic boom. But the state coffers were soon drained, credit dried up and investors fled. Labor strikes demanding wage increases in line with soaring inflation crippled production.