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Salvadoran ex-president Saca released after 10-year sentence for corruption

Elias Antonio Saca confessed to diverting more than $300m in public funds during his presidency and accepted a plea barg

Al Jazeera2026-10-30 02:38查看原文 ↗

Elias Antonio Saca confessed to diverting over $300m in public funds during his presidency and took a plea bargain.

Saca walks outside the Isidro Menendez Courthouse after being released, in San Salvador, El Salvador, October 29, 2026 [Jessica Orellana/Reuters]

Elias Antonio Saca, the former president of El Salvador , has been released after serving a 10-year prison term for corruption.

Saca, 61, arrived at court to formally report his release on Thursday after fulfilling the terms of a plea deal in which he confessed to diverting and laundering more than $300m from public funds during his 2004 to 2009 administration.

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His lawyer, Mario Machado, said the former president had served his sentence in full without receiving early-release benefits.

Saca stands next to his lawyer Mario Machado after being released in San Salvador, El Salvador, on October 29, 2026 [Jessica Orellana/Reuters]

Arrested at son’s wedding

Saca was first arrested during his son’s wedding in 2016 and was sentenced to five years for embezzlement and another five years for money laundering in September 2018.

A plea bargain allowed Saca to avoid a potential 30-year prison sentence.

In 2019, the former president was found guilty of offering $10,000 to a court employee to obtain information about a case against him, though a judge determined the second sentence to be part of his existing 10-year term.

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

During the initial trial, prosecutors said Saca appropriated funds from the state budget for himself and others, including taking more than $7m for his former party.

Saca was also ordered to repay $260m to the state. He is one of four Salvadoran presidents who have faced corruption charges, including his successor Mauricio Funes, who escaped to Nicaragua in September 2016 and died there in 2025.

埃利亚斯·安东尼奥·萨卡承认在其总统任期内挪用超过 3 亿美元的公共资金，并达成了认罪协议。

2026 年 10 月 29 日，萨卡获释后在萨尔瓦多圣萨尔瓦多的伊西德罗·梅嫩德斯法院外行走 [Jessica Orellana/路透社]

萨尔瓦多前总统埃利亚斯·安东尼奥·萨卡因腐败罪服刑10年后获释。

61岁的萨卡于周四抵达法庭，正式宣布获释。此前，他履行了认罪协议的条款，承认在2004年至2009年执政期间挪用和洗钱超过3亿美元的公共资金。

列表 1/3：在萨尔瓦多的大规模审判中，律师们竭力为数百名被告辩护。

列表 2/3：萨尔瓦多总统布克莱威胁海地黑帮，要求他们就士兵被绑架一事采取行动。

3/3 萨尔瓦多承诺向海地派遣2000多名士兵，海地推迟选举

他的律师马里奥·马查多表示，这位前总统已服满刑期，没有获得提前释放的福利。

2026 年 10 月 29 日，萨卡在萨尔瓦多圣萨尔瓦多获释后站在他的律师 Mario Machado 旁边 [Jessica Orellana/路透社]

在儿子婚礼上被捕

萨卡于 2016 年儿子婚礼期间首次被捕，并于 2018 年 9 月因挪用公款被判处 5 年监禁，又因洗钱被判处 5 年监禁。

通过认罪协议，萨卡避免了可能面临的 30 年监禁。