Álvaro Colom, former president of Guatemala, dies at 71

• Unexpected news!
• Álvaro Colom dies after suffering with health problems.
• The former president of Guatemala was 71 years old.

The former president of Guatemala Álvaro Colom, who governed between 2008 and 2012, died on Monday night after suffering with health problems, according to deputies of the party that brought him to power. He was 71 years old. During his tenure, Colom supported the fight against corruption by a United Nations commission that later investigated him and landed him in prison.

“I deeply regret the death of former President Colom, a man of deep democratic convictions and great social sensitivity. My condolences to his family and friends,” said congressman Orlando Blanco, who was a member of his National Unity of Hope party. Colom was an engineer, businessman and politician who came to power for a social democratic party, The Associated Press reported.

Rest in peace, Alvaro Colom

During his presidency, Álvaro Colom supported the work of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an organization of the United Nations (UN) that fought for 12 years, from 2007 to 2019, against the crime structures and the clandestine security apparatuses embedded in the state.

The CICIG and the prosecutor’s office also prosecuted and arrested Colom for fraud and embezzlement for an alleged stealing some $34.5 million from a public transportation system. He spent several months in prison. The former president denied the charges. The case is still under appeal and has not been tried.

Mourning Álvaro Colom’s death

In 2021, Álvaro Colom was included in a list of the US State Department that flagged him for his alleged involvement in significant corruption due to fraud and embezzlement in the Transurbano case and, as a consequence, his visa to the country was revoked. The former president was married to Sandra Torres, who will seek the presidency of the Central American country on June 25 with the same party.

“May a noble man who always carried Guatemala in his heart rest in peace. My deepest condolences to his family,» Torres wrote on Twitter. According to The Associated Press, the party, of which he was no longer a member, mourned the death of the former president on social media: «The National Unity of Hope, the Executive Committee and all its affiliates regret the passing of engineer Álvaro Colom Caballeros, former president of the Republic of Guatemala and founder of UNE. Our condolences to his loved ones,”

Colom died of esophageal cancer

According to Jornada, former Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom died as a result of esophageal cancer that was diagnosed in December 2020, in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Just a few weeks ago, he was discharged from a prestigious private hospital in this country to continue his treatment at home.

Carlos Menocal, who was his Minister of Security, said in an interview that Colomo was «very ill» and that in some way, his death was expected. Menocal was also a close friend of the former president. «Our condolences to his loved ones,» can be read on the National Unity of Hope’ssocial media.

Washington included Álvaro Colom on a list of ‘corrupt and undemocratic actors’

As mentioned above, Álvaro Colom was sanctioned in July 2021 by Washington, which included him in the list of «corrupt and undemocratic actors» in the Central American Northern Triangle, also known as the Engel List, according to EJE Central. That was not all.

After he was prosecuted in 2018 for alleged anomalies in a public service contract started during his administration, the former Guatemalan president was prohibited from entering the United States.