The Aporia · El Salvador frees ex-President Saca after 10-year corruption sentence

Elias Antonio "Tony" Saca, El Salvador's former president who served from 2004 to 2009, was released from prison on October 29 after completing a reduced 10-year sentence for corruption. He had admitted to diverting and laundering over $300 million from the state budget during his administration. Saca, now 61, served his full term without early release benefits. His case is notable as one of four Salvadoran presidents to face corruption charges; however, unlike Saca, the others avoided jail time by fleeing the country or dying before their trials.

Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

On October 29, Elias Antonio "Tony" Saca, a former president of El Salvador who was imprisoned for corruption, was released after serving a reduced 10-year sentence. Saca, 61, admitted to diverting and laundering over $300 million from the state budget during his administration from 2004 to 2009. His lawyer, Mario Machado, confirmed that Saca had completed his full term without any early release benefits. The sentence was backdated to 2016 when he was arrested during his son’s wedding. Among four Salvadoran presidents facing corruption charges, Saca is the only one who served time in prison; others like Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sanchez Ceren fled to Nicaragua, while Francisco Flores died before his trial could begin.

Written for “El Salvador Releases Ex-President Saca” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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