Ex-president who signed accord ending Guatemala’s war dies

FILE: Alvaro Arzú in February 2014 (Photo By Guatemalanoticiasya – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

GUATEMALA CITY — Former Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu, who signed the 1996 peace accord ending the country’s civil war and later became mayor of the capital, died Friday. He was 72.

Arzu was playing golf with friends when he suffered a heart attack, Guatemala City official Rosa Maria Bolanos told local media. He was taken to a medical centre, but did not survive.

“Guatemala has lost a great man who dedicated his life to service. Statesman, leader and true friend,” President Jimmy Morales, who counted Arzu as an ally, said via Twitter.

Arzu was one of the country’s most influential politicians and was elected mayor of Guatemala City five times, a position he held at the time of his death. Arzu’s son is the president of Congress.

Last year, prosecutors accused Arzu of campaign finance violations in which companies funneled money through his Unionist party, but he was immune from prosecution while holding elected office as mayor.

He was also investigated for providing support to Byron Lima, a former army captain imprisoned for the killing of Monsignor Juan Jose Gerardi in 1998, while Arzu was president. Lima had been part of Arzu’s personal security team.

Arzu served as Guatemala’s president from 1996 to 2000. He helped broker the peace accords that ended the country’s 36-year civil war.

Loved by some and despised by others, Arzu was a polemical politician.

He had a terrible relationship with the press, which he often labelled as “sold” for reporting on accusations of corruption against him. When the Guatemalan military awarded him a prize for leadership in January, he told them to “go over the heads of the negative press.”

The Guatemalan government planned to give him state honours on Saturday and his burial was scheduled for Sunday.