OMM Newsroom
Former El Salvador President Tony Saca was released on Thursday after completing a reduced prison sentence for corruption, ending his incarceration in one of the country’s most prominent political corruption cases.
Saca, 61, left the courthouse with his lawyer, Mario Machado. Machado said the former president had fully served his sentence for embezzling and laundering public funds. The lawyer told journalists, “The 10 years are complete,” AnewZ reported, adding that they had come to formally notify the court of Saca’s release. The request was submitted the previous day, he said.
Saca was convicted in 2018 after admitting that he had embezzled and laundered more than $300 million from El Salvador’s public coffers while serving as president from 2004 to 2009.
Under a deal with prosecutors, Saca admitted to the crimes in exchange for a reduced sentence. The agreement cut a possible 30-year prison term to 10 years.
Although the ruling was issued in 2018, his sentence was calculated from 2016, when Saca was arrested at his son’s wedding. He therefore completed his term this year. Machado stressed that the former president had served the full sentence and had not received early-release benefits.
Corruption cases against former presidents
Saca’s case is one of several major corruption investigations brought against former presidents of El Salvador over the past decade. Of four former heads of state who faced corruption allegations, only Saca served a lengthy prison sentence.
Former President Mauricio Funes left El Salvador for Nicaragua before facing trial. Another former president, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, also moved to Nicaragua after legal proceedings. Former leader Francisco Flores died before his corruption case went to trial.
The cases have highlighted broad concerns about corruption in the public sector under successive governments and the political elite’s use of state resources.
Political career and state funds owed
Before entering politics, Saca worked as a businessman and radio host. He was elected president as the candidate of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), one of El Salvador’s leading political forces for decades.
After being expelled from ARENA, Saca attempted a return to politics in 2014 as the candidate of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA). However, El Salvador’s Supreme Court ruled that his candidacy violated constitutional provisions, preventing him from seeking another presidential term.
Prosecutors alleged that Saca used a complex network to divert public funds for personal purposes and to support political allies, including by transferring large sums of state money to his party.
Alongside the criminal case, civil courts also ordered Saca to repay millions of dollars to the Salvadoran state. His release from prison does not alter those financial obligations, which remain separate from his completed criminal sentence.
Saca’s arrest was seen as a significant development in El Salvador’s efforts to tackle corruption among senior officials. His conviction showed authorities’ willingness to pursue cases against former high-ranking officials. Critics, however, said accountability remained uneven and politically sensitive.
Saca’s release marks a new phase in one of the country’s best-known corruption prosecutions. The case’s legacy continues to shape public debate in El Salvador over governance, transparency and political accountability.
