Former Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos dead at 93

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Former Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos Geyer, known for his fight against corruption, has died, his family announced Tuesday. He was 93.

"It is with deep sorrow that the family of engineer Enrique Bolanos Geyer, former president of the Republic of Nicaragua, announces the painful death of a beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, which occurred at five past eleven in the evening of June 14," his family said on the Facebook account of the virtual library that bears his name.

Bolanos, who led the country from 2002 to 2007, was born in Masaya on May 13, 1928. In 1995, he served as vice president with Arnoldo Aleman on the winning conservative Liberal Party ticket.

He became president after defeating Daniel Ortega with a large majority in 2001. He inherited a country devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which left more than 3,000 dead.

His greatest legacy was his fight against corruption. Bolanos accused his former running mate, Aleman, of diverting nearly $100 million in public funds for personal use during his term, which led him to be named one of the most corrupt presidents in the world with his name appearing on the FBI's most wanted list. Aleman was finally convicted of fraud and money laundering and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Bolanos was also a critic of current ruler Ortega. During the outbreak of a political crisis in 2018, Bolanos recommended that Ortega resign and in 2020 he criticized the former Sandinista leader for his handling of the pandemic.

The former president had already suffered from health complications in August 2020, but his family did not specify the cause of his death. Two weeks earlier, Bolanos received the coronavirus vaccine.

He died at home in El Raizon, Masaya and his family asked Nicaraguans to say prayers from their homes.

"We know that in other times you would accompany us to say your last goodbye, but he, from his broken health, always called for prudence and care,” they said. “Let us be inspired by Don Enrique's legacy; the legacy of the good Nicaraguans who thought more of the Homeland than of themselves. This is the best tribute we can pay him."