{
  "id": 17146666,
  "title": "El Salvador frees former president Saca after 10-year corruption sentence",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/el-salvador-frees-former-president-saca-after-10-year-corruption",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T23:39:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/30/el-salvador-frees-former-president-saca-after-10-year-corruption-sentence"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Salvadoran president Elias Antonio Tony Saca has been released after serving a 10-year prison sentence for corruption, according to his lawyer. Saca, 61, was imprisoned from 2016 to 2026 for diverting and laundering over US$300 million from the state budget during his administration from 2004 to 2009. The former leader pleaded guilty to the charges and received a reduced sentence through a plea deal. Saca's lawyer, Mario Machado, confirmed that the former president has served his entire sentence without receiving any early-release benefits. The 10-year term was completed, and Saca's release was requested by his legal team just yesterday. This marks the first time a former Salvadoran president has been released from prison due to a reduced sentence.",
  "summary": "Elias Antonio Saca pleaded guilty to diverting and laundering more than US$300 million from the state budget during his 2004-2009 administration.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "El Salvador frees ex-President Saca after 10-year corruption sentence",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/el-salvador-frees-ex-president-saca-after-10-year-corruption-sentence",
        "published": "2026-10-29T22:19:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Salvadoran ex-president Saca released after 10-year sentence for corruption",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/salvadoran-ex-president-saca-released-after-10-year-sentence-for",
        "published": "2026-10-30T02:38:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}