Mauricio Funes

Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (18 October 1959 – 21 January 2025) was a Salvadoran politician and journalist who served as the 41st president of El Salvador from 2009 to 2014. Funes won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). He described himself as center-left, though he was also described as left-wing, and left-wing populist.

During his presidency, Funes implemented various social reforms and anti-poverty programs, apologized for past atrocities, and reduced the homicide rate, although the latter was due to a controversial gang truce implemented in 2012 that eventually collapsed in 2014. Funes was popular during his presidency, with approval ratings ranging between a high of 83 percent in 2009 to a low of 63 percent in 2011. However, he resided in exile in Nicaragua from 2016 until his death, while his immediate family continues to reside there, following allegations of criminal conduct during his tenure. In July 2023, he was placed under sanctions by the United States Department of State following his conviction in absentia for negotiations related to the gang truces he made while in office, illicit enrichment, and tax evasion. Funes died in exile in Nicaragua in 2025.