Peruvian Defense Minister Jose Huerta, a retired general, died Monday of a heart attack during a visit to military bases, the government announced. He was 71.

Two days of national mourning were declared in honor of Huerta, who passed away after arriving in Santa Maria de Nieva, a town in Peru's Amazonas region, state media said.

He collapsed as he was boarding a helicopter.

President Martin Vizcarra paid tribute to Huerta's service to the nation, and called the news of his death "painful."

Huerta was given full military honors when a coffin bearing his remains was flown back to the capital Lima. Lawmakers observed a moment of silence.

Huerta assumed office just nine days after Vizcarra took over from former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who stepped down in March last year.

Monday and Tuesday were designated as official days of mourning. The country's flag will be flown at half-staff on all public buildings, military bases and police barracks. </s> LIMA, Peru -- Former Peruvian President Alan Garcia died Wednesday after shooting himself in the head moments after police attempted to detain him amid corruption allegations in Latin America's largest graft probe.

President Martin Vizcarra announced on Twitter that Garcia died after undergoing emergency surgery hours earlier. Doctors at the Jose Casimiro Ulloa Hospital in the capital city of Lima said they provided cardiac resuscitation three times while trying to save his life.

“Distraught over the death of ex-President Alan Garcia,” Vizcarra wrote. “I send my condolences to his family and loved ones.”

The shocking end for the man who twice ruled Peru but more recently was ensnared in the Odebrecht corruption scandal comes amid national upheaval over endemic corruption involving nearly every former living president.

Garcia repeatedly professed his innocence and said he was the victim of false testimony by political enemies who accused him of taking more than $100,000 from the Brazilian construction giant. Odebrecht admitted in a 2016 plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department that it paid nearly $800 million throughout Latin America in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

The 69-year-old former head of state's attorney accused authorities Wednesday of neglecting to provide Garcia information on why he was being detained or show their official identifications when they showed up to arrest him.

“The president, upset over this situation, knowing his absolute innocence ... had this terrible accident,” attorney Erasmo Reyna said.

Interior Minister Carlos Moran said police found Garcia on the second floor of his home when they arrived. He asked for a moment to call his lawyer, entering a bedroom of the leafy mansion in Miraflores and closing the door behind him.

“Minutes later the sound of gunfire was heard,” Moran said. “Police forced their way into the room and found him.”

He was immediately transported to the hospital, arriving at 6:45 a.m. local time. A team of doctors, some called from outside hospitals, began operating at 7:10 a.m., according to Peru's health ministry.

“The situation is very critical,” Health Minister Zulema Tomas said shortly after the incident. “It's grave.”

The stunning turn of events comes four months after Garcia tried to seek asylum in Uruguay as prosecutors in Peru investigated allegations he illegally took payments from Odebrecht. He remained there for a little more than two weeks before having his request denied. In rejecting his claim, the South American nation's embassy said there was no evidence to support Garcia's contention that he was being targeted politically.

“In Peru, the three branches of government function freely and autonomously, especially in the case of judicial power,” Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said.

Peru has gone further than any other country outside Brazil in prosecuting politicians tied to the Odebrecht probe. All but one living former head of state is being investigated for corruption tied to the scandal.

Just last week, former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was also detained for alleged money laundering tied to the probe. Congressional allies said he was taken Tuesday night to a local clinic with high blood pressure.

On Wednesday, Alberto Quintanilla, a congressman from the left-leaning political party Nuevo Peru, expressed solidarity with the family of Garcia and said that he hoped officials “would advance knowledge of the truth” through their investigations, but also respect due process.

Garcia was a populist firebrand whose erratic first presidency in the 1980s was marked by hyperinflation, rampant corruption and the rise of the Shining Path guerrilla movement.

When he returned to power two decades later he ran a more conservative government, helping usher in a commodities-led investment boom in which Odebrecht played a major supporting role.

A judicial order obtained by The Associated Press shows Judge Juan Sanchez ordered authorities to arrest Garcia and search for documents in his home related to money laundering allegations.

Prosecutors suspect the former president received more than $100,000 from Odebrecht, disguised as a payment to speak at a conference in Brazil. </s> (CNN) Former Peruvian president Alan Garcia died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head as police were preparing to arrest him on Wednesday morning.

His death was confirmed by current President Martin Vizcarra, who expressed his condolences over Twitter.

Garcia, who served as president from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011, was under investigation for money laundering and taking bribes in connection with a massive corruption scandal that has engulfed a number of former Latin American leaders.

When police arrived to execute an arrest warrant at his home at 6:30 a.m., Garcia said he wanted to call his attorney and went to his bedroom, Interior Minister Carlos Morán told CNN affiliate TV Peru.

Moments later, a gunshot was heard. Officers forced entry into the bedroom, where they found Garcia with a wound to the head, Morán said.

Read More </s> Rodolfo Illanes, the deputy minister of interior, was killed Thursday in Panduro, where he was meeting with miners who had been striking and blockading roads since August 10, according to the attorney general's office.

Three miners have died since the beginning of the protests, state-run ABI reported. The miners are protesting for their right to work directly with private companies.

Bolivian President Evo Morales described the deputy minister as "a hero of natural resources" and declared three days of national mourning.

"It was a cowardly act -- he was kidnapped, tortured and killed," Morales said. "It's unforgivable, and I don't understand how our brothers can hurt us in such a way."

Five people, including a leader representing miners, were arrested Friday in relation to the killing. An additional 40 miners are under investigation. Orlando Gutiérrez, president of the Mine Workers Federation of Bolivia, condemned the killing, ABI reported. The autopsy report indicates Illanes was tortured for six to seven hours, and suffered strikes all over his body, according to Ramiro Guerrero, the attorney general of Bolivia. He also had multiple broken ribs and puncturing of his skull, Guerrero said in a statement. Authorities also found "a large quantity of explosives," some buried underground in the area where Illanes' body was recovered. Panduro is about 150 km (93 miles) from La Paz.
The Defense Minister of Peru, José Huerta, suddenly dies of cardiac arrest while worked.