Funes lives in Nicaragua hosted by Daniel Ortega's regime. Former Security Minister David Munguía Payés was also sentenced to 18 years in prison for the same crime.
Funes, 64, thus became the country's second president convicted of breaking the law during his term (from 2009 to 2014) The court argued in its ruling that testimonial, expert and documentary evidence proved the commission of the crimes committed by the defendants when they were officials. The former president did not appoint a defense lawyer, so he was assigned one ex officio.