FILE - In this July 11, 2011 file photo, Peru's outgoing President Alan Garcia, left, ride the soon to be inaugurated Line 1 electrical train system in Lima, Peru. A lawyer for the former Peruvian President Alan García said Wednesday, April 17, 2019. (Photo: AP)

Rio de Janeiro (People's Daily) - Peru's 69-year old former President Alan Garcia shot himself at his home in Lima, capital of the country, on Wednesday morning and died after being rushed to hospital, the Peruvian official news agency Andina reported.

Peruvian police sources said Garcia shot himself when police arrived at his home to arrest him.

Peruvian Interior Minister Carlos Moran said that intervention by the police strictly complied with the protocols established in the arrest warrant for Garcia.

According to Moran, when notified of the court order against him, Garcia asked to call his lawyer. He then went to his room and closed the door. A few minutes later, police heard a gunshot.

Garcia served two terms as Peru's president, from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was allegedly involved in the corruption of Odebrecht, the largest construction company in Brazil.

Odebrecht is accused of doling out nearly $800 million in bribes between 2001 and 2016 to secure government contracts to build roads, bridges, and highways. Including Garcia, many politicians in Brazil and several other South American countries have been embroiled in the scandal.

Previously, Garcia denied all charges against him, insisting on his innocence.

Garcia had sought political asylum at the Uruguayan embassy in Lima in 2018 but was denied.