José Mujica, Uruguay's guerrilla turned president, dies aged 89
José 'Pepe' Mujica, the former Uruguayan president whose powder-blue classic Volkswagen Beetle epitomised his spartan lifestyle, has died aged 89. The guerrilla turned politician, once dubbed 'the poorest president in the world', had been suffering from cancer.
'It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica,' Yamandú Orsi, the Uruguayan president, announced on X. António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, eulogised him as 'a model of principled leadership'.
Born in 1935, Mujica joined Uruguay's Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group the Tupamaros in the 1960s. He was imprisoned in 1971 and despite escaping twice from jail spent almost 14 years behind bars, during which time he was tortured by the military authorities.
Released in 1985 when democracy returned to Uruguay, he later turned
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