David Victoriano Munguía Payés is a former

Salvadoran Army The Salvadoran Army (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. History The Football War The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a ter ...

general who served as Minister of National Defense of El Salvador from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2019.

Biography

David Victoriano Munguía Payés was the Director of the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School from 1996 to 1997. He was appointed as

Minister of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

on 1 June 2009 by President

Mauricio Funes Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (18 October 1959 – 21 January 2025) was a Salvadoran politician and journalist who served as the 79th president of El Salvador from 2009 to 2014. Funes won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of t ...

. He served until 23 November 2011 and replaced by José Atilio Benítez Parada, but he was reinstated to the position on 12 July 2013. He left office on 1 June 2019 and was succeeded by

René Merino Monroy René Francis Merino Monroy (born 30 December 1963) is a Salvadoran Officer (armed forces), military officer who currently serves as the Minister of National Defense of El Salvador, Minister of National Defense. He was appointed to the positio ...

. Munguía Payés was arrested on 23 July 2020 for allegedly negotiating a truce with the prominent gangs

Mara Salvatrucha Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area ...

(MS-13) and

18th Street gang The 18th Street Gang, also known as , , , or simply in North America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Culture of Mexico, Mexican) street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest street gangs in Los Angeles, with around 30 ...

(Barrio 18) during his term. A judge later ordered him to be placed under house arrest. In October 2020, eight properties worth 1.4 million dollars were confiscated from Munguía Payés by the Salvadoran government due to tax investigations indicating that they may have been attained through illegal activities. His criminal trial began on 26 April 2023. On 29 May 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment (8 years for illicit association, 6 years for failure to perform his duties, and 4 years for committing arbitrary actions). On 17 June 2023, the office of the attorney general began proceedings to charge Munguía for alleged the money laundering and illicit enrichment of US$1,147,650 during Funes' presidency. On 24 August 2023, the office of the attorney general ordered Munguía Payés to pay US$462,732.81 to the state.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munguia Payes, David Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School alumni Defence ministers of El Salvador Justice ministers of El Salvador Living people Salvadoran military personnel Year of birth missing (living people) Year of birth unknown

Biography

See also

References