Gustavo Adolfo López Davidson (1961 – 21 July 2022) was a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...

politician and businessman who served as the leader of the

Nationalist Republican Alliance The Nationalist Republican Alliance (, abbreviated ARENA) is a conservative, center-right to right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines itse ...

(ARENA) from August 2019 to February 2020.

Biography

Gustavo Adolfo López Davidson was born in 1961. López Davidson was the manager of Alquileres S.A. de C.V. (previously known as Centrum S.A. de C.V.) and the owner of Gun Mart, two companies which imports firearms into

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 ...

. As a member of the right-wing

(ARENA), he ran for mayor of

Soyapango Soyapango is a district in the San Salvador department of El Salvador. Soyapango is the country's largest municipality with 284,700 residents. Soyapango is a satellite city of San Salvador and it is the main thoroughfare between San Salvador and ...

in 2003. López Davidson sought to run as ARENA's candidate for

president of El Salvador President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

in the 2019 presidential election, but

Carlos Calleja Juan Carlos Calleja Hakker (born 11 February 1976) is a Salvadoran businessman and former politician. Calleja is currently the CEO of Grupo Éxito and the vice president of the Calleja Group which owns Supermercados Super Selectos, the largest ...

was ultimately selected as ARENA's candidate instead. From 25 August 2019 to 17 February 2020, López Davidson served as the leader of the Nationalist Executive Committee (COENA), the leading authority of the Nationalist Republican Alliance. He first became a member of the committee in 2003. He resigned amidst allegations of his involvement in

arms trafficking Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal tra ...

. In December 2019, the Nationalist Republican Alliance attempted to repeal the immunity of then Salvadoran President

Nayib Bukele Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez (; born 24 July 1981) is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who has served as the 81st president of El Salvador since 2019. In 1999, Bukele established an advertising company and worked at an advertising com ...

so that López Davidson could sue Bukele for defamation, as Bukele had publicly called López Davidson a "crook". On 9 August 2020, López Davidson was arrested by the National Civil Police (PNC) on charges of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

, accused of having collected USD$2 million on old guns which he sold as "new" through Centrum S.A. de C.V. López Davidson committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his business in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

on 21 July 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Davidson, Gustavo 1961 births 2022 deaths Salvadoran politicians Nationalist Republican Alliance politicians Salvadoran businesspeople Suicides by firearm in El Salvador Politicians who died by suicide