The former president of El Salvador has been sentenced to 14 years in prison as a rebel.

The EPA reports that The Associated Press has leaked information about the case.

Funes now lives in Nicaragua, where he became a citizen in 2019.

Last year El Salvador passed changes to the law to allow rebel trials.

Prosecutors have charged Funes with illegal contact with criminal gangs. The president himself has denied that he has spoken to factions or that he has granted any privileges to their leaders.

The country's current president, Nayib Buckele, has also been accused of engaging in similar talks with gangs.

In 2015, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled that the factions were a terrorist organization.

Earlier, it was reported that 40,<> mega prisons had been opened in El Salvador. The authorities say it is part of their plan to fight criminal gangs in the country.