
A Bolivian court has sentenced ex-president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in absentia to six years and three months in prison for handing out dozens of oil contracts without parliamentary approval, the justice ministry said Tuesday.
Sanchez de Lozada, 94, served as president from 1993 to 1997 and 2002 to 2003 before resigning and fleeing to the United States in 2003 after deadly protests over his plans to export natural gas.