Ex-Argentina president in intensive care after heart attack

The 81-year-old, president from 1999-2001, was surrounded by his wife and two sons, according to press reports, with the official Telam news agency citing a medical source saying: "He's in a delicate state."

De la Rua has suffered several health problems in recent years, undergoing an operation to open a clogged heart artery in 2014 while he had cardiac problems requiring surgery in both 2017 and 2018.

He was also hospitalized for a heart problem in 2001 during his presidency.

He has remained away from the political sphere ever since fleeing the presidential palace on December 20, 2001 by helicopter as riots raged in major cities, including Buenos Aires and Rosario, with the country lurching through an institutional and economic crisis.