Officials have said that Oswaldo Lopez Arellano, who led two government takeovers in Honduras, has died after being hospitalized for prostate cancer. He was 89.

It was reported that an air force general, Lopez Arellano first took control of the Central American country in a bloody coup in 1963 and ruled until 1971. He returned in 1972, ousting Ramon Ernesto Cruz, who had been elected to office, and held sway until 1975 he was turned out in a coup by Gen. Juan Alberto Melgar.

El Heraldo, citing sources, reported that family members took Lopez Arellano to a military hospital in Tegucigalpa where he died Sunday.

The government issued a statement calling his death "an irreparable loss to the Honduran society and his distinguished family." The executive branch declared three days of mourning and ordered the national flag flown at half staff in all public offices, the newspaper further said.

Historians estimate about 3,000 people died in the 1963 coup, El Heraldo added. (With inputs from Agencies)