Blanco did not stand in the 1986 election, and the new government put him on trial for corruption. He tried to gain asylum from Venezuela, but they said no. He was permitted to go the United States for medical treatment for a heart condition. While he was in the US he was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to prison for 23 years. There were many legal challenges, and he finally only spent two months in prison. In 2001 the Supreme Court ruled that the corruption charges were not true.