[JURIST] Former El Salvador President Francisco Flores was taken into custody on Saturday after a court repealed his house arrest. Francisco is being held as he awaits trial on charges of corruption and embezzling More than USD $15 million, part of which is alleged to have come as aid from the Taiwanese government. After a San Salvador judge put Flores under house arrest, hundreds of people gathered outside of his home to protest and demanded that he be transferred to a jail cell [Univision report, in Spanish]. Flores has been investigated by both the country’s congress and its attorney general’s office, and the US has investigated Flores’ bank accounts due to suspicious activity.

The investigation into Flores has been ongoing for quite some time. Earlier this month Flores turned himself in [BBC report] to authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest in May. “I have given myself over to the court voluntarily and out of respect for the law,” he stated after his surrender. Flores also stated that he had asked the Taiwanese government for help three separate times, twice to help combat crime and drug trafficking and the other occasion to help rebuild some areas after earthquakes in 2001. In January the country’s current president Maurico Funes stated that Flores attempted to flee [BBC report] the country amidst the allegations of corruption and embezzlement. Funes claimed that Flores was attempting to escape to the neighboring country of Guatemala.