A court on Friday ordered former Costa Rican president Rafael Angel Calderon held for up to nine months while he awaits trial on corruption charges.
It is the first time in the country's history that a former president has been jailed. Calderon, president from 1990 to 1994, was to be taken to La Reforma prison compound about 20km west of San Jose.
Calderon's father, Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia, was considered Costa Rica's "great social reformer" as president from 1940 to 1944.
The younger Calderon is a leading figure in the ruling Social Christian Unity Party. He is accused of syphoning money from a loan of US$39.5 million from Finland, meant to buy equipment for public hospitals.
Costa Rica, formerly described as the "Switzerland" of Latin America because of its appearance of stable and orderly governance, has been caught up in a spiral of allegations of graft and embezzlement against former officials.
Eliseo Vargas, who was the head of the Social Security institute, has accused Calderon of being in charge of distributing "commissions" or "royalties" from the Finnish loan. Vargas is also in jail awaiting trial.
Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Costa Rican president from 1998 to 2002, was placed under house arrest last week in a separate corruption case.
Rodriguez has been accused of taking kickbacks from French communications company Alcatel after it won a contract with Costa Rica's state-run communications and electricity firm ICE. He has also been accused of taking thousands of dollars in donations from Taiwan.
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