El Salvador graft trial set for ex-President Francisco Flores

SAN SALVADOR – A court in El Salvador’s capital has set a Jan. 18 date for the trial of ex-President Francisco Flores for allegedly embezzling $15 million donated by Taiwan more than a decade ago.

The former head of state, who governed from 1999 to 2004, is accused of misappropriating money Taiwan had given to help Salvadoran victims of a 2001 earthquake. He remains under house arrest.

The trial also could implicate other members of Flores’ National Republican Alliance party.

The allegations against Flores were first made public in 2013 by then-President Mauricio Funes. Flores voluntarily turned himself in the following year to respond to the allegations, which he denies.