MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former OAS President Under House Arrest.

A San Jose court on Saturday placed former Costa Rica President and OAS Secretary General Miguel Angel Rodriguez under six months' house arrest while awaiting trial on corruption charges.

The measure was announced by the Judicial System 24 hours after Rodriguez was arrested upon arrival Friday in Costa Rica from Washington, home of OAS headquarters where he left his post as secretary general after only one month in office.

Rodriguez, 64, is hospitalized in the Catholic Clinic outside San Jose after suffering a bout of hypertension during a second hearing with economic-crimes prosecutors. Saturday afternoon doctors still had not determined whether to keep Rodriguez in the clinic or allow him to return home to begin his house arrest. While in the clinic the former president has not received any visits from family or friends.

Rodriguez arrived in Costa Rica alone Friday on a commercial flight from Washington, while his wife, Lorena Clare, and children, Andres and Ana Elena, remained in the United States, according to several sources.

Director of the medical center Dr.Francisco Gonzalez Jinesta said that specialists are evaluating the lab results, X-rays and electrocardiogram that were performed to arrive at a decision.

"He is doing fine but I can't tell you how much more time he will be hospitalized. We'll know when the lab report comes out," he said.

The clinic where Rodriguez is interned is surrounded with strong security measures. Meanwhile, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar said Saturday that with regard to the Rodriguez prosecution, he feels "very happy" that the institutions of his country remain "steady." "Every branch of government and the press have said without exception: yes to rule of law, yes to the presumption of innocence ... but impunity never and for no one," the minister said.

Rodriguez is linked to alleged acts of corruption committed during his government (1998-2002) for receiving bribes from the French corporation Alcatel, one of the suppliers for the state-run Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE).