Guatemala City, Sep 3 (EFE).– A Guatemalan judge on Thursday ordered temporary pretrial detention “to guarantee the physical safety” of former Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina, who is accused of heading the so-called “La Linea” customs department corruption network.

“This is only pretrial detention and not preventive detention,” clarified Judge Miguel Angel Galvez at the first hearing in the case, claiming that Perez Molina constitutes a flight risk and ordering that be transferred to a prison at the Matamoros Military Barracks in the capital.

Perez Molina stepped down from the presidency on Thursday after Congress accepted his resignation.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Maldonado, sworn in on Thursday as Guatemala’s new president after Perez Molina’s resignation, used his first address as head of state to call for the resignation of all top government officials.

“I ask all those ministers, commissioners and top officials to (resign) so that the necessary replacements can be made (for) this transitional government,” he said before Congress.

The 79-year-old erstwhile vice president took the presidential oath before Congress less than 24 hours after Perez Molina stepped down.

Maldonado invited Guatemalan social groups to make “appropriate” proposals to his government, which will remain in office until Jan. 14, 2016.

He assumed the presidency just days before the general elections, to be held on Sunday, when Guatemalans will elect top officials for the 2016-2020 term, including the president, vice president and 158 members of Congress.

The country finds itself mired in an institutional crisis that has included dozens of peaceful demonstrations at which citizens have called for the resignation of Perez Molina and an end to corruption.

The new president promised to restore democracy along with its values.

He also said that he will govern with “humility” to inspire confidence among the citizenry.

Perez Molina, 64, is accused of heading a huge and lucrative corruption network in the customs service.

He appeared in court on Thursday to provide his first statement in the so-called “La Linea” case, which last May also cost his then-vice president, Roxana Baldetti, now behind bars pending trial, her job. EFE