Arrest order issued for ex-President Michel Temer in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO — A judge in Rio de Janeiro has issued an arrest warrant for ex-President Michel Temer, who is being investigated in several corruption cases.

A spokeswoman for the Prosecutors Office in Rio de Janeiro told The Associated Press Thursday that Judge Marcelo Breitas had issued the order. Per agency protocol, the spokeswoman asked her name not be used.

Breitas is a Rio judge overseeing part of a sprawling corruption probe involving kickbacks to politicians and public officials. Since launching in March 2014, the so-called Car Wash investigation has led to the jailing of top businessmen and politicians, including ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Temer lives in Sao Paulo, but his whereabouts were not immediately known.