He then earned a dual degree in industrial engineering and international economics and finance from Louisiana State University.

[1] Soon after completing his master's degree he returned to Honduras, where he began managing the family business (the newspaper La Tribuna) and participating in private and public committees, including the Honduran Central Bank and the Institute of Social Security.

In the 1989 general election he ran for the presidency, eventually losing to Rafael Leonardo Callejas, the candidate of the National Party.

[citation needed] On August 26, 1998, Flores instituted the Ministry of Public Security under the provisions of the National Plan to combat crime and criminality.

[citation needed] Government initiatives in this area did not produce significant results, and completely ignored murderous activity in the country, particularly the actions of a series of armed death squads that extrajudicially killed homeless children and adolescents living in the margins of society.