Costa Rica’s court seeks to strip President Chaves’ immunity over corruption case
International
Costa Rica’s Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the country’s legislature to strip President Rodrigo Chaves of his legal immunity so he can stand trial on corruption charges.
Chaves, accused of awarding lucrative consulting contracts to a close associate, has denied wrongdoing. His office did not immediately comment on the ruling, which justices decided in a 15-to-7 vote.
Costa Rica’s top court has never before accepted a request to revoke a president’s immunity. The case now goes to Congress, which is dominated by opposition lawmakers and has the final say.
Prosecutors accuse Chaves of abusing his authority in diverting part of a $32,000 contract financed by a multilateral bank — the Central American Bank for Economic Integration — to his adviser and campaign strategist, Federico “Choreco” Cruz.
On Tuesday, the top court also asked Chaves’ minister of culture and former chief of staff, Jorge Rodríguez, to stand trial in the same case. The case first emerged in 2023 when local media released leaked audio recordings that purported to show Chaves discussing Cruz’s involvement in the contracts.
Chaves and his allies have other cases pending against them.
Costa Rica’s attorney general’s office filed a separate indictment last week accusing the president of illicit financing the 2022 election campaign that brought him to power.
Chaves also denies those charges.
Related listings
-
Nations react to US strikes on Iran with many calling for diplomacy
International 06/22/2025Several close U.S. allies urged a return to the negotiating table in the wake of American strikes on Iran that fueled fears of a wider conflict, while noting the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program. Some countries and groups in the region,...
-
Cuban exiles were shielded from deportation. Now Trump is cracking down
International 05/26/2025Immigration officials said Tomás Hernández worked in high-level posts for Cuba’s foreign intelligence agency for decades before migrating to the United States to pursue the American dream.The 71-year-old was detained by federal ag...
-
Meta says it will resume AI training with public content from European users
International 04/14/2025Social media company Meta said Monday that it will start using publicly available content from European users to train its artificial intelligence models, resuming work put on hold last year after activists raised concerns about data privacy.The comp...