Latest news with #RodrigoChaves
Washington Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Costa Rican lawmaker says the US revoked her visa over alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — The vice president of Costa Rica's Congress said Thursday that the U.S. embassy told her the U.S. had revoked her visa because of alleged contacts with the Chinese Communist Party. Vanessa Castro of the opposition Social Christian Unity Party, speaking in the Legislative Assembly, denied such ties and said that media outlets allied with President Rodrigo Chaves knew her U.S. visa had been revoked before she did.
Associated Press
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Costa Rican lawmaker says the US revoked her visa over alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The vice president of Costa Rica's Congress said Thursday that the U.S. embassy told her the U.S. had revoked her visa because of alleged contacts with the Chinese Communist Party. Vanessa Castro of the opposition Social Christian Unity Party, speaking in the Legislative Assembly, denied such ties and said that media outlets allied with President Rodrigo Chaves knew her U.S. visa had been revoked before she did. Castro was one of several Costa Rican figures who came forward Wednesday to say their U.S. visas had been cancelled, including the president of the Congress, who belongs to the opposition National Liberation Party, and two justices on the Supreme Court's constitutional chamber who have issued rulings that Chaves disliked. 'I went and I checked and they told me in the embassy that they had received information that, among other things, I had connections with members of the Chinese Communist Party,' Castro said. 'You all know me, I have a pretty public life, can you imagine I have a relationship with members of the Chinese Communist Party?' She also noted that she had supported U.S.-Costa Rica initiatives like a regional free trade agreement and joint patrols against drug traffickers. Castro said media outlets that support Chaves' administration showed up at her office to ask about the visa before she had even been notified. The U.S. embassy said its policy is to not comment on individual visa cases. Chaves played up the visa cancellations Wednesday, saying that 'it seemed extremely embarrassing to him that' such important political figures as Castro and Congress President Rodrigo Arias should be unable to travel to the United States. In April, former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, Rodrigo Arias' brother, said the U.S. had cancelled his visa without explanation. He speculated that Washington may not have liked his comments on the war in Ukraine, the U.S. trade conflict with China, or the situation in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat to Central America in February and curbing China's influence in the region was one of the trip's central talking points.
France 24
02-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Costa Rica's top court seeks to strip president of immunity in corruption case
Costa Rica' s Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Congress, for the first time ever, to strip the country's president of his immunity from prosecution to be tried on corruption charges. President Rodrigo Chaves was accused by the attorney general of forcing a communications services company hired by the presidency to give $32,000 to his friend and former image advisor Federico Cruz. The top court's unprecedented request comes against the backdrop of a clash between the judiciary and Chaves, a conservative economist and former World Bank official. Attorney General Carlo Diaz accuses the 64-year-old president of bribery, a crime punishable by up to eight years in prison for public officials. The court also asked for Culture Minister Jorge Rodriguez to be stripped of his immunity for the same reason. According to the accusation, the communications company was contracted for Chaves's 2022-2026 term with funds from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration under an allegedly improper procedure. The president has not reacted so far, but ruling party leader Pilar Cisneros called the tribunal's request "ridiculous," saying Chaves had nothing to do with the communications contract. Meanwhile, Rodriguez said he has "a clear conscience and a clean record." Political belligerence Chaves accuses the public prosecutor's office, the Supreme Court and Congress of blocking his policy initiatives. The feud has sparked a standoff between the branches of government in a country long seen as a beacon of democracy and stability in a crime -ridden region. Chaves defeated centrist former president Jose Maria Figueres in 2022 and began a four-year mandate focused on reinvigorating the flagging economy. He is not allowed to seek a second consecutive term, but politicians close to him have not ruled out his running for a seat in Congress in 2026. Chaves's profile as a hardline populist leader favors him in the polls. He has voiced hope that his party will win a supermajority in Congress in next February's presidential and legislative elections that will enable it to implement a series of reforms. Chaves routinely criticises opposition parties, judges, prosecutors, legislators, and critical media. He is an admirer of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and months ago sent his justice minister to visit the gang-busting leader's mega-prison, whose harsh conditions have alarmed rights campaigners.
CNA
02-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Costa Rica's top court calls for President Chaves to stand trial on corruption charges
SAN JOSE: Costa Rica's highest court on Tuesday (Jul 1) asked the country's legislature to strip President Rodrigo Chaves of his immunity from prosecution so he can stand trial on corruption charges. Costa Rica's attorney general's office in April alleged that members of Chaves' government awarded kickbacks to a top government ally using funds from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). In an extraordinary session, the court also requested Culture Minister Jorge Rodriguez, who previously acted as communication minister, stand trial in the same case. Costa Rica's National Assembly is controlled by opposition lawmakers. Chaves and Rodriguez face between two to eight years in prison if convicted. They both have denied the accusations. The attorney general's office said that a former presidential adviser was paid US$32,000 with funds awarded by CABEI.
Al Arabiya
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Costa Rica's Top Court Seeks to Strip President Chaves' Immunity Over Corruption Case
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 illicitly financing the 2022 election campaign that brought him to power. Chaves also denies those charges.
