Q COSTARICA — Former Costa Rica President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría (1998 – 2002) will face trial in the so-called “reinsurance case,” more than two decades after the investigation against him began.
The case, opened in 2001, revolves around alleged payments made by UK reinsurance companies to officials of the then administration, with the goal of becoming the reinsurance companies of the state insurer, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS).
According to the Judiciary, the case focuses on allegations of alleged illegal commissions linked to contracts signed by the INS.
Although a final dismissal had been issued in favor of Rodríguez during the proceedings, that ruling was appealed, and an interim judge subsequently decided to bring the case to trial, thus keeping open a 24-year-old process.
Cristian Arguedas, the former president’s defense attorney, criticized the decision to bring the matter to trial after so much time and in a complex personal context for his client.
“Certainly, 24 years after the case began, we are going to trial in the so-called reinsurance case. As a defense attorney, I regret it, and above all as a human being, it pains me greatly that Don Miguel Ángel has to face this process at this time, when he and his wife are facing a serious health situation. In other words, the trial comes at the worst possible time for him personally,” Arguedas stated.
The lawyer also questioned the length of time of the case and asserted that basic principles of due process have been violated.
“It is a disgrace for the country that 24 years later, Don Miguel Ángel Rodríguez has to appear in court, when the Constitutional Court has already declared that the principle of prompt and complete justice has been violated. In other words, that principle continues to be violated. So, let’s see the absurdity of all this,” he added.
Finally, Arguedas maintained that his client should be acquitted, considering that Rodríguez had no involvement in the alleged acts.
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría, Costa Rican economist, lawyer, businessman and politician who served as President of Costa Rica from 1998 to 2002. Among his political achievements are being the Minister of Planning from 1968 to 1970 and Minister of the Presidency in 1970 during the administration of José Joaquin Trejos Fernández (1966 – 1970); serving as president of the Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 1992; and being elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2004. He voluntarily stepped down from this post to return to his country and face allegations of financial wrongdoing during his presidency in Costa Rica. On April 27, 2011, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but this ruling was later reversed in a December 2012 decision by an appeals court, which found him innocent of all charges.