RICO’s Q — In my article, I pointed out that the impeachment process against Rodrigo Chaves has hit a wall because nine alternate magistrates for the Constitutional Court haven’t been appointed.
The government claims this mess is entirely the fault of the current group of legislators.
But the truth might not be as clear-cut as our leaders want us to think.
More than a year ago, Rodrigo Chaves—now working under Doña Laura, depending on who you ask—claimed judges were taking bribes to free drug traffickers. Yet, he never named names or officially reported anything.
A few weeks back, Doña Laura claimed the Judiciary is full of corruption, but she didn’t name names, nor did she file a complaint.
Early last week, Doña Laura staged another show in Desamparados, launching another attack on the Judiciary. But no name-naming, nor a complaint filed.
Last Saturday, Doña Laura criticized judges for “letting criminals go free.” But she didn’t say a word about the judges releasing people (Chavistas) in her political orbit, even though have recently been investigated, detained, or removed from their positions over criminal and security issues.
She didn’t complain about the judges letting them go free:
- Marta Esquivel, with 14 criminal cases against her, is free. Laura didn’t complain; she appointed her as a legislator.
- Nogui Acosta, with 11 criminal cases against him, is free. Laura didn’t complain; she appointed him as a legislator.
- Anna Katharina Müller, with eight criminal cases against her, is free. Laura didn’t complain; she appointed her as a legislator.
- Stephan Brunner, with 5 criminal cases, is free. Laura didn’t complain; she appointed him as a legislator.
- Francisco Gamboa, with 5 criminal cases, is free. Laura didn’t complain; she appointed him as Costa Rica’s first vice-president.
- And we can’t overlook Rodrigo Chaves, who faces multiple serious criminal accusations of extortion, misappropriation of public funds, illegal campaign financing, and influence peddling, among others. Laura didn’t complain; she appointed him as a “super” minister, combining the roles of Minister of Finance and Minister of the Presidency
Put simply, for a Chavista, the “presumption of innocence” must be respected, so they can’t be held in pretrial detention. But with anyone else, they want pretrial detention to be mandatory.