CR Chief Prosecutor Selected for UN Post

After serving as chief prosecutor of Costa Rica for seven years, Francisco Dall’Anese was tapped to head the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) on Wednesday.

He would replace Spanish lawyer Carlos Castresana, who announced his resignation on June 7.

The CICIG was established in December 2006 by the United Nations and the Guatemalan Government to bolster the Guatemalan government’s fight against clandestine security groups believed responsible for widespread crime and the paralysis of the country’s justice system.

In an announcement of Castresana’s replacement, the United Nations recognized Dall’Anese as “a staunch opponent of narco-trafficking and organized crime” and called him a “driving force” behind Costa Rica’s law against organized crime. He was poised to play a pivotal role on the security team of newly installed President Laura Chinchilla, but news sources said relations within the attorney general’s office were growing tense.

In mid-June, Dall’Anese threatened to resign after his decision to transfer two prosecutors was reversed by the Judicial Branch’s High Council.

Chinchilla expressed her “great satisfaction that a Costa Rican is assuming this role. It is a recognition of our country …and a recognition of Dall’Anese.

“On the other hand,” she said, “we are losing something in the fight against organized crime.”

–Chrissie Long