The Alcatel Settlement in the U.S. has nothing to do with President Rodríguez

Correction

In the story titled “Alcatel Settles Bribe Case” in the Jan. 7 edition of The Tico Times, we reported that former Costa Rican President Rafael Angel Calderón accepted bribes from the French telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent. However, in 2009 Calderón was convicted of accepting funds from the Finnish medical equipment supplier Instrumentarium Medko Medical Corp., of the Fischel Corp, not Alcatel. His lawyers are appealing that conviction and a final ruling is pending. Calderón was never implicated in the Alcatel case.

The story also said that former President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez admitted to receiving funds from Alcatel, which is inaccurate. Rodríguez is currently facing trial for accusations that he accepted funds from Alcatel, but has never admitted doing so. He denies the charges.

Also, formal charges were never brought against former President José María Figueres regarding the Alcatel case.

And finally, while former President Abel Pacheco admitted that his 2002 presidential campaign did receive funds from Alcatel, Pacheco said he never personally received the funds (see related story).

The Tico Times regrets the errors.