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Costa Rica mayor and other officials arrested in raid

The mayor of Garabito, Marvin Elizondo of the National Liberation Party (PLN), was arrested Wednesday, according to the daily La Nación.

A raid of the Garabito Municipality – the Central Pacific municipality that includes the booming beach town of Jacó – by the Judicial Investigation Police and the Deputy Prosecutor of Integrity, Transparency and Anti-Corruption resulted in the arrest of Elizondo, his vice mayor, the head of the municipal police, another municipal worker and a private attorney, La Nación reported.

The authorities entered the municipality premises at 9:10 a.m. as part of an investigation into irregular payments for work that was never completed, according to the daily. The alleged crimes happened in 2009. Elizondo was also detained that same year on charges of drunken driving.

Those arrested are under investigation for embezzlement, misrepresentation, illicit enrichment and fraud, and will be brought to San José for questioning, La Nación reported.

Last week, another PLN mayor, Dailon Arroyo of Golfito, on the southern Pacific coast, was arrested for alleged corruption.

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Steven Hodel
Steven Hodel
Steven Hodel is the Tennis Correspondent for The Tico Times, covering the ATP and WTA tours and Latin American players from his base in Costa Rica. Reach him at steve@ticotimes.net or on X at @theticotimes.
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