No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeCrucitasCanadian mine case against Costa Rican ex-president reopened

Canadian mine case against Costa Rican ex-president reopened

Costa Rican prosecutors have reopened a case against former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias for authorizing a Canadian-owned company to mine gold despite environmental concerns, officials said Thursday.

The decision, made early this week, revives a probe into whether Arias failed to uphold his presidential responsibilities by signing the 2008 decree, permitting Vancouver-based Infinito Gold to operate in the north of Costa Rica in the name of “the public interest.”

The probe was previously dropped in 2014.

Arias, president from 1986 to 1990 and again between 2006 and 2010, said on his Facebook page that he would comply with the prosecutors’ request to testify on the matter once he returned from a trip to the United States, where he was to speak at Princeton University.

“Out of respect for the legal authorities, I will attend the summons in a timely manner and I will collaborate with the investigation, certain that in the end truth will prevail and my complete innocence will be confirmed,” the 1987 Nobel Laureate wrote.

Despite the 2008 decree, Infinito Gold did not open the mine because a Costa Rican court voided the authorization on environmental grounds.

Arias’ Environment and Energy Minister at the time, Roberto Dobles, was originally convicted and sentenced in the case, but that verdict was overturned by an appeals court that ordered a new trial, which began in September.

The northern area of Las Crucitas, where the Canadian mine was supposed to operate, was occupied this year by informal miners looking for gold.

They caused serious environmental damage through the use of mercury and by dumping debris into rivers before police removed the miners.

Costa Rica’s ex-Environment Minister Roberto Dobles gets 3-year prison sentence in Crucitas case, but won’t serve a day in jail

Trending Now

Costa Rica Celebrates 201st Annexation Anniversary With New Nicoya Park

Nearly 200 people joined the Municipality of Nicoya this Sunday to inaugurate a new park at the Annexation Monument, an initiative that blends recreation,...

Cosby Show Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies in Costa Rica Drowning Accident

Malcolm-Jamal Warner passed away at 54 from an accidental drowning. He gained fame as Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," playing the son in...

Chiquita Executives Convicted in Colombia for Financing Death Squads

Colombian justice on Wednesday sentenced seven former executives of the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands to more than 11 years in prison and a...

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly Vacation in Costa Rica with Baby

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly touched down in Costa Rica for a family getaway with their three-month-old daughter, Saga Blade Fox-Baker. Photographers caught...

Venezuelan Migrants Describe Torture After Deportation to El Salvador

“You’re going to rot in here. You’ll spend 300 years in prison.” That’s what Maikel Olivera says guards repeatedly told him during his four-month...

Costa Rica Faces Economic Blow as Intel, Pfizer, and Qorvo Announce Restructuring

Intel announced that it will shut down its chip assembly and test plant in Costa Rica, part of a broader global restructuring aimed at...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica