Rica

Aug. 25 (UPI) — A special congressional committee in Costa Rica is reviewing a request to lift President Rodrigo Chaves’ immunity, putting the executive branch and judiciary at odds.

Tensions between the two institutions escalated Friday after Chaves appeared before the committee, where he denied corruption charges and denounced the investigation by the National Prosecutor’s Office as a “setup” and a “judicial coup attempt.”

The more than four-hour session — broadcast live — marked an unprecedented moment: it was the first time a sitting president testified before lawmakers in a process to lift immunity.

Criticizing the judiciary’s role in the case brought by Attorney General Carlo Díaz, President Chaves told the committee the accusation had roots in the early days of his administration, when “I showed the people the responsibility of the judiciary and of legislative policy in the deep deterioration of our society.”

The case against President Chaves began after the Supreme Court asked Congress on July 1 to remove his immunity over an investigation tied to funds from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. Prosecutors say Chaves intervened so that part of those funds — $32,000 — went to one of his advisers through a communications services contract.

The other side of the institutional clash came before and after the hearing. On Aug. 8, Attorney General Carlo Díaz told the same committee the case is backed by witness testimony and documents, evidence he said was sufficient to bring an indictment and request a trial.

Díaz said the case had gone through several internal reviews within the judiciary to ensure the accusation “is not seen as one branch attacking another.”

In a press release, Supreme Court President Orlando Aguirre Gómez rejected claims that the proceedings against the president amounted to a so-called “judicial coup.”

Aguirre defended the independence of the judiciary and the transparency with which the case has been handled. He stressed that every step in the process has followed the law and been carried out independently, without political pressure or private interests.

He also urged the public to be critical of rhetoric intended to mislead and reiterated that Costa Rica’s institutional strength rests on respect among branches of government and confidence in the justice system.

The special congressional committee also made its role clear: not to judge the merits of the case, but to decide whether there is sufficient basis to lift a sitting president’s immunity and bring him to trial.

MINNEAPOLIS — Damion Downs scored in the sixth round of a shootout after three saves by Matt Freese, sending the U.S. to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 4-3 penalty-kicks win over Costa Rica after a a 2-2 tie on Sunday night.

The U.S. advanced to a Wednesday matchup in St. Louis against Guatemala, which upset Canada on penalty kicks in the opener of the quarterfinal doubleheader.

Mexico plays Honduras in the other semifinal on Wednesday in Santa Clara. The championship is in Houston on July 6.

The U.S. has reached the semifinals in 17 of 18 Gold Cups, including 13 straight since a quarterfinal loss to Colombia on penalty kicks in 2000.

Diego Luna and Max Arfsten scored in regulation for the U.S., which faced its highest-ranked opponent of the tournament in Costa Rica (54th) after breezing through the group stage with an 8-1 goal differential.

Alonso Martinez scored the tying goal for the Ticos in the 71st minute with a left-footed shot after Carlos Mora split Luca de La Torre and Arsten to take a shot on Freese and seize the rebound to set up Martinez.

CONCACAF changed the rules for this edition of the biennial championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, eliminating extra time except for the championship game.

John Tolkin had the first chance to win the shootout for the U.S. Keylor Navas knocked down his try in the fifth round. Freese then denied Andy Rojas with a diving hand, climbing to his feet while nodding his head and sticking out his tongue toward his cheering teammates at midfield. That set up the winner by the 20-year-old Downs.

Missing the tournament for the U.S. are regulars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest, due to a variety of reasons from injuries to rest to Club World Cup commitments.

Three of Costa Rica’s six goals during the group stage came by penalty kick, and Francisco Calvo added another one in the 12th minute after a foul by Arsten. Calvo went low to zip the ball just out of reach of a diving Freese.

Malik Tillman, who had three group stage goals, put a 37th-minute penalty kick off a post and Navas knocked away Arfsten’s attempt off the rebound.

Luna picked him up with his first goal in international competition by rocketing a shot off the chest of defender Alexis Gamboa for the equalizer in the 43rd minute.

Tillman made amends for his miss early in the second half by poking a pass ahead for Arfsten, who surged in from the left wing to send the ball into the opposite corner for the lead.

A retired Nicaraguan military officer who later became a critic of President Daniel Ortega has been killed in a shooting at his condominium in Costa Rica, where he lives in exile.

The death of Roberto Samcam, 67, on Thursday has heightened concern about the safety of Nicaraguan dissidents, even when they live abroad.

Police in Costa Rica have confirmed that a suspect entered Samcam’s condominium building in the capital of San Jose at approximately 7:30am local time (13:30 GMT) and shot the retired major at least eight times.

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Organisation identified the murder weapon as a 9mm pistol. Samcam’s wife, Claudia Vargas, told the Reuters news agency that the suspect pretended to be a delivery driver to gain access to her husband.

The suspect allegedly fired on Samcam and then left without saying a word, escaping on a motorcycle. He remains at large.

Samcam went into exile after participating in the 2018 protests, which began as demonstrations against social security reforms and escalated into one of the largest antigovernment movements in Nicaragua’s history.

Thousands of people flooded Nicaragua’s streets. Some even called for President Ortega’s resignation.

But while Ortega did ultimately cancel the social security reforms, he also answered the protests with a police crackdown, and the clashes killed an estimated 355 people, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

More than 2,000 people were injured, and another 2,000 held in what the IACHR described as “arbitrary detention”.

In the months and years after the protests, Ortega has continued to seek punishment for the protesters and institutions involved in the demonstrations, which he likened to a “coup”.

Samcam was among the critics denouncing Ortega’s use of military weapons and paramilitary forces to tamp down on the protests. Ortega has denied using either for repression.

In a 2019 interview with the publication Confidencial, for instance, he compared Ortega to Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the last member of what is commonly known as the Somoza family dictatorship, which ruled Nicaragua for nearly 43 years.

And in 2022, Samcam published a book that roughly called Ortega: El Calvario de Nicaragua, which roughly translates to: Ortega: Nicaragua’s torment.

Ortega has long been accused of human rights abuses and authoritarian tendencies. In 2023, for instance, he stripped hundreds of dissidents of their citizenship, leaving them effectively stateless, and seized their property.

He has also pushed for constitutional reforms to increase his power and that of his wife, former Vice President Rosario Murillo. She now leads with Ortega as his co-president.

The changes also increase Ortega’s term in office and grant him the power to coordinate all “legislative, judicial, electoral, control and supervisory bodies” — putting virtually all government agencies under his authority.

From abroad, Samcam was helping to lead an effort to document some of Ortega’s alleged abuses.

In 2020, he became the chain-of-command expert for the Court of Conscience, a group created by the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, a nonprofit founded by a Nobel Prize-winning Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias.

As part of the group, Samcam solicited testimony of torture and abuses committed under Ortega, with the aim of building a legal case against the Nicaraguan president and his officials.

“We are documenting each case so that it can move on to a trial, possibly before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,” Samcam said at the time.

Samcam is not the only Nicaraguan dissident to face an apparent assassination attempt while in exile.

Joao Maldonado, a student leader in the 2018 protests, has survived two such attempts while living in the Costa Rican capital. The most recent one, in January 2024, left him and his partner seriously injured.

Maldonado has blame Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front — which Ortega leads — for the attack.

LOUIS Tomlinson and Zara McDermott’s chemistry was on full display during their Costa Rica holiday.

The One Direction star and Love Island beauty couldn’t keep their hands off each other on a sun-soaked day out.

8

8

8

8

8

They were spotted hiring a quad bike, with Louis, 33, taking the lead as they cruised through town.

The History singer wore an orrange T-shirt and white shorts, which he teamed with black sunglasses and a baseball cap.

Zara, 28, stunned in loose white trousers and a crop top layered over her green bikini.

At one point Louis puffed on a cigarette while they waited for their ride, with a smitten Zara wrapping her arms around him.

Louis returned the affection by gently squeezing her bum and planting a kiss.

They were later seen grinning at each other before hopping on the quad bike and driving away.

Louis flew the Strictly star out in first class to a secluded villa last week.

He’s currently working on new music there and wanted to spend some quality time with Zara after going public with their romance.

She was previously seen locking lips with her new pop star beau as they dined at a restaurant.

A source said: “Louis and Zara are going from strength to strength.

“He got his team to organise her first-class travel from London to Costa Rica.

“It meant Zara was unable to attend the TV Baftas but she is keen to spend as much time with Louis as possible.”

Louis will be back in the UK for Soccer Aid next week and is set to play on the England side with Zara’s ex Sam Thompson.

Zara split from former Made In Chelsea star Sam in January, moving out of Sam’s West London home, and leaving behind the two cats they shared.

She has decided to skip Soccer Aid to avoid an awkward run-in with her ex.

Zara and Louis confirmed their romance on holiday in Los Angeles over a month ago.

The pair were snapped holding hands in a sweet PDA during their trip to the US.

The Sun revealed they were an item after they were spotted enjoying an overnight stay at The Suffolk in Aldeburgh in exclusive photos.

It came amid reports that Zara had formed close bonds with Louis’ sisters Phoebe and Daisy.

They recently teased a new reality show, with sources claiming Zara has been helping them behind the scenes thanks to her experience as a TV presenter and documentary maker.

8

8

8

LOUIS Tomlinson and Zara McDermott were unable to stop snogging during a romantic date night while holidaying in Costa Rica.

The smitten couple packed on the PDA as they dined at the Banana Beach Restaurant on Sunday.

10

10

10

10

The Sun revealed that One Direction star Louis, 33, flew the Strictly star, 28, out in first class to a secluded villa on the coast in Santa Teresa where he’s recording new music.

Zara, who split from former Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson in January, was seen locking lips with her new pop star beau.

The ex-Love Islander was seen beaming as she and Louis were spotted deep in conversation while gazing into each others eyes.

Zara was pictured with her arms wrapped around Louis, as he lean in close for a kiss.

They struggled to keep their hands off each other and were seen repeatedly embracing and smooching.

Zara showed off her toned arms and midriff in a sleeveless white crop top and matching skirt.

She opted for minimal makeup and wore her brunette tresses in a high ponytail, while accessorising with statement gold flower earrings.

While the Best Song Ever hitmaker looked casual in a yellow t-shirt.

They looked comfortable in each other’s company and were seen laughing and joking around in between their PDA sessions.

At one point Louis was seen whispering in Zara’s ear, which left her giggling like a school girl.

Throughout the evening, they were seen enjoying cosy conversations as they struggled to take their eyes off each other.

Zara was then seen scrolling through her camera roll with Louis.

She was seen grinning from ear to ear as she put her arm around the hitmaker as they made the most of their romantic getaway.

It comes after fans bumped into the singer while the couple were out and about.

As they asked to get selfies with Louis, Zara patiently waited by his side.

He was then seen putting his hand on her back as he guided her out of the venue with him.

The fan account which posted the video captioned it: “They’re cute.”

In the video Louis is heard saying “I’ve been loving it, I’ve been loving” when asked about the area.

Louis will be back in the UK for Soccer Aid net month and taking to the pitch at Old Trafford for the annual charity match alongside Zara’s very recent ex boyfriend Sam Thompson.

Sam split from Zara four months ago, and is now set to play on the same side as her new boyfriend in next month’s charity match.

She has no plans to support Louis from the sidelines, but was keen to spend quality time together abroad while he works on his new album.

A source said: “Louis and Zara are going from strength to strength.

“He got his team to organise her first-class travel from London to Costa Rica over the weekend.

“It meant Zara was unable to attend the TV Baftas but she is keen to spend as much time with Louis as possible.”

10

10

10

10

10

10