Costa Rica's leader to keep immunity as minister in his successor's government in face of legal woes

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica 's outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves will remain a top official in his successor's government, the country's president-elect announced on Tuesday, granting the outgoing populist and Trump ally ongoing immunity in the face of corruption allegations.

Chaves will hold the posts of Minister of the Presidency and Minister of Finance in the incoming administration, Chaves’ political ally and president-elect Laura Fernández announced on Tuesday.

Such a move is unprecedented in Costa Rican politics and will offer the outgoing leader incredible sway over the next government. It marks another bold move by Chaves' political movement that has tested the Central American nation's democratic norms.

Fernández, set to take office on Friday, pitched herself as a figure of “continuity" in the lead up to February elections — so much so that many ministers and leaders of Chaves’ government will also remain in their previous positions or swap roles. Fernández herself once acted as Minister to the President to Chaves, the role the outgoing leader will now assume.

“Just as we have done since the first day of your administration, we will continue working very well as a team,” Fernández said to Chaves at a public event Tuesday in capital San José.

Chaves is a firebrand populist who has cozied up to U.S. President Donald Trump. He's known for lashing out at the media and critics, and has sought to project himself as a figure similar to El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele by cracking down on an uptick in crime in the historically peaceful Central American nation.

Recently, Chaves agreed to accept 25 third-country deportees per week from the U.S. His government was accused of pushing for the Trump administration to strip the board of directors of a critical newspaper of their visas.

The move by Fernández marks not just a continuation of Chaves' grip on power, but also a temporary balm to his mounting legal ails, preserving the immunity he enjoyed as president.

Last year, Chaves' presidency was rocked by scandal when he faced accusations by Costa Rican prosecutors of illegal campaign finance and corruption charges, which the president has denied.

Prosecutors accused Chaves of pressuring a close associate and government contractor to give a chunk of money from the contract to a former campaign adviser.

As a result, Costa Rica’s legislature has tried and failed to strip Chaves of his immunity twice. With his appointment as a minister, another attempt appears unlikely, especially as the ruling party now holds a majority in the legislature.

Chaves has said the accusations are political revenge by the country’s attorney general and Supreme Court magistrates.

Costa Rica's opposition politicians criticized Chaves' appointment. Legislator José María Villalta said Tuesday the appointment was a blatant attempt to “grant or preserve immunity for controversial politicians from the outgoing government rather than to improve the functioning of institutions.”

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Associated Press journalist Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.