Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves faces a new accusation involving alleged irregularities in the financing of his electoral campaign, a development that has intensified his confrontation with Attorney General Carlo Díaz and even led him to lead a march demanding Díaz’s removal.

“We came to change the rules of the game, to give you (the people) back one of the three branches of government, I assure you this with all my heart and without fear of Carlo Díaz’s threats and his absurd accusations against me,” the president said during his weekly press conference on Wednesday.

On Monday, the Attorney General’s Office filed an accusation with the Supreme Court against Chaves, First Vice President Stephan Brunner, Foreign Minister Arnoldo André, and four ruling party deputies: Pilar Cisneros, Luz Mary Alpízar, Paola Nájera, and Waldo Agüero. The request included lifting the immunity of those involved to open a trial.

According to an investigation launched in 2022, two parallel financing structures were allegedly used during the Social Democratic Progress Party (PPSD) campaign: a private trust and personal bank accounts under the name of a woman surnamed Agüero, who faces a separate criminal proceeding. Both mechanisms reportedly operated outside the control of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the party’s treasury.

Costa Rican law prohibits such maneuvers. The Electoral Code establishes that contributions to parties or campaigns must come only from identified national individuals and be channeled through official means.

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This is the second time the Attorney General’s Office has requested the Supreme Court to lift the president’s immunity. In April, another accusation was filed against Chaves for extortion, related to alleged irregular hiring of communication services funded by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).

The Supreme Court must decide whether to forward the accusations to Congress, where the possible lifting of presidential immunity would be debated. No deadline has been set for this decision.

During his administration, Chaves has maintained a tense relationship with Congress, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and the Judiciary, whom he has frequently accused of political bias and inefficiency.

The confrontation with Attorney General Díaz has been particularly hostile. In March, the president led a demonstration against Díaz, whom he called a “neighborhood bully” and a “puppet.” After the march, the attorney general denounced a “worrying attack on the separation of powers” and noted that the protest was linked to ongoing investigations against the president.

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Honduran President Xiomara Castro and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem met on Wednesday in Tegucigalpa to discuss the protection of the rights of Honduran migrants and to strengthen cooperation on security and migration.

“We discussed several topics. The main point was the protection of our migrants” in the United States, said Honduran Foreign Minister Javier Bu during a press briefing alongside the president’s private secretary and son, Héctor Zelaya. No questions were allowed from the press.

Castro emphasized “the protection of the rights of migrants” residing in the U.S. and advocated for the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 55,000 Hondurans, Bu said.

During the meeting, held at the Presidential House, Honduras and the U.S. signed a letter of intent for a new biometric comparison agreement and discussed new collaboration agreements on border security, Bu added.

They also signed “an agreement to review the refugee screening process,” the foreign minister emphasized, affirming that Honduras and the U.S. will continue mutual cooperation on migration security, border security, and the fight against drug trafficking.

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Bu described Noem’s visit as “excellent,” highlighting the continuation of a bilateral agenda initiated with former Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina last March.

Noem, who made no statements in Tegucigalpa, began her Central American tour in Panama on Tuesday. She continued to Costa Rica and Honduras on Wednesday and will conclude her trip in Guatemala.

The foreign minister also revealed that the United States has shown “great interest” in the interoceanic train project, an ambitious infrastructure plan aimed at connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic by linking Puerto Castilla (Colón) with Amapala (Isla del Tigre) in the Gulf of Fonseca.

The Gulf of Fonseca is shared by Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

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The Panama Canal experienced a 30% increase in ship transits during the first eight months of fiscal year 2025 compared to the same period last year, the canal administration reported Wednesday, on the eve of the ninth anniversary of its expansion inauguration.

“The Panama Canal will commemorate on Thursday, June 26, the ninth anniversary of its expansion, marking a rise in transits and cargo tonnage during the first eight months of fiscal year 2025,” said an official statement.

Alongside the increase in transits, between October 2024 and May 2025, cargo tonnage rose by 22%, with 326 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons handled, according to the canal authority. The waterway handles about 3% of global trade.

“This growth has been made possible thanks to the recovery of the Gatún and Alajuela lake levels, which has allowed the Canal to offer safe, efficient, and reliable service to its clients,” the statement added.

A severe seasonal drought and the El Niño phenomenon caused a water crisis in the Canal between 2023 and part of 2024, forcing restrictions on the number of daily transits.

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