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Q COSTARICA — President Rodrigo Chaves asserted on Wednesday that he is aware of “details” regarding the accusations filed by women alleging rape by the director of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), Randall Zúñiga. He also stated that he has information about additional complaints that will be filed against the head of the judicial police. “There are five rape allegations, the most atrocious kind. I don’t want to give details because it is utterly atrocious,” Chaves said at his weekly press conference on Wednesday, where he used the accusations against Zúñiga to further criticize him and the Judiciary. The allegations were revealed this week and covered by the pro-government television channel Opa in a series of reports that included interviews with the women and broadcast alleged conversations and audio recordings of Randall Zúñiga with the women who now claim to be victims of sexual crimes. “It seems the count will continue,” Chaves added, demonstrating that he had some information about the case or was lending credence to other accounts. He even added that he was aware of other circumstances: “According to what I’m told, he’s threatening and intimidating them.” Chaves did not reveal who is informing him about the case or for what reasons, beyond the obvious public interest in the allegations against the head of the judicial police, who also allegedly shared police information from various investigations with these women. Randall Zúñiga was suspended from his position as director for 15 business days, the Supreme Court of Justice announced this Thursday. The decision aims to give investigators time to gather evidence and potentially extend the suspension with a precautionary measure, the court said in a press release. Zúñiga said that he was the one who proposed the temporary suspension, that he has evidence to defend himself, and that some images circulating of him are false, according to statements he made public after it was reported that his phone was seized by the Prosecutor’s Office, as a step to advance the investigations. “I myself even promoted this action so that it could be done, considering that it is the healthiest thing to do so that the process can be given space to continue with the corresponding procedures,” Zúñiga stated, referring to the measure. The OIJ director stated that he remains calm and confident in his innocence, relying on the principle of presumption of innocence and the objectivity of the judicial system. “For my part, there’s a saying that’s very true: he who has nothing to hide has nothing to fear. I’m quite calm and I hope that, as a fairly objective and impartial justice system, it will run its course and in the end, it will be proven whether these accusations were true or not,” he said. Several presidential candidates, Natalia Díaz, Claudia Dobles, Álvaro Ramos, and PUSC and Frente Amplio (FA) legislators are asking for Randall Zúñiga to be permanently removed from the OIJ, given that Zúñiga not only faces criminal charges, but also an administrative investigation by the Judiciary for these events.
