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A court in Limón ordered the release of the wife of extradited trafficking suspect Edwin López Vega today, rejecting a prosecution request to hold her for a year in preventive detention and imposing lesser restrictions instead. Prosecutors have appealed the ruling and the woman, identified by the surnames Smith de la O, is under investigation on suspicion of money laundering and unlawful association. She has not been tried, and the accusations against her remain allegations to be established in court. The Deputy Prosecutor’s Office against Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture had asked the Limón penal court for a year of preventive detention. The court declined and set lesser conditions. Under the terms imposed, she must sign in every 15 days, surrender her passport and is not allowed to leave the country. Her defense lawyer, Andy Jack Sánchez, confirmed the conditions after being notified of the resolution this morning. The Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had a...

Agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), acting under the functional direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, detained two judges and a judicial agent from the Pococí courts, in the Caribbean province of Limón this morning. The Deputy Prosecutor’s Office for Probity, Transparency and Anti-Corruption identified the three as suspects in the alleged offenses of procuring impunity, bribery, corruptor liability and misuse of public property. None has been charged, and all are presumed innocent while the investigation proceeds. In a written statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said the conduct under investigation took place between 2023 and 2026, when the accused apparently used their positions to collaborate with a group dedicated to drug trafficking. Investigators are examining whether they accepted gifts and neglected their duties in order to use their offices for personal ends. The three were identified by the surnames Rojas, a woman, Va...