After decades in spotlight of public life, Oscar Arias faces charges

As he awaits the fiftieth anniversary in 2020 of his career in the spotlight of public life -- including as a protagonist of peace in Central America after decades of war -- the former president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, faces new challenges.

Arias is being accused of supposedly shirking his duty over the issue of the Crucitas mine in Costa Rica by signing a decree that declared the project to be "in the national interest". That charge, says Arias, is politically motivated.

The former president could face two to six years in jail if he is found guilty of having used his position as head of State in order to develop the mine at whatever the cost and in contravention of the law, as is being claimed by the prosecution.