SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, (Reuters) – Costa Rica’s President Laura Chinchilla came under pressure on Tuesday after the government admitted she had used a private jet owned by a foreign oil company, prompting an investigation by the attorney general’s office.
Communications minister Francisco Chacon told reporters Chinchilla had taken the jet, paid for by Colombia-based oil company THX Energy, last weekend to Peru to attend a wedding and meet Peruvian President Ollanta Umala.
She also used a plane paid for by the firm to attend the funeral of the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, he added.
“There’s no conflict of interest here. The fact there are companies working with the government to provide, as a contribution, certain services is not new to this administration,” he said, without elaborating further.
