Following initial reports of two women’s accusations of sexual misconduct against Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez, at least two more women have leveled allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate, nonconsensual touching against the statesman.
Eleonora Antillón, a former talk show host, told The New York Times and local daily La Nación on Tuesday that Arias sexually assaulted her in 1986 while she was working as his press aide. Arias placed her hand on his erect penis without her consent, Antillón said, and when she resisted, he pushed her against a wardrobe and kissed her and licked her face.
Marta Araya Marroni, a book editor, said Arias touched her inappropriately on the leg during a meeting and made multiple unwanted sexual advances in 2012.
“He was always respectful until he wasn’t,” Araya told local paper Tico Times. “What bothered me the most is that he kept trying to make me believe it was normal and that he was worried about me.”
Earlier:
At least two women have accused Nobel laureate and former Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez of sexual misconduct. The allegations have been described as the highest-profile #MeToo accusations in Latin America to date.
Dr. Alexandra Arce von Herold, a psychiatrist and anti-nuclear activist, filed a criminal complaint against Arias on Monday, The New York Times and local paper Semanario Universidad reported.
Herold has accused Arias of sexually assaulting her in 2014. The activist, who said she’d often met with Arias to discuss nuclear disarmament issues, said she’d been at the statesman’s home when he suddenly approached her from behind, touched her breasts and penetrated her with his fingers.
“I just froze, and I didn’t know what to do,” Herold recalled of the incident, speaking to the Times. “I was so much in shock. That had never happened to me before.”
A second woman, Emma Daly, told The Washington Post on Tuesday that Arias groped her in 1990. Daly, now the head of communications at Human Rights Watch, was a reporter based in Costa Rica at the time. She told the Post that she had approached Arias, who was then president, in the lobby of a Nicaragua hotel to ask him a question but instead of responding, he “ran his hand between her breasts and exclaimed, ‘You’re not wearing a bra.’”
The newly-surfaced allegations could derail Arias’ legacy.
The 78-year-old statesman, who served as president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2010, is considered one of Latin America’s most powerful and respected politicians. He was given the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Central America’s civil wars and continues to play an influential role in the region as president of the Arias Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes democracy, disarmament and human rights.
Arias, through an attorney, told the Times that he categorically denied Herold’s accusations against him. Another of Arias’ lawyers said the politician would not comment on Daly’s allegation, telling the Post that “since there is an ongoing investigation, our code forbids us to reveal information.”