SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — For the first time in Costa Rica’s history, a sitting president defended himself Friday before three lawmakers considering a petition to lift his immunity so he can be prosecuted on corruption charges.

President Rodrigo Chaves said the effort was an attempt at political revenge by the country’s attorney general and magistrates of the Supreme Court, who requested he be stripped of his immunity.

They allege that Chaves pressured a producer who had been awarded a contract by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration to give a portion of that money to a former campaign adviser.

Chaves denied the allegations. He pointed to other long-running corruption investigations in Costa Rica that continue without resolution, as well as drug traffickers who pass through t

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