The Costa Rican ambassador in Singapore, Iris Manzanares Murillo, was accused of labor harassment by two officials of that embassy, the counselor and the administrative assistant. At the same time, the official was accused of alleged administrative irregularities, such as the use of the embassy’s official vehicle for personal matters.
Manzanares is not a career diplomat, but one of the political appointments made by the government of Luis Guillermo Solís in the last administration.
CRHoy learned about the complaint against her by means of a copy of the letter in which she was accused by counselor Alfonso Murillo, addressed to the chancellor and vice chancellor, Epsy Campbell and Lorena Aguilar. They also received another letter with very serious complaints from the administrative assistant, Alba Sandí, who is pregnant and whose health has suffered by the alleged harassment of the ambassador.
Internal sources of CRHoy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs say that, in addition to Sandí, the health of counselor Murillo has also been affected by the stress that the ambassador’s harassment causes them.
Since mid-December 2017, and since the presentation of credentials as an ambassador of Costa Rica in Singapore, Mrs. Manzanares has insulted and disrespected us by executing systematic and constant labor harassment. Her anger increased particularly when I respectfully warned her that some of her intended actions contravened our legal system, diplomatic traditions, or the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. From the beginning, Mrs. Manzanares has treated her subordinates as if we were domestic servants,”
reads the letter with the complaint.
In addition, she was accused of ignoring recommendations from the embassy counselor, and ordering a lunch with her husband as guests of the Head of the Taiwan Mission in Singapore. The advisor of the embassy warned that this could have serious consequences in the relationship of Costa Rica with the People’s Republic of China, partner and cooperating country since 2007, when diplomatic relations were established.