The ministra de Justicia, Viviana Martin, announced Tuesday her resignation in order to run as a legislative deputy for the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN).

The resignation announcement was made public during a ceremony in Liberia, Guanacaste, where seven inmates in the local prison were given a pardon by Costa Rican president, oscar Arias.

The resignation is effective not later than August 7, the date for government officials to resign their posts if they have intention of running for public office.