President Carlos Alvarado assured on Tuesday that his government assumes with all the seriousness of the case the content of a video that circulates on social networks in which incited violence against him, his cabinet and “traitor” legislators.
Alvarado asked the diverse sectors, the powers of the State, political parties, economic and social groups, and the population in general to express “categorically” their rejection of this “anti-democratic and violent” message.
The president, in his message, was referring to the video that began circulating on social networks on Monday, by an armed group calling themselves Frente Patriota 7 de Julio incites violence.
From Casa Presidencial (Government House), the president indicated that he has ordered the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública (MSP) and the Dirección de Inteligencia y Seguridad (DIS) – intelligence service – to conduct the pertinent investigations to identify and punish those responsible.
He also called on the population to not allow that a “handful of irresponsible people” rob Costa them of their peace of mind.
“We can not let a bunch of irresponsible and unscrupulous people steal from millions of democratic citizens our tranquility, our history, our future and above all our peace.
“Costa Rica is and will remain a free people in which it is the people who choose at the polls its governors, legislators, and its president. In this sense, not steal our peace,” said the president.
Costa Rica es una democracia sólida. Frente al video que ha circulado en redes sociales y que atenta contra nuestros valores costarricenses, llamo a todas las fuerzas vivas de este país a que rechacemos categóricamente este mensaje antidemocrático y de violencia. pic.twitter.com/Blv7KaL9gu
— Carlos Alvarado Quesada (@CarlosAlvQ) July 9, 2019
Security Minister, Michael Soto, said that he received the video last night on his cell phone and that Tuesday, at 1:20 p.m., a complaint was filed with the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) with a literal transcript of its content.
Soto maintained that this type of information is taken with the seriousness that the case deserves and the conditions in which it is carried out are analyzed, but insists that the population should be calm.
“The case should be analyzed in the just dimension, that is, neither trusting nor overreaching.
“We have been receiving a large amount of confidential information from the 9-1-1 emergency system. In addition, many of our officers are receiving confidential information through different means and we are channeling all this information to send it to the OIJ.
“It is likely that this is a strategy intended to create commotion to the citizenship. The Ministry of Security, as well as the DIS, are attentive to trying to do things in the best possible way, to avoid this kind of circumstances and for everyone to feel safe and to remain a country of peace,” Soto said.
Soto added that the accumulation of data received shows that the Costa Ricans are concerned and does not agree with this type of message.
Eduardo Trejos, head of the DIS, said that following one of the messages that circulated on Monday, immediately all the security forces began to gather information, in order to bring the case before the criminal courts.
