Q COSTA RICA — On Wednesday, President Laura Fernández pushed back against her Finance Minister and Minister of the Presidency, former president Rodrigo Chaves, and took a jab at former President Carlos Alvarado, making it clear that the Costa Rican government has no plans to spy on citizens or political opponents.
Fernández categorically denied that her administration has any interest in acquiring the Pegasus technology and ruled out a repeat of the situation with the Presidential Data Analysis Unit (UPAD), created during the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) administration (2018-2022).
“To leave no room for misinterpretation, even if we had the budget, even if we had the means, I will never bring another UPAD to Costa Rica. The PAC was the only party that came to try to spy on Costa Ricans. So, no way. We don’t have the money, we don’t have the interest, and there’s no need for anyone to send inquiries,” the president stated.
Rodrigo Chaves initially mentioned that the Executive Branch could potentially purchase the Israeli spyware called “Pegasus,” as some opposition leaders claimed; on Wednesday, he stepped back from those remarks to align with the president’s position, questioning the possibility of Costa Rica acquiring the spyware due to the existing restrictions on its sale and the high cost of this type of technology.
“The Pegasus computer system is extremely restrictive; it’s heavily regulated by the Israeli government, controlling who can buy it and who can’t, who gets access. So, clip the wings of the white horse, and those who claim that Costa Rica is contracting Pegasus to spy look like ordinary horses,” Chaves declared.
Chaves added that the cost of the software would represent an additional barrier for the country. “You’d have to be crazy to say the Costa Rican government can afford this. We’d have to cut a huge hole in the budget, and besides, each instance of espionage would cost, I imagine, possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.
What is Pegasus?
Pegasus is spyware developed in Israel that can be installed on mobile phones without the user’s knowledge. Once inside the device, it allows access to information and activities performed on the phone, including location, payments, camera, video calls, phone calls, and messaging applications like WhatsApp.
The program has been criticized in various countries for its use in monitoring journalists, activists, and individuals considered adversaries of certain governments, especially in contexts where there are questions about authoritarian practices.