Tatiana Eugenia Gamboa Freer, the Tica (Costa Rican) that Israel expelled in March, was on Saturday at the farm where a third suspect, to produce and disseminate a video of threats against President Carlos Alvarado and to attack the country’s institutions, was arrested.
Gamboa Freer, 45, had been accompanying Minor Masís Artavia, a 54-year-old ex-convict, suspected of being part of the so-called “Frente Patriota 7 de Julio”, and known for having led the so-called “Comando Cobra” and convicted for rapes and homicides in Talamanca in 1992.
Masis was arrested on Saturday at his farm La Trinidad, in La Españolita de Río Cuarto (Alajuela) while he was in the company of Gamboa Freer.
On Friday, arrested was Álvaro Ramón Sequeira Mendiola, 60, and his stepson, Jeffry Fernández Ramírez, 34, accused of the crime of mutiny for their part in the videos circulating the social networks, for which they face up to 4 years in prison if convicted. Both are currently in three months of preventive detention (remand), ordered by the Criminal Court of San Carlos.
Both the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) confirmed that Gamboa Freer was not detained; nor is she linked to the case.
The OIJ did confirm that when the agents entered the farm, they ordered Masís Artavia and Gamboa Freer to raise their hands and then lie face down with their palms on the nape of their neck after which they were handcuffed according to the police procedures in this type of operation.
Case in Israel
Gamboa Freer was arrested on March 11 by Israeli authorities in the city of Hebron, in the Palestinian Territories, due to her irregular immigration status after violating her legal presence there.
The Costa Rican, known for her activism in favor of Palestine, spent several days in the Givhon Ramle detention center, near the Ben Gurion international airport, until her expulsion that same month.
Israeli authorities reported that the woman had entered Israel as a tourist last year but her legal stay had expired since April 18, 2018.
The Embassy of Israel in Costa Rica even regretted the behavior of the Costa Rican with Israeli authorities.
“The Israeli Embassy hopes that any Israeli citizen who visits Costa Rica will behave in full respect of the law, that they will cooperate with the local authorities if they so require. Unfortunately, this was not the behavior of Mrs. Tatiana Gamboa with Israeli authorities,” Israeli Consul General Mike Driquez said in a statement.
