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President Laura Chinchilla calls for an international debate on U.S. spying

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President Laura Chinchilla (Archive image.)

President Laura Chinchilla (Archive image.)

July 11th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla said that an international debate should be opened in wake of the recent disclosures revealing U.S. spying operations in various Latin American countries, including Costa Rica.

 

“This is a debate that now not only involves one or three nations, but that appears to involve many more countries, both in Europe and Latin America, and it wouldn’t be surprising [if spying was taking place] on other continents,” Chinchilla told reporters.

 

“We are willing to join [the debate], with respect and balance, without demagoguery, but we think it is an important debate,” Chinchilla said, without indicating what would be a suitable forum for such discussion.

 

Brazilian media, based on documents leaked by fugitive NSA contractor, Edward Snowden, revealed that the NSA spied on at least 14 countries in the region, including Costa Rica.

 

“To me, as a citizen of a disarmed democracy like Costa Rica, these things bother me, I don’t like it,” Chinchilla added, referring to the fact that Costa Rica has no military.

 

Chinchilla said that she understands the fear of terrorism that motivates other countries to impose certain security measures, but said that the “rights of other countries, like Costa Rica, to protect and guarantee their citizens’ right to privacy, should trump [such measures.]”

 

Presidency Minister, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, said that he hopes more information about the U.S. spying program emerges, but noted that obtaining additional information may prove difficult, as it appears the spying operations were managed from the United States.

 

US electronic espionage operations, known as PRISM, have targeted a variety of Latin American countries besides regional heavyweight Brazil, including key Washington ally Colombia and its nemesis Venezuela, as well as Costa Rica, a Brazilian newspaper reported Tuesday.

 

The data include telephone calls, emails and satellite intercepts.

 

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  • disgusted

    Lady Laura, Oscar Arias and the PLN party have snuggled up to Communist China. A country that human rights and Democracy is nowhere to be found. Now Lady Laura who was called out by the previous President Oscar of her lack of clarity. Making comments how this concerns her. Irony just cannot make this stuff up. Right? Lady Laura and Oscar!

  • prdatki

    What needs to be done is an investigation and audit of the President, Congress and the heads of all of the Departments, into over pay, theft,abuse of power etc. Then all of them should be fined all of there money and get 20yrs,hard labor.

  • Ken Morris

    A debate is fine–I don’t like US spying either–but Chinchilla may not like where the debate goes. CR spies too, the notion that it respects privacy rights is almost laughable, and last I looked CR wants US help in combating the drug gangs, which requires spying. Again, I oppose most US spying too, but I tire of Chinchilla’s xenophobia. She displays the worst Tico trait of blaming as many problems as possible on foreigners and as few as possible on the sanctimonious Ticos. The attitude she’s displaying against the US now is the same one she has displayed against Nicaragua since the Rio San Juan controversy erupted, and I’m sick of it. If she wants a debate, I say bring it on.

    • Bob Cash

      @Ken Morris – do you not acknowledge the difference between national interest covert operations of ALL countries and wholesale capture of all communications data passing through a sieve (control point) ?

  • Benthecat

    What country does not seek as much intel as they have the ability to obtain? You would be foolish to not expect in 2013 that your communications are not being monitored. The NSA building was in the news 5 years ago. Did you think it was a chocolate chip cookie factory? It is a big reason our world is not in complete chaos from the jackass disrupters of civilization… AKA Islam.

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