Activist denies Costa Rica plot to assassinate President Chaves
A Costa Rican activist and government critic accused of plotting to kill President Rodrigo Chaves denied the allegations as “ridiculous” and politically motivated, and said evidence used in the case was fabricated. Stella Chinchilla, vice president of the human rights advocacy group Friends for Peace Center, said she appeared before Costa Rica’s Public Ministry on Wednesday to hear details of the matter.
Chinchilla confirmed that screenshots included as part of the case were part of her situation, but she said they were fake and that she was being targeted because of her criticism of Chaves’ administration on social media. She also described the accusation as part of broader harassment.
“I have not written a single comma of what is there,” Chinchilla said. She added: “Morally, I would not order the killing of this president; he has to leave on his own feet, from the government and the country, because he has done too much damage.”
Prosecutors’ allegations center on information delivered by Costa Rica’s national security chief, Jorge Torres, who told them Tuesday that a hitman allegedly received a payment to assassinate the president, the Associated Press reported. Details of the case were not publicly revealed at the time.
Hours later, local media published screenshots of messages Torres said were included in his complaint against Chinchilla, showing her allegedly complaining to hitmen that they had not done their job. Chinchilla said the screenshots were already available to media outlets aligned with Chaves before they were received by prosecutors, and she said the accusations lacked credibility.
On Tuesday night, the president’s office said Chaves’ security had been reinforced. Jeffrey Cerdas, head of presidential security, said the threat was serious, saying: “This is not a minor warning, nor speculation; it is a serious threat to the country’s democratic stability.”
The allegations surfaced as Chaves hosted El Salvador President Nayib Bukele during the groundbreaking for a new Costa Rican prison designed after El Salvador’s gang prison. The Associated Press reported that Chaves has sent Costa Rican officials to El Salvador to learn how to emulate Bukele’s approach to law enforcement.
Bukele told the gathering that his country had needed sweeping changes after he took office, saying: “When we arrived we had to change everything, courts, judges, prosecutors, laws, Congress, in the elections, of course.” He said the gang prison he built was a “pillar” of the fight against crime and described other prisons as having become training grounds for criminals.
Bukele also praised Chaves for following his example, and Chaves thanked Bukele for sharing the prison design. Bukele warned that if criminality grows, “more Costa Ricans will die,” saying “tourism will disappear and all of the foreign currency that comes with it,” and that visitors would avoid a country where “they kill you for crossing the street.”
Costa Rica has faced a severe security crisis attributed to drug trafficking gangs, with high homicide totals. The Associated Press reported that 2025 ended with 877 homicides, three fewer than in 2024, and that 2023 recorded 907 killings.