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Costa Rica defends Bolivian constitutional peace and respect 1:23
(CNN Spanish) - The Prosecutor General of Costa Rica held 10 raids this Friday, including one in the Presidential House in San José, as part of the investigations to determine if the Presidency's Data Analysis Unit accessed confidential data of the citizens
In addition to President Carlos Alvarado, the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that the investigation includes seven other people, including the Minister of the Presidency, Víctor Morales, and the Minister of Planning, Daniel Soto Castro, and three presidential advisers on the subject of analysis of data.
The public ministry said it investigates alleged crimes of violation of personal data, abuse of authority and prevaricate. The raids were also extended to the Ministry of Planning and four private homes, the statement added.
The Minister of Communication, Nancy Marín, said Friday that the presidency is open for all judicial requirements.
The official said that days ago the Minister of the Presidency was put to the order of the judicial authorities for any requirement, as well as to deliver the equipment with which the data analysis staff did their job.
President Alvarado repealed on February 21 the decree that created this unit of data analysis, four days after its publication, and said he took the measure for the concern of various sectors.
Costa Rica looks for tourists not to take marine objects 1:45The unit was criticized in social networks for allegedly representing a threat to the civil rights of Costa Ricans by facilitating access to confidential data.
In a message by national chain on Monday, the president had admitted that mistakes were made on this issue and that is why he rectified. He insisted that the best public policy, freedom and respect for privacy, are values of his government and the country.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, between May 2018 and October 2019, data advisors apparently formed that government unit to compile and analyze data for the alleged execution of public policies, "apparently without any legal backing," the statement said.
The Prosecutor's Office said it is presumed that this group would have requested personal and sensitive data from citizens from different institutions and that Alvarado was aware of this.
Carlos Alvarado