Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Costa Ricon's Rodrigo Chavez Robles, prioritizing cybersecurity concerns and longstanding conflicts in Costa Rica and Chinese telecommunications giant Huaway.
Costa Rica was the third stop on a tour of the Caribbean with Central America and Rubio. Rubio has begun his trip in Panama. During the visit, the government announced that it would allow a memorandum of understanding that it would link to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a looting and lending program for sovereign erosion. At the time I traveled to El Salvador. There, leader Naive Bukere offers to take on deportation services, including citizens of all countries, and suggests that he is willing to hold US citizens at a price in American prisons. did.
At a press conference with Centre Left Leader Chavez held in Costa Rica on Monday, Rubio said that cybersecurity, immigration and organized crime as the main challenges of the country that is willing to help America overcome it. I explained.
“In this country, there are over 100 million cyber attacks a year, which is unacceptable,” Rubio said. It is attracting attention. “And we continue to build what we have so that we can face this foreign threat. It's – this threat is used to compromise your system and threaten the nation and its economy. This is something we need to discuss and we will work together.”
Costa Rica is often seen as a weak link in regional cybersecurity and has been one of the boldest and most vast ransomware attacks in modern history. In 2022, the hacker group known as Conti is thought to have been born in Russia. hacking He joined the Costa Rica's Ministry of Finance computer system and used the entries to steal the identity of thousands of Costa Ricans.
“For seven consecutive days, one institution hijacked and shut down the system,” Americas Quarterly detail With the report of the hack. “Personal information from the Costa Rica tax office was made public online, putting the wages of civil servants at risk.
Hacker group Conti ultimately failed to extract the ransom as they were forced to halt after the 2022 Russian “special operation” against Ukraine began. Nevertheless, the incident has warned global cybersecurity experts and raised important questions about Costa Rica's ability to withstand state-backed cyberattacks and other online threats.
Rubio also tackled the tense relationship between Costa Rica and China as a result of the Costa Rica legal system targeting Telecommunications Huaway. Huawei, which sells mobile phones and develops 5G technology, has been banned in the US along with Chinese tech company ZTE.Can't accept it” National security concerns, including the possibility that Huawei and ZTE devices could be used to espionage or intrude government networks. A 2022 FBI survey found that American mobile phone towers using Huawei devices could lead to important military communication disruptions.
The controversy with Howay in Costa Rica is centered on accusations of corruption. December, Chaves' government Submit Criminal charges against Costa Rica representative Jan Penh as part of a massive corruption case against government officials. The government accused the power research institute in Costa Rica as a variety of crimes, including “fraud, bribery, influence and actions against the Ministry of Public Treasury.”
“This is probably one of the most shameless and massive corruption scandals we've ever seen in this country, and this government won't let these things pass,” Chavez said. I said Following the fee. “It hurts me so much. This makes sense across our borders, but we don't get coerced before a situation of this nature.”
At a press conference with Chaves on Tuesday, Rubio confirmed that the Costa Rican government pursued the lawsuit without directly referring to Huawei.
“5G will be an important technology for the development of all industries that will drive the 21st century. But it must be safe,” Rubio said. “And when you stand up against unsafe businesses, they are supported by governments like the Chinese government, like to intimidate and to block them. They bring 5G responsibly. This is the future. It is essential for economic development.
Rubio praised him as “it doesn't allow national security, economic security, and companies that pose a threat when opposed to such companies.”
“You had that solid position and we'll continue to work and help with it,” he promised.
