In Costa Rica, a presidential visit to the Crucitas region — devastated by illegal mining — ended in chaos when the sound of an explosion forced the evacuation of President Laura Fernández, lawmakers, and journalists. Opposition legislator Ronald Campos of the PLN party called the incident “absolutely unacceptable” and demanded the dismissal of Security Minister Gerald Campos, citing failures in planning, intelligence, and logistics.
President Fernández later held a press conference in which she firmly rejected any suggestion of US intervention to address the crisis. “The problems of Costa Rica must be resolved by Costa Ricans,” she said. “I do not believe it should be another government that solves Costa Rica’s problems.”
