LatinNews Daily - 19 October 2023

* Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves has said that a decree that he issued in August regarding the contracting of companies to develop 5G telecommunication networks “has nothing to do with China” and “has to do with the fact that we Costa Ricans have to make sure that we are not brought to our knees” in terms of cybersecurity, media sources state. The August decree aims to regulate 5G mobile network development and outlaws firms from countries that have not signed up to the 2001 Budapest Convention on Cybercrime – of which China is not a signatory. This means that firms like China’s Huawei cannot compete with other 5G providers in Costa Rica. President Chaves was cited yesterday as emphasising that his government aims to ensure Costa Rica operates within the standards of the European Union (EU), the US, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). China is also upset over comments made on 11 October by Costa Rica’s science, technology and telecommunications (MICITT) minister, Paula Bogantes, who told legislators that China represents a risk for cybersecurity while her deputy minister, Hubert Vargas reportedly described China as “totalitarian”. On 13 October China’s embassy in Costa Rica issued a statement claiming the comments were “irresponsible” and “unfounded” and “gravely affect the confidence and expectations of Chinese companies to carry out economic-trade activities in Costa Rica” as well as “undermining good progress in the development of bilateral relations”.