Other13 January, 20262 min read
Intelligence Agency Uncovers Paid Hitman Plot to Assassinate Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Intelligence chief Jorge Torres said a confidential source reported a paid hitman targeting Rodrigo Chaves Authorities uncovered the assassination plot days before national elections
6 outlets told this the same way.
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Alleged assassination plot
Costa Rica's intelligence apparatus disclosed an alleged plot to assassinate President Rodrigo Chaves ahead of the country's presidential and legislative elections in February. The official who announced it said he will file a formal complaint with prosecutors. Jorge Torres, described by outlets as Costa Rica's head of intelligence or national security chief, said the allegation arose from a call in which a woman reported that 'a contract had been taken out on Chaves and that a hitman had been paid.'
“Costa Rica’s head of intelligence, Jorge Torres, said authorities are investigating an alleged plot to assassinate President Rodrigo Chaves ahead of the country’s presidential and legislative elections in February.”
Torres said security for the president has been increased. The announcement was made as El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele was due to visit and as Chaves prepares to lay the cornerstone for a new 'mega-prison' modeled on a Bukele project.
Coverage of alleged hit
Both The Independent and the Associated Press report that Torres said the lead came via a woman who called in and claimed a contract and payment to a hitman. Both outlets say Torres declined to give further details while planning to lodge a formal complaint with the public prosecutor. The AP emphasizes that some of the information was kept confidential.
The Independent similarly records Torres declining to provide specifics. Together, these accounts underline that authorities have disclosed the allegation but not released corroborating evidence in public reporting.
Political timing and security implications
The reporting situates the allegation in a politically sensitive moment: both outlets link the revelation to the run-up to elections in February and to high-profile events involving Chaves, including a planned visit by El Salvador's president and the laying of a cornerstone for a so-called mega-prison modeled on Bukele's project. AP explicitly frames Chaves as a conservative, tough-on-crime president, while The Independent focuses on the timing and security response. These contextual details suggest the disclosure has immediate security and political implications but, based on the available reporting, do not provide evidence on motive or perpetrators.
“He said security for the conservative, tough-on-crime president has been reinforced.”
Reporting limitations and caveats
Available reporting is limited and leaves key questions unanswered: neither Western mainstream report publishes corroborating evidence, the alleged intermediaries or hitman are not named, and Torres declined to release details. The two Asian sources in the set explicitly note missing text, reinforcing that the public record in these provided snippets is restricted to the official announcement. Given these gaps, summaries should make clear that the allegation has been reported by officials and outlets but remains publicly unproven based on the supplied material.