| Free Costa Rica Movement | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Bernal Urbina |
| Foundation | 1961 |
| Country | Costa Rica |
| Ideology | Anti-communism Costa Rican nationalism Conservatism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Major actions | Nicaraguan embassy's attack on June 12, 1985[1] Intimidation of labor union, peasant and left-wing organizations[1] |
TheFree Costa Rica Movement (Movimiento Costa Rica Libre) was afar-rightanti-Communist andultra-Conservative political association inCosta Rica.[1][2] The group was founded in 1961 as Nationalist Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista). Some of its more noticeable actions were during neighboringNicaragua'sSandinista government in the 80s, as the group was strongly anti-Sandinista and considered Sandinista Nicaragua a threat to Costa Rica.[3] The group attacked Nicaragua's embassy in 1981.[1] Besides theFSLN, the group was also enemy of several Costa Ricanleft-wing parties likeUnited People and several farmers and workers organizations.[2] It was also a member of theWorld Anti-Communist League.
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Free Costa Rica Movement" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The movement was founded in 1961 by Edgar Cardona, who led a failed coup againstJosé Figueres Ferrer, Rodolfo Robles, Hernán Robles, Bernal Urbina, the Pozuelo (of the Pozuelo cookie chain), the Uribes (linked to the Más X Menos chain) and the Federspiels (of the Universal store chain) with the purpose of combatingcommunism.
The Free Costa Rica Movement was a member of theWorld Anticommunist League, founded inTaiwan byChiang Kai-shek, to which various organizations belonganti-communists). Additionally, the MCRL had greater influence and means than its activities ultimately demonstrated. For example, the press on several occasions denounced that his fight against theSandinistas, who PresidentRodrigo Carazo Odio allowed to operate in the northern zone, and theCubans, which helped him to form in 1983 the Huetar Norte Democratic Association, aparamilitary organization that provided all kinds of support to the NicaraguanContras and its counterpart, the North Chorotega Democratic Association, which operated fighting the Sandinistas on the northern border and preventing Nicaraguan immigrants from entering, and was responsible for creating training camps for Cuban counterrevolutionaries.[4] These organizations were joined byPatria y Libertad, the group responsible for having blown up the tower that transferred electricity from Costa Rica toNicaragua (1985).[5][6]
Between 1982 and 1984, the MCRL operated several paramilitary units, among which the Blue Berets and the Tridents stood out, which operated in the Metropolitan Area and whose members generally belonged to the middle class. Additionally, there were very clear indications of economic ties between the MCRL and the United States embassy. Peasant movements in the northern zone, Guanacaste or the San Carlos plain are also suspected of being repressed by the Costa Rican government with the support of groups related to the MCRL.
TheUnión Patriótica was formed in 1961 in response to the alleged threat of left-wing insurgent actions against Costa Rican democratic institutions led by the well-known anti-communistFrank Marshall. In this process, it also served the training of Cubancounter-revolutionaries in the facilities of its founder, Costa Rican Ludwig Starke Maroto, who is also a renownedveterinarian in the country.
However, the Free Costa Rica Movement remained the most active of these nationalist and anti-communist groups. Several media outlets at the time denounced that the MCRL received large sums of money from companies and the governments ofUnited States andTaiwan, with paramilitary training, however, close associates of the Movement took charge of diverting the attention and impede investigations. From 1980 it reached its peak, due to the political tension that affected allCentral America at that time.
Another of the actions taken by this movement consisted of infiltrating the Costa Rican Taxi Drivers Association to such an extent that its leader, a member of the MCRL, helped to dissolve a peaceful demonstration through this Association. It is rumored that it was due to information delivered from the US Embassy in San José.
The organization is alleged to have had heavily trained paramilitary squads of anti-communist fighters in addition to the Blue Berets and the Tridents in the period 1982 to 1984.
However, after the death of Bernal Urbina Pinto, he fell into a strong inactivity for several years. In 2005, a representative of the MCRL declared himself in favor of the Tratado de Libre Comercio through a press release. On March 29, 2009, in a statement signed by Jose Alberto Pinto inLa Nación, thereanudación de vínculos diplomáticos con el régimen socialista cubano, by theadministración Arias Sánchez.
The reason for this inactivity may be due to the fact that in 1984 the members of its main civilian squad, the Blue Berets, resigned from the MCRL because they found that it did not meet the necessary requirements for an effective confrontation against the communist expansion inCentral America, thus depriving it of its main branch and an important group of members. In 1985, the Blue Berets dissolve of their own volition.
The organization currently declares itself active and claims to be preparing to defendCosta Rica from theNicaraguan invasion ofIsla Calero.