Freedom activist opens up about life under tyranny in Costa Rica

America’s Frontline News last week sat down with freedom activist and World Council for Health member Marco Albertazzi, a Costa Rica native who has seen first-hand the human rights horrors the people of Costa Rica faced in the name of public health. 

“What the previous government did to the people of Costa Rica was so bad,” Albertazzi told Frontline News correspondent Yudi Sherman. “What they did to our liberties, to our human rights, to parents, to workers, to the whole society was so bad that I just had to speak up." 

Albertazzi says that under former President Carlos Alvarado, Costa Ricans were prohibited from riding in the car with their own families, which the government called a “social bubble” - but they were allowed on a crowded bus. 

“We saw a person, an Uber driver and he was working in spite of their restrictions,” Albertazzi relates. The man was stopped by police, who fined him and removed his license plate so he could no longer legally drive the vehicle. The man fell to his knees to beg the officers to allow him to continue to use his car. 

“He’s crying in front of the policeman,” continued Albertazzi. “He was saying I'm just working because I need to bring some food to my children at home.” 

The freedom activist says that while celebrities and some Costa Ricans cheered the restrictions, “there were a lot of us that started just investigating, reading, hearing, for instance, Dr. Simone Gold, hearing people all over the world.” 

In another event, Albertazzi recalls when two men went surfing when the beaches were closed due to COVID. The police found the surfers and began shooting at them as they ran. The men ultimately were unharmed, though a video of the incident went viral. 

Marco Albertazzi is the founder of Movimiento por la Salud y la Libertad (Movement For Health and Freedom), a pro-science organization dedicated to human rights.

See Part I and Part II of the full interview with Marco Albertazzi.