Costa Rican Red Cross rescuers have to deal with insults, threats with weapons and theft while trying to save lives in the country.
It seems as if criminals have set their eyes on the entity, since it reports at least three cases of risk incidents per month.
We thought that people still had faith, trust and respect for the institution, but that is not the case,”
said Jesús Escalona, coordinator of Institutional Security, a unit created just eight months ago aiming to face the problem.
According to Escalona, in recent months the rescuers have gone through a series of events including verbal abuse, threats with firearms or knives and even a hostage situation while criminals were stealing money.
Just the last week of February, two men tried to steal equipment from the ambulances in Barrio Amón and Mexico Hospital.
Given the large number of events that have been reported in recent months, authorities have identified places like Los Guido in Desamparados, Fallas Street in Desamparados and some areas in Barranca de Puntarenas as high-risk areas.
The institution has taken a policy to reduce operational risks by not approaching scenes, such as gun showdowns, with the police, but rather wait until the Public Force has the situation under control.