Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal yesterday commented on the Colombian government freeing five men who allegedly plotted to kill him and Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias.

Costa Rica “respects the decisions of Colombian authorities, and they respect ours,” Berrocal said in a statement from the ministry.

Authorities believe five Colombians arrested in Costa Rica late last week – identified by the last names Angulo, Martínez, Casares, Flores and Olaya -- were sent here by a Colombian drug cartel to kill Berrocal and Arias as an act of vengeance against Costa Rica, where 40 metric tons of cocaine were seized from boats transporting them from Colombia during the past year. The five arrested were deported to Colombia Saturday.

Berrocal said the Colombian government was forced to release the alleged hit men from police custody because they faced no pending criminal charges in Colombia.

Nevertheless, investigations of these five men will continue in both countries, he said.

Arias, who is also the brother of President Oscar Arias, will not be making any public comments about the situation, according to a statement released yesterday by Casa Presidencial.

-Tico Times