The Monteverde bank siege began on March 8, 2005, at the Banco Nacional branch in Santa Elena and ended the following evening. An attempted robbery became a hostage crisis lasting about twenty-eight hours. This article describes the historical event and its aftermath, with source links for readers who want to examine the record.
How the bank siege began
El Observador’s twentieth-anniversary account describes three armed men attempting to enter the branch. Two died at the entrance, while Erlyn Hurtado Martínez entered and held people inside. The confrontation continued into the next day, with hostages leaving at different stages and police attempting to resolve the crisis.
Santa Elena during the crisis
The Tico Times’ report published March 11, 2005 describes streets cordoned off around the bank, people unable to return to nearby accommodation and families waiting near the local clinic. Police and Red Cross personnel worked in the town as television coverage carried the events across the country.
That contemporary reporting conveys the disruption and uncertainty experienced by people outside the building, as well as those held inside. The effects extended beyond the bank’s employees and customers to families, emergency workers, residents and visitors.
The people who died
El Observador’s retrospective records nine deaths: two bank employees, four customers, police officer Óscar Quesada Fallas and two of the attackers. It names employees Rosa Ángela Marchena Cruz and Juan Pablo González Ledezma, and customers Víctor Badilla, María Rosa Bolaños, William Suárez and Mario López.
The same account describes a police entry during which Quesada was fatally wounded. It places the surrender on the evening of March 9, with the final hostage released. We do not repeat a precise overall injury count here because the reporting distinguishes injuries, hospitalizations and later criminal charges differently.
The criminal case and civil claims
A December 2007 court-news report preserved by the Poder Judicial records Hurtado’s November 2006 conviction and a sentence totaling 210 years, reduced to fifty years. It also reports that the Sala Tercera required the bank and security company to compensate accepted civil claimants, partially overturning the earlier decision on civil responsibility.
The judgment is listed in the judicial database as Sala Tercera resolution 1333-2007. A report that compensation was ordered should not be treated as proof that every claimant was subsequently paid a particular amount.
La Nación reported in May 2011 that Hurtado died during a failed escape attempt at La Reforma prison.
Remembering the event responsibly
Historical accounts sometimes disagree on exact timings, spelling and numerical details. The sources above are linked so readers can distinguish contemporary reporting from later recollections and court coverage. This page avoids recreating conversations, assigning motives or depicting an illustrated scene as documentary evidence.
The bank interior, forest and memorial images are clearly labeled illustrations. They are not photographs of the branch, victims or police operation.
This is a historical account, not a current safety assessment of Monteverde. For present-day travel decisions, use current conditions and official advice. Our emergency contacts guide provides a separate practical reference.
Reviewed September 7, 2026, using the dated reporting and judicial references linked above.