Costa Rica eighth in Latin America with the highest homicide rate in 2024

QCOSTARICA — Costa Rica has long been seen as a safe haven in a region plagued by crime.

However, in the past few years, the country has seen a sharp increase in violence, largely attributed to its increasing involvement in drug trafficking.

Thus, Costa Rica has, for the first time, entered the list of the top 10 Latin American countries (placing in eight place) with the highest homicide rate in 2024, according to the InSight Crime report published in February.

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“Although murders in Costa Rica decreased slightly in 2024, it was the second most violent year on record, with a homicide rate of 16.6, following a record high of 17.2 in 2023. Revenge, a motive linked to drug trafficking, was the main driver of violence, accounting for 70% of homicides,” the report states.

From InSightCrime.org report

According to Randall Zúñiga, head of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), the decrease was due to “Operation Caribe”, a strategy aimed at reducing crime in Limón, which recorded the highest homicide rate in 2023.

Although homicides in this city decreased by 15% in 2024, the province recorded a homicide rate of 37.8, the highest in the country.

After Operation Caribe, some drug trafficking networks migrated to the province of Puntarenas, on the Pacific coast, which recorded the second highest rate, according to the report.

The year 2024 closed with more than 800 homicides, making it the second-most violent year in Costa Rica’s history.

For this year, 2025, with strategies implemented in different parts of the country, authorities are seeking to prevent reaching 1,000 homicides.

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The task may be a difficult one, given that in the first two and a half months (January 1 to March 15) of this year, more than 200 homicides have been recorded.

Haiti, Ecuador, and Venezuela had the highest homicide rates in the region in 2024. Mexico ranked seventh, and Uruguay ranked eleventh, with the lowest rate (10.6).