QCOSTARICA — With just a few months to the end of the year, Costa Rica is on track to report the lowest seizure of illegal drugs in the last decade, according to data from the Ministry of Public Security, which includes the Drug Control Police (PCD).
By mid-September, the country reported a total of 13,199 kilograms of cocaine seized, while last year 15,680 were seized throughout the period.
The reduction is part of a trend that has been reflected since 2020 when a record figure of 51,479 kilograms was reported seized.
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In the case of marijuana, the decline is even more notable, since last year 15,847 kilos were seized and for this year only half is recorded.
That could be good news or bad, depending on the point of view used to make the analysis.
And the fact is that legislators, analysts, and the government differ on the subject.
A positive approach is explained by criminologist Tania Molina, who highlights that last year countries such as Colombia, Ecuador and Panama seized large quantities of cocaine and this reduced the amount of drugs passing through Costa Rica. In this case, this same phenomenon could be repeating itself.
“If they are doing their job well and are being more efficient (at the source), there should be a drop in seizures here, since that cocaine is not reaching Costa Rica,” said the specialist.
Meanwhile, the government of Rodrigo Chaves has another positive explanation on the subject.
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According to Manuel Jiménez, vice minister of Security, the reduction is due to the Operación Soberanía (Operation Sovereignty) that is underway.
This is a series of measures that include the interconnection of intelligence of all the police forces attached to Public Security, coordination with international authorities and, of course, the placement of scanners to detect drugs, such as the one at the Moín Container Terminal. This does not include the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), a dependency of the Supreme Court of Justice which works in collaboration with the Public Prosecutor of Costa Rica.
“They simply cannot bring drugs into the country as easily as they did before and this has caused them to use other international drug trafficking routes; that is, all of those drugs that were coming to Costa Rica are being diverted to other countries or other jurisdictions where they do not have as much difficulty in bringing them into the territory,” said Jiménez.
The official added that now criminal gangs do not usually put thousands of kilos of cocaine in a container, because they are easily detected, but now they barely put 50 kilograms at most.
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The issue can also be seen from a more critical perspective.
The minimal reduction in homicides in relation to the same period last year would be an indicator that the war between criminal gangs and the settling of scores are far from over.
So far this year, 671 murders have been recorded (a high figure for the country), some 24 less than at the same time last year. If this trend continues, the year could close with almost 900 cases, while 2023 set a record with 907 cases.
Another indicator is that the United States Department of State indicated in 2022 that Costa Rica disputes with Mexico first place in the region in cocaine transshipment, which is denied by the government.
“I fear, Costa Ricans, that we already live in a narco-state. We give more resources to Public Security and, even so, 1,240 kilograms of cocaine pass through their noses at the border. Sorry, that is not naivety or incompetence,” said Sofía Guillén, a legislator for the Frente Amplio.
Meanwhile, Álvaro Ramos, former Minister of the Interior and Police, said that the country simply does not have the operational capacity to fight drug trafficking and that is demonstrated by the fact that the territorial sea is enormous and Costa Rica cannot patrol it.
The expert asserts that drugs pass through the country and we do not realize it.
“We cannot seize drugs because we do not have the means, there are no planes for patrolling, we do not have operational boats for the sea that we have, we do not have radars, neither fixed nor mobile. Therefore, it is a lie to say that drug traffickers have stopped using the country to transport drugs,” said Ramos.
Legislators from various parties are calling for more direct action to confront the problem of drug trafficking and organized crime, yet are slow, even reluctant, to increase security budgets.
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