QCOSTARICA — On average, six out of every ten homicides committed in Costa Rica are in one of the 12 most dangerous cantons in the country.
The violence associated with drug trafficking and murders is linked to a small group of communities that recorded more than 20 homicides each between January 1 and November 24, 2023, according to a report by the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ).
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These are four of the six cantons of Limón and the most popular neighborhoods of San José, such as the Central canton (downtown San José), Desamparados and Alajuelita.
Puntarenas center, Alajuela center, Goicoechea, Santa Cruz and Nicoya are added to this group.
In total, this group of 12 cantons totals 473 homicides in the indicated period, which implies 57% of the cases.
In contrast, another 40 of the 84 cantonsin the country reported fewer than five incidents so far this year, and at least five did not have a single murder recorded. Another group of eight cantons only added one case to the national statistics each.
Caribbean at risk
Of all the places in the country, the central canton of Limón is the most dangerous. The province of Limón triples Mexico’s murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants.
By the end of November, the central canton had 86 cases and the province had more than 200 homicides.
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In fact, four of the six cantons in the Caribbean are in the top 10 most dangerous places in Costa Rica.
In the case of the central canton of Limón, the homicide rate is 85.8 per 100 thousand inhabitants, which is much higher than the national rate of Mexico for 2022, which was only 25.2.
In the case of Costa Rica, by the end of November, the homicide rate per 100 thousand inhabitants was only 15.9.
“Costa Rica has been breaking its homicide record year after year, and 2023 is no exception and there are no magical, short-term answers that can reverse this trend. Realistic responses start from the organization and provision of police resources, use of scanners and high technology in video protection, updating and modernization of criminal regulations, reinforcement of penitentiary infrastructure and especially in deepening, within the social fabric, in prevention of crime,” said Mario Zamora, Minister of Security.
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In that sense, Randall Zúñiga, director of the OIJ, highlighted that there is an exponential growth in cases, which is linked to drug trafficking and the lack of employment opportunities.
The official added that the violence experienced in the country is typical of a war between gangs.
“While they are alive, they gouge out their eyes, cut off their penis, tongue, and ears, in a clear act of torture. These are situations that have been seen in other countries and are already being seen in Costa Rica,” Zúñiga said to a legislative commission.
The Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels of Mexico, in alliance with Colombian drug traffickers, dispute drug trafficking routes and Costa Rican territory, according to the Global Cocaine Report released by the United Nations at the end of March.
As a consequence, the violence experienced in Mexico and Colombia also spreads to Costa Rica and other Latin American countries.
And the fact is that the gangs do not work together to transport their drugs mainly to the United States and Europe, but rather they wage war among themselves and against local drug traffickers to take over the transfer.
“The increase in violence in Central America has been driven primarily by competition with local drug traffickers and between various gangs (…) At the behest of Mexican-Colombian collaboration, individuals linked to the Sinaloa cartel are using their management skills to penetrate the territory of Costa Rica together with the Colombians. It is also believed that Mexican murderers are behind the wave of violence in Costa Rica, where local traffickers have been murdered to be replaced by members of Colombian-Mexican groups,” the UN report indicates.
Most dangerous cantons
Between January 1 and November 24, 824 homicides were recorded in Costa Rica, of which 473 occurred in one of the 12 most dangerous cantons in the country. This is 57% of incidents nationwide. In all cases, except Pococí, there is a significant increase for the same period last year.
Young people in the spotlight
People between the ages of 18 and 29 are the main victims of murders. This is due to the war between drug trafficking gangs for control of territory and drugs, according to the OIJ.
The causes of the homicides
Settling of accounts (ajuste de cuentas) between criminal gangs is the main reason for the homicides, according to the OIJ, followed by fights (riñas), other crime (otro delito), undetermined (no determinado), domestic violence (violencia doméstica), Repelling criminal activity (repeliendo actividad criminal), professional (profesional), and sexual (sexual).
Costa Rica is the new paradise for drug traffickers
The situation has not gone unnoticed outside of Costa Rica, as the international media, among them the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, New York Post, CBS News in the United States, and Spain’s El País, in their reports describing Costa Rica as the new haven for drug traffickers.
This threatens Costa Rica’s tropical paradise image of “Pura Vida”.
Strangulating the finances of drug trafficking is necessary to win the war against criminal gangs, a very efficient way to stop drug trafficking and organized crime, according to legislators, specialists and the country’s security authorities.
However, the bad news is that seizing these properties, money and yachts from drug traffickers is not easy. A law full of legal loopholes, extensive criminal processes and the concern to comply with due process and not violate fundamental rights, make President Rodrigo Chaves say openly that his hands are tied in this matter.
It is not possible to access drug traffickers’ assets quickly and at the same time comply with due process and respect basic rights.
“The fight against drug trafficking is frontal. Taking away their farms, cars, luxury houses, and yachts would be fabulous and deserved, but the issue is how to do it? We cannot put someone in jail and take away their possessions and money without violating people’s fundamental rights,” Chaves said.
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