More than 656 people have been killed so far in Costa Rica’s deadliest year on record, official homicide data showed on Friday, but the government expects that number to rise to more than 900 by the end of the year.
Murders in Costa Rica hit a record high of 654 last year, according to the Judicial Investigation Agency in the historically quiet Central American country.
“The number continues to increase and this puts us at a turning point,” Director of the Bureau of Judicial Investigations Randall Zuniga told a local radio station, calling for more investments in public security.
From safety to bloody time
Costa Rica, which has been recognized for decades as the safest country in Central America, has seen more homicides in six of its seven provinces. The capital, San Jose, saw the highest increase, double that recorded in the same period last year. The rate of violence-related deaths across the country is expected to rise to 16 per 100,000 people this year, from 12.6 in 2022, and the rate could be higher than 33 in the Caribbean province of Limón. Authorities reported crimes such as torture, mass killings, and assassinations carried out by highly trained hitmen, similar to crimes committed by Mexican cartels. They attribute two-thirds of these killings to gangs fighting a war over drug trafficking operations in the country, a strategic position between producers in Colombia and consumers in the United States and Europe.
What do officials say?
Costa Rica’s Minister of Security, Mario Zamora, told Reuters in a statement that there are no “magic”, short-term solutions to combat crime in the country, and that it will require a series of security and preventive initiatives. Last April, President Rodrigo Chavez announced a raft of security measures to combat rising crime after the country’s main business chamber warned of a “national emergency” threatening foreign investment and tourism. “There is an ongoing struggle for power and resources,” Chavez reported in a press conference earlier this month, noting that combating international crime organizations will take time.
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2023-09-23 02:01:23
