Caribbean & Central America - October 2015 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Last year’s record levels of homicide look set to be beaten in 2015, according to the Judicial Investigations Agency (OIJ), a branch of the supreme court. A recent report by the newspaper Diario Extra revealed that the OIJ believes Costa Rica is on track to register 533 homicides this year, up from 471 in 2014 and 407 in 2012 and 2013. While the increased number still pales in comparison to many of Costa Rica’s Central American neighbours it is still sufficient to pass the “pandemic” violence threshold as determined by the World Health Organization.

An estimated 45% of the murders that have taken place so far this year are believed to be related to violence between drug gangs. The Mara Salvatrucha-13 and Barrio 18 gangs have an increasingly significant presence in the country, as Costa Rica becomes an important transit route for cocaine. Local officials have also warned that Mexican drug cartels have begun arming local drug gangs with powerful weapons. Last year, the Costa Rican authorities registered its single largest seizure of the drug, following a 30% rise in cocaine seizures in 2013.

However, even with the recent uptick in violence, Costa Rica’s murder rate remains well below that of its northern neighbours. The government has also taken a number of steps to tackle the issue, including the establishment of a special court for organized crime and drug trafficking in an attempt to avoid the corruption of the judiciary. Costa Rica has also become more aggressive in clamping down on illicit financial flows, enacting 19 of the US State Department’s 21 International Narcotics Strategy Report regulations.