Police protest in Costa Rica after reduction of days off for operation against organized crime

First modification: 04/21/2023 – 07:28Last modification: 04/21/2023 – 14:47

Small groups of agents in their spare time met and blocked streets in different parts of the country. In San José they blocked traffic in a central square, and another group demonstrated at the access to the airport in the neighboring town of Alajuela.

They also temporarily blocked the main routes from the capital to the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.

Since nightfall, a demonstration of several dozen off-duty agents has been held outside the private home of the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, whom they accuse of having shortened his days off.

The president announced last Wednesday an increase of 700 new agents and a change in the schedules of the current uniformed officers, who enjoyed 6 days off for 6 days of work and now must work 6 and rest 4.

“United police, they will never be defeated” or “no to six by four” were the most repeated proclamations by the agents mobilized in front of the president’s house.

The government announced that 9,500 of the 12,000 police officers in the country will be on duty for six months.

“We are fighting our rights,” an agent who was demonstrating in front of Chaves’ house, who did not identify himself, told the Costa Rican channel Teletica. “It’s a very stressful job,” he stressed.

The agents stressed that the protests will continue daily until the Executive decides to retract the decision to reduce days off for uniformed officers.

The Minister of Public Security, Jorge Torres, addressed the protesting agents through a video sent to the press to tell them that “Costa Rica needs you today.”

“We must do our bit and unite to say ‘no more’ to criminals. Let’s put the common benefit represented by this temporary decision first,” said the minister.

Torres pointed out that the measure is “temporary” and “exceptional” and that despite the fact that it “raised doubts” among the police officers, “it was taken in order to have a greater number of police officers on the street.”

The minister invited the union leaders of the Police for a meeting this Friday in which they discuss the situation.

In turn, the National Association of Public and Private Employees (ANEP), the official voice of the mobilized police officers, indicated in a brief statement to the press: “we understand the discomfort of the police union over the announcement made by the government.” He stressed that they are analyzing “several scenarios” and that “the requests raised are fair.”

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The former president of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014) pointed out through her account on the social network Twitter that what the Chaves government has achieved is “unusual!”

Deputy Kattia Cambronero, from the opposition Liberal Progressive Party, the historic party in the government of Costa Rica, claimed that “a demonstration by police officers is serious. It is the worst social outbreak. Executive action and immediate citizen concern are urgent.”

homicides on the rise

The government announced that in the first 24 hours of the operation against organized crime, at least 100 people were arrested in the country.

Of the hundred detainees on the first day of the operation, seven were fugitives from justice with an outstanding arrest warrant. In addition, 87 are suspected of committing crimes against life, against property or for alleged violations of the arms or drug law, indicated from the Ministry of Public Security.

“This operation is going to be maintained indefinitely 24 hours a day,” the Deputy Director General of the Public Force, Commissioner Raúl Rivera, told the press.

According to the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), Costa Rica registered in 2022 the record of homicides since there are recordswith a total of 656, which increased the rate to 12.6 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, when in 2021 it was 11.4.

Of those deaths, 63% were settling scores between criminals. So far in 2023, 261 homicides have been registered, according to the OIJ.