President Costa Rica announces ambitious security plan, cornered by sharp rise in crime

The president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, announced on Wednesday an ambitious program of security measures, cornered by the sharp increase in crime in the country, which in 2022 reached a record number of homicides and so far in 2023 registers a 41 % more than the previous year.

On the eve of completing one year in power on May 8, the president presented several legal reforms and announced that he will triple to 9,500 the police available to patrol the streets of the Central American nation, known for years for its calm environment and for receiving tourists. and retirees.

“We are going to amend the course that we lost a long time ago,” Chaves said, a week after criticizing those who denounced a security crisis and despite the wave of violence reflected in official statistics in the country of 5.2 million inhabitants.

Among the proposed legal changes is allowing the extradition of Costa Ricans in drug trafficking cases and toughening the juvenile criminal law, measures that will run into an opposition majority in the Legislative Assembly.

Costa Rica ended 2022 with a historic rate of 12.6 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), which in the first 100 days of 2023 reports a 41% increase in these crimes, with one every 10 hours.

“63% of homicides are classified as settling of scores (revenge) between criminal structures” associated with drug trafficking, said Daniel Calderón, director of the Public Force in the country, who abolished the Army in 1948, during the presentation of the program. .

“I want people to be able to walk calmly in the street, for the little ones to go to the park safely, for young people to go to study without fear of being caught in a shootout,” said Chaves, who has an approval rating of close to 70%, although in Citizen surveys place insecurity among the main national problems.

The deterioration of social conditions in recent decades, the pressure from international drug trafficking groups, limited police resources and judicial inefficiency are some of the underlying factors indicated by the Government to justify the plan.

The main organization of businessmen, Unión de Cámaras, called on Friday to declare a “national emergency” due to the increase in violence and assaults, as well as the negative impact that these could have on the iconic local tourism industry and on foreign investments.

The United States embassy in San José published a reminder in March to ask its citizens who reside or travel to the Central American nation “to exercise extreme caution due to crime.”

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