Lawmaker Sofia Guillén: Costa Rica is living in a narco-state

QCOSTARICA — Because the government’s actions have not been strong enough to stop drug trafficking, Sofía Guillén questioned the commitment of the government of Rodrigo Chaves to stop drug trafficking. She stated that we live in a narco-state and that she believes that the government is promoting this through action or inaction.

“I fear, Costa Ricans, that we are already living in a narco-state, that what we thought was strange, that would not happen to us, has ended up happening to us. And I dare say that it is no longer enough to talk about a narco-state, I think we are talking about a narco-government that, consciously or unconsciously, is in practice a facilitator of these criminal groups,” Guillén said.

– Advertisement –

In support of her accusation, the lawmaker from the Frente Amplio (FA) party pointed out that the famous Operación Soberanía (Operation Sovereignty) has not produced the expected results and that the scanners placed in the ports of Limón are not working efficiently.

Read more: NYT: Costa Rica challenges Mexico’s top spot in cocaine shipments to US, Europe

She recalled that on July 13, 2023, the government announced “Operation Sovereignty,” with Chaves saying that not a single kilo of drugs would leave the country.

“A month later we discovered that 1,240 kilos of cocaine had left. It was reported that 560 kilos had been shipped to Germany, 490 to the Netherlands, 720 to Spain and 30 to Belgium, all from Costa Rica, and that went through the scanners that were already in place.

“Sorry, that is not naivety or incompetence. I believe there is a desire for favors,” Guillén said.

She added that at the beginning of the government’s approval of the Eurobonds there was a big debate about forcing the government to install the scanners, because they did not want to.

– Advertisement –

The second fact concerned the issue of the prisons that the Ministry of Justice wanted to build with tents.

Guillén wondered how the company that was going to build the “tent prisons” had already been able to secure $8.3 million in contracts with this government.

The lawmaker also pointed out that the failed tent project and the relocation of the Coast Guard Academy from Quepos to Pococi, where there is no sea, are other warning signs.

“Although the Coast Guard Academy requires that 65% of its courses take place at sea, its headquarters were moved and some officials from the Policía de Control de Drogas (PCD) – Drug Control Police – warned that this would weaken the border posts,” Guillén said.

– Advertisement –

The growth of drug gangs on national territory has put Costa Rica in conflict with Mexico for the region’s top spot in the transit of cocaine to the United States and Europe, the prestigious newspaper The New York Times reported Sunday under the title “How a tourist paradise became a magnet for drug trafficking.”

The newspaper cites as its source the report entitled “Integrated Country Strategy”, which was drawn up in 2022 by the US State Department. The document reports that Costa Rica overtook Mexico as the main cocaine transshipment center in 2020 and 2021, while Mexico regained the top spot in 2022.

“What a shame, what a shame, but also how dangerous. What we need is to attack the drug barons and to do that, we need to fight money laundering, money laundering and emerging assets without legal backing.

“Naivety or incompetence? I don’t think so. They’ve taken away a key position from where there is sea or where there isn’t. That’s not incompetence or naivety,” Guillén concluded.

The lawmaker stressed that it appears that the government is helping organised crime instead of stopping it.

Related

– Advertisement –