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

QCOSTARICA — The growth of drug trafficking groups in the country is pushing Costa Rica to challenge Mexico for the region’s top spot in cocaine transit to the United States and Europe, according to a report by The New York Times on Sunday titled “How a Tourist Paradise Became a Magnet for Drug Trafficking.”

The newspaper cites the ‘Integrated Country Strategy’ report, which was drawn up by the US State Department in 2022, as its source.

The document shows that Costa Rica overtook Mexico as the top cocaine transshipment center in 2020 and 2021, while Mexico regained the top spot in 2022.

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Violence and murders caused by drug trafficking threaten to damage Costa Rica’s paradisiacal and “Pura Vida” image. Murders have already reached a historic record for the country. At the same time, the bloodbath, the product of a war between drug trafficking gangs, with professional hitmen and teenagers involved in the drug trade, extends practically throughout the country.

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

The situation has not gone unnoticed outside Costa Rica either, which is why major international media outlets are devoting some of their attention to reporting on the events in the tropical paradise of Costa Rica.

For example, the Chicago Tribune pointed out late last year that Costa Rica is the new paradise for drug traffickers and not so much for tourists.

“Drug traffickers have found a vast paradise in the mangroves and jungles, with few inhabitants and little police protection, which they can use as a stopover for the cocaine they transport from South America to the United States. They have also increasingly taken advantage of the fertile land to plant marijuana among the almond and cedar trees there. Costa Rica has no army and this invasion of its territory has put lightly armed forest rangers at the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking, while at the same time preventing walkers from encountering unpleasant surprises,” the media reported.

Similar information has been published in recent months by the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the New York Post and CBS News, as well as El País of Spain in its international edition. These are media that focus on the target audience in terms of attracting tourism.

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“For years Costa Rica has been a model of progressive democracy in Latin America, but it is now struggling with a rise in violence, caused by a little-discussed phenomenon that has affected several Latin American countries. Now this former haven of peace is struggling with a rise in violence. Once merely a way station for illegal drugs en route to the United States or Europe, they now have their own problems with abuse,” The Washington Post reported.

Murders are a serious problem

If the average number of murders in the last four months of the year remains the same, there will be a slight decrease in the number of murder cases in 2024 compared to last year.

However, it is also true that the emergency created by the battle between drug gangs for territory and smuggling routes is far from over.

With an average of 2.3 murders per day between January 1 and September 10, Costa Rica would end this year with approximately 864 murders, compared to 907 in 2023.

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Despite the reduction, it would be the second-worst record in history.

“In the midst of a critical situation created by insecurity, focused on killings and mainly those linked to contract killings, it is important to point out that the police and the Government of the Republic are doing their best. The police are the fourth most valued institution within the government and are doing everything they can to contain the problem,” said Mario Zamora, Minister of Security.

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