Q COSTARICA — Cartago is no longer the exception. What once seemed foreign is now happening in broad daylight: shootouts, executions, and hitmen firing indiscriminately.
The interim-director of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), Michael Soto, confirmed that the province of Cartago is experiencing a worrying surge in violence linked to disputes between criminal organizations vying for territorial control.
According to Soto, the OIJ’s analysis points to a direct conflict between criminal groups operating both in the central canton and in surrounding areas.
“In the central canton, we have certainly been working very diligently to clarify our analysis. It appears to us that there is a fierce struggle for territory between several groups connected to the La Unión area and to central Cartago,” Soto stated.
Soto acknowledged that Cartago historically was not among the most violent provinces in the country, but warned that this situation has changed rapidly in recent weeks.
“Cartago is a province that traditionally has not had significant problems with violence, but in recent weeks that has changed,” he added.
Soto assured that the authorities are working together to try to curb this escalation, with operations and police actions aimed at weakening these criminal structures.
“We are working very hard with our personnel, with the Public Force, to try to slow down this problem in the area,” he stated.
The official was emphatic when referring to the Monday night murder that occurred inside a gym in Cartago, pointing out that this event demonstrates the level of contempt for human life with which these groups operate.
“This shows that there is no respect for human life, nor are the criminal structures concerned about affecting third parties, collateral victims,” he said.
He even warned that, given the way the attack was carried out, other people could have been seriously injured or killed.
“In this incident, due to the gunman’s inexperience or clumsiness, people who were there exercising could have been affected,” he stated.
Soto added that this pattern of violence is not limited to enclosed spaces, but is also seen on the streets, with indiscriminate attacks and high-powered weapons.
“We have seen it on the streets where they shoot indiscriminately with a high level of violence, using weapons that are modified to fire many shots in a single burst,” he explained.
Despite this situation, Soto assured that constant actions are being taken to target criminal gangs and arrest people linked to these organizations.
“It is something the country has been seeing, but we have also been countering it and carrying out police operations to arrest people linked to criminal organizations,” he concluded.
Authorities are maintaining active operations in the province, while the violence makes it clear that Cartago is no longer on the sidelines of the criminal war that is hitting Costa Rica.