Q COSTARICA — Costa Rica is experiencing a gang war for territory that has driven up murders in the last three years.
Among the proposals put forward by the leading presidential candidates to address Costa Rica’s security crisis are large-scale police operations in dangerous neighborhoods, increased investment in education and culture, reforming the penal code to ensure dangerous criminals are imprisoned, and lifting constitutional guarantees if warranted.
With a little over six weeks until the presidential elections, it is clear that crime and homicides are the primary concern for the people in Costa Rica, especially given the record number of murders, the majority related to the turf war between drug gangs, reported in the last three years and
It makes sense that presidential candidates have put a lot of emphasis on tackling everyday crime, along with fighting drug traffickers and paid assassins.
This leads to an important question: which candidate offers the most effective solutions to reduce insecurity and lower the homicide rate?
The answer is not simple and will essentially depend on each candidate’s perspective, as the approaches to action can be overtly punitive, preventative, or even a combination of both.
For example, Laura Fernández, from the ruling party Pueblo Soberano, and Fabricio Alvarado, from Nueva República, are the only candidates who agree to lift constitutional guarantees, if necessary.
This would involve suspending freedom of movement, the right to privacy in the home, as well as in private documents and communications, the right to assembly, and the freedom to arrest without a warrant, large-scale operations, among others, in “the most dangerous areas”.
They favor a tough, no-nonsense stance on crime, advocating for more prisons and a bigger police force.
“As the future president of Costa Rica, I am prepared, in strictly necessary cases and if we see an escalation in contract killings and crimes related to organized crime, to request the Legislative Assembly to lift or suspend individual guarantees. This means that, if things get very bad, with police intelligence identifying the neighborhoods with the highest crime rates, we could lift guarantees, conduct operations, and take these criminals off the streets,” Fernández said in mid-October.
Different Approaches
These types of positions are rejected by other candidates, such as Álvaro Ramos of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN). For their part, Ariel Robles of the Frente Amplio (FA) and Claudia Dobles of the Agenda Ciudadana emphasize that their proposals are firm but never prohibitive of constitutional freedoms and guarantees.
These candidates even advocate for promoting restorative justice and greater investment in education, culture, and sports, with the goal of steering young people away from the world of drugs.
For example, Robles calls for a comprehensive reform of the prison system toward effective rehabilitation, “with a human rights approach, avoiding overcrowding,” while Dobles proposes strengthening the Civic Centers for Peace and establishing “mandatory work and education programs for social reintegration.”
Finally, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, of the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC), believes that Costa Rica is at a turning point and that, therefore, extraordinary measures are required, such as selling the state bank, the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), to capitalize on the fight against crime and bringing in European police to patrol Costa Rica’s ports of export to Europe and thus seize drugs before they leave the country.
“The expenditure we have to make on security is enormous, and we don’t want to finance it with more taxes, but rather with extraordinary resources, through a trust fund created from the sale of the BCR. Criminal groups have already identified us as an ideal location for doing business, especially for re-exporting cocaine to Europe. If we don’t react now, the spiral of violence will continue,” the PUSC candidate concluded.
There are twenty presidential candidates for the elections on February 1. Although we can assume that all presidential candidates are aware that security is the country’s main problem before the elections, only the leading candidates have put concrete plans for government programs if elected, dedicating significant space to this issue.
The proposals by the leading candidates, listed in alphabetical order:
Fabricio Alvarado of the Nueva Republica
- Apply a firm hand against crime, so that violent criminals are not at large.
- Use states of emergency restrictively in conflict zones, with legislative authorization in exceptional cases.
- Unify police forces under the Ministry of Public Security.
- Increase the number of police officers by 1,000 per year.
- Modernize the Operations Center with Artificial Intelligence (AI), facial recognition, drones, GPS, and video cameras.
- Implement rigorous controls on the entry of people into the country by sea, air, and land.
- Construct a mega high-security prison for the containment and segregation of violent criminals.
- Implement mandatory work for inmates to support the institution.
- Promote legal reforms to increase penalties against organized crime and contract killings.
Claudia Dobles of the Agenda Ciudadana
- Implement a Comprehensive Policy involving the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.
- Increase investment in security by 0.60% of GDP.
- Conduct strategically targeted, intelligence-based mega-operations.
- Strengthen the National Coast Guard Service.
- Strengthen Civic Centers for Peace.
- Address drug addiction as a public health problem.
- Construct new prison facilities.
- Establish mandatory work and education programs for social reintegration.
- Support legal reforms to block any method of illegal communication within prisons.
Laura Fernández of the Pueblo Soberano
- Lifting or suspension of individual rights in dangerous neighborhoods if homicides and violence increase.
- Reform the Penal Code to ensure that violent criminals are imprisoned.
- Support the construction of the mega-prison.
- Inmates must perform mandatory labor to compensate victims and cover the costs of the system.
- Firm territorial control with a constant police presence.
- Strengthening immigration control (immediate deportation of foreign criminals).
- Structured social prevention programs for children and youth, including education, culture, and decent employment.
- Reclaiming public spaces in partnership with municipalities, revitalizing neighborhoods with cultural and sporting activities.
Juan Carlos Hidalgo of the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC)
- Sale of the BCR and BICSA to use the proceeds in the fight against drug trafficking.
- Relaxing the fiscal rule to allow for more police equipment, technology, and training.
- Increasing the Public Force by 6,500 police officers.
- European police would be present in Moín to help curb contaminated exports.
- Creation of a 24/7 National Cybersecurity Operations Center.
- Reform of the Criminal Procedure Code to expedite trials and ensure the effective enforcement of sentences. Those who commit crimes will be held accountable.
- Comprehensive prevention strategy to create opportunities for vulnerable youth, strengthen community safety, and promote a culture of peace.
Álvaro Ramos of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN)
- Large-scale operations in troubled neighborhoods, according to intelligence reports. Forty communities are targeted.
- Hiring of 6,000 additional police officers over the four-year term.
- Regaining territorial control in conflict zones.
- Permanent operations at tourist destinations.
- Reclaiming public spaces with a constant police presence.
- Increased investment in education, culture, and sports to prevent violence.
- Review of the changes made to the National Coast Guard Service.
- Creation of a command and control center that leverages technology, communications, and citizen engagement.
Ariel Robles of the Frente Amplio
- Dedicate at least 50% of the revenue from the corporate and casino taxes to preventative security programs.
- Declare drug addiction a public health problem.
- Professionalize all police forces with a civilian, human rights, and gender-sensitive approach. – Strengthening social investment programs (education, care, recreation) to prevent the recruitment of young people by organized crime.
- Restoring lighting and improving the infrastructure of public spaces (parks, sports fields) to promote community enjoyment.
- Comprehensive reform of the prison system toward effective rehabilitation, with a human rights approach, avoiding overcrowding.
- Combating the flow of money by drug trafficking.