Authorities in Costa Rica are concerned about the emergence of a local drug-trafficking “mega-cartel” that specializes in transporting cocaine bought in Colombia by sea.

The Minister of Public Security [σ.σ. με αρμοδιότητες που αντιστοιχούν εν μέρει στον υπουργό Προστασίας του Πολίτη και εν μέρει στον υπουργό Εσωτερικών]Mario Zamora, met yesterday Monday with officials of the US federal drug enforcement agency (DEA), in order to “improve international support to Costa Rica in the fight against the scourge of drugs”, his services announced in a press release that they made public.

Authorities are more concerned about the arrival on the country’s Pacific coast and neighboring Nicaragua of criminals who were already infesting the Limon region, on the Caribbean coast, where Costa Rica’s main commercial port is located.

The drugs typically reach Costa Rica’s Pacific coast by boat from Colombia, then are trafficked by road to shores in the Caribbean Sea, from where they are hidden in containers for markets in Europe and the U.S., authorities said.

Costa Ricans were recently arrested by the Colombian Navy, which seized nearly two tons of marijuana and “a large quantity of cocaine” on a boat bound for the Central American country, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

With a total of 656 murders, Costa Rica lived in 2022 the most violent year in its history. The government, faced with the risk of the spread of gang activity, as in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, began a large-scale operation against organized crime, which it christened “Costa Rica Segura Plus” (“Safer Costa Rica”).