Costa Rica Now Drug Cartel's Hub
Costa Rica has gone from being a bridge
between South and North America for drug
trafficking to a full hub, becoming an
established warehouse and trading centre.
That fact is founded by the latest drug haul
by Costa Rican authorities in San Ramon,
west of San José, when police seized some
246 kilos of cocaine being stored in a
family home. The find was discovered during
a domestic dispute call.
During the past three years, a total of 92
tons of cocaine and us$17 million dollars
have been seized in Costa Rica.
The ministra de Seguridad Pública (MSP),
Janina del Vecchio, admitted the problem in
her year end report, saying that "Costa Rica
is privileged by nature and the climate, but
is also the drug route from South to North
and money from North to South".
The minister admits that Costa Rica is not
longer a simple route for drugs, but a hub,
which is used to connect segments and
transfer points for drugs to get to their
intended destination.
Del Vecchio says that drug cartels now come
to Costa Rica to store the drugs without the
use of intermediaries. "Colombians drop off
the drugs, the Mexicans come and pick it
up", said Del Vecchio in her report.
The problem is in the hands of Jorge Rojas,
the director of the Organismo de
Investigación Judicial (OIJ), to investigate
and detect drug trafficking activity.
Rojas says he wholly agrees with Del
Vecchio's assessment that Costa Rica is now
a meeting ground between the drug cartels,
namely the Mexicans and Colombians.
Figures from the MSP show that 92.7 tons of
cocaine have been seized since 2006, mostly
from boats in the Pacific ocean and 36
international drug rings have been
dismantled. The majority of the drug rings,
according to the MSP are Mexican and
Colombian.
In addition to the millions of dollars
seized during raids on drug rings, vehicles,
boats and properties have also fallen into
the hands of judicial authorities.
The MSP reports that up to 80% of all the
drugs produced in South America pass through
Central America. And the reason for Del
Vecchio calling on regional co-operation and
more specialization in detecting drug
trafficking operations and the need for more
technological resources to keep one step
ahead of the sophistication and astuteness
of the drug cartels.
That astuteness is evidenced by the find of
drugs hidden in shipments of marble from
Costa Rica. Last month, some 2 tons of
cocaine was seized by police from a
warehouse in Santa Ana (west of San José),
hidden between slabs of marble headed for
Mexico. Marble shipments are not that
tighlty controlled by customs officials.
See Another Blow To Traffickers Of
Cocaine
In May, a helicopter went down in the area
of Perez Zeledon loaded with 395 kilos of
cocaine. The helicopter crashed in the
mountains in the Southeastern side of the
country.
Two Mexicans Detained In "Heli-Coca"
Investigation.
Costa Rican president Oscar Arias says the
country is condemned to the drug trafficking
trade due to its geography, being stuck
smack in the middle between the producers
and the consumers.
Arias admits that it is a difficult
situation and that not much can be done
about it, other than urge the US to increase
its resources and regional co-operation.
The prices of illegal drugs makes it
profitable for the drug cartels to continue
to do business and Costa Rica is ideal
grounds as it has dozens of unguarded border
crossings, extensive coasts making it a
natural for drug trafficking and a lax
police force.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
