Costa Rican Congress Calls for Emergency Due to Insecurity

On Thursday, the Costa Rican Congress approved a motion requesting the government to declare a national emergency due to the security situation reflected in the highest number of homicides in the country's history.

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The motion was passed by all 44 legislators present at the Plenary on Thursday, a day marked by the shooting death of an agent from the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) during an undercover surveillance operation.

"It is high time for the Executive branch to implement a concrete action plan to address the security issue we are facing," said Horacio Alvarado, a lawmaker from the opposition Social Christian Unity Party, whose caucus promoted the motion.

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of homicides in this Central American country increased by 46.2 percent. On Sept. 22, Costa Rica reached 655 homicides, a record-breaking figure in the history of this country, which currently has a rate of 12.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Authorities attribute the majority of homicides to territorial disputes between drug trafficking gangs and project that the number will exceed 800 homicides by the end of 2023.

Concerns among authorities escalated further after OIJ agent Geiner Gomez was killed while conducting undercover surveillance work in the Tirrases de Curridabat locality in the eastern sector of San Jose on Wednesday night.

Two 17 and 21-year-old men were arrested as suspects for firing from a motorcycle, killing the judicial agent, and seriously injuring another.

This crime prompted a reaction from OIJ Director Randall Zuñiga and Attorney General Carlo Diaz, who demanded more financial and human resources to combat the wave of criminality.