No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsEnvironment and WildlifeCosta Rica to confront drug trafficking, illegal fishing with new radar system

Costa Rica to confront drug trafficking, illegal fishing with new radar system

PUERTO CALDERA, Puntarenas – Before departing on her epic, day-long boat ride to Costa Rica’s far-flung ocean territory, Isla del Coco, President Laura Chinchilla stopped off at the Caldera Coast Guard base for the inauguration of the island’s new radar system.

“I’m heading to Isla del Coco with great excitement,” Chinchilla said during a speech on Thursday.

“This territory is our most distant one geographically, but the closest in my environmental priorities. This is both the longest and most important trip of my presidency,” she said.

Located 330 miles off Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, Isla del Coco is known for its large numbers of hammerhead sharks, illegal fishermen and drug traffickers.  With the new radar station, Costa Rican law enforcement will be able – for the first time – to identify and track intruding boats in real time.

The now fully functional radar is powered by its own hydroelectric plant, built by the National Power and Light Company (CNFL) to cause as little environmental impact as possible. The three-year endeavor cost nearly $4 million and was funded by taxpayers and the nongovernmental environmental organizations Costa Rica Por Siempre and Conservation International.

Isla del Coco’s radar adds to 16 other stations planned for Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. The first, located at the Caldera Coast Guard base, has been functional since August. The coastal radar can track boats for the first 50 nautical miles from shore and improves radio communications between boats. The Caldera radar was funded by the U.S. State Department at a price tag of $25,000.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Court Sanctions Road Official Over Delayed Wildlife Crossings

Costa Rica’s wildlife faces perils, as authorities have continously failed to build wildlife crossings. Nonetheless, the Constitutional Court has taken a firm stance in...

Why I Choose Real Life in Costa Rica Over the AI Hype

When it comes to AI, call me OG. Old school. I sometimes wish I could go back to a time before it existed. Artificial...

El Salvador at Center of Controversial U.S.-Venezuela Detainee Exchange

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele received the 10 Americans exchanged on Friday between Washington and Caracas for 252 Venezuelans who had spent four months in...

Chiquita Executives Convicted in Colombia for Financing Death Squads

Colombian justice on Wednesday sentenced seven former executives of the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands to more than 11 years in prison and a...

Costa Rica Fails to Meet Human Rights Standards for Deportees

The Ombudsman's Office has confirmed that Costa Rica was unprepared to provide adequate care for deportees who have entered the country since February. This...

Keylor Navas Joins Pumas After Controversial Exit from Newell’s

Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas is officially the newest player for Pumas UNAM, but his move from Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys has been anything...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica