At least 100 people were arrested Thursday in Costa Rica in the first 24 hours of a special operation against organized crime, authorities said.
Of the 100 people arrested in the first day of the operation, seven were fugitives from justice with outstanding arrest warrants. In addition, 87 are suspected of committing crimes against life, against property or for alleged infractions to the law of weapons or drugs, said the Ministry of Public Security.
“This operation will continue indefinitely 24 hours a day,” said the deputy director general of the Public Security Forces, commissioner Raúl Rivera, to the press.
According to the Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ), Costa Rica registered in 2022 the record number of homicides since records have been kept, with a total of 656, which increased the rate to 12.6 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, when in 2021 it was 11.4.
Of those deaths, 63% were settling of scores between criminals. So far in 2023, 261 homicides were registered, according to the OIJ.
Last Wednesday the president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, announced a plan to create 700 new police positions and a reorganization of the shifts of the 12,000 existing agents to maintain at least 9,500 uniformed officers simultaneously on the streets for six months.
In addition to those arrested in the first hours of the operation, seven firearms, ammunition and magazines, 11 bladed weapons and small quantities of various types of drugs were seized.
Also 14 foreigners with irregular migratory status were detained for deportation to their respective countries.
