Costa Rican Police Forces will implement “Operativo Pacífico” in the province of Puntarenas during the coming weeks, as informed by the director of the Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ), Randall Zúñiga. “For us, it is very important to make this type of effort to lower crime and to carry out our work. It is our desire to bring a little more peace and tranquility to this beloved province,” the OIJ director said.
The OIJ pointed out that the work will be focused on the central canton of Puntarenas, as it is one of the areas that has suffered a crime onslaught. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Security added that the operations include the districts of Barranca, Chacarita, El Roble, Esparza, and the center of Puntarenas. The entire operation involves 130 police officers and 40 OIJ agents.
The Vice Minister of Security, Erick Lacayo, described that the actions and the investment of personnel in Puntarenas seek to prevent and contain crimes.
“We have coordinated information, events that have occurred and, jointly, we are intervening in the different problem areas. Here there are a series of factors, that have facilitated and enabled criminal activity to develop,” Lacayo mentioned.
The vice minister stressed that the active presence of minors in criminal structures also obliges them to develop a differentiated approach to this problem.
In Puntarenas, the authorities have identified different groups that are disputing territories. Along with these repressive actions, they will also develop preventive work with children and young people. The duration of the operation will be evaluated according to the results obtained.
As of Friday afternoon, the OIJ reported 461 homicides nationwide, 90 of them in Puntarenas, which is the third most violent province, after San José and Limón.
In January, the Security and Judicial authorities deployed a similar operation in Limón and in that period, the wave of homicides in the Costa Rican Caribbean was contained.
