Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber, known as Sala IV, has condemned the government’s repeated failure to act against illegal mining in Crucitas, a remote area of Cutris de San Carlos near the Nicaragua border. In a binding ruling, the court ordered five state institutions to take immediate action to confront what it described as an ongoing environmental and public health crisis.
Crucitas has been at the center of one of Costa Rica’s most contentious environmental battles for nearly three decades. The area sits atop major gold deposits and drew national attention in 2008, when then-President Óscar Arias declared a Canadian mining company’s open-pit gold project to be of national convenience, speeding up its approval.
That decision triggered fierce opposition from environmental groups and local communities. In 2010, a court revoked the concession after finding that environmental procedures had not been properly followed. The Supreme Court later upheld that decision, shutting down the formal mining project. Although the land remained legally protected, it was left largely unguarded.
That vacuum was soon exploited. In the years since, informal and illegal miners, reportedly many of them foreign nationals entering through weakly monitored border crossings, have moved into the area. Authorities and local residents have long raised concerns that gold extraction methods involving mercury and arsenic are contaminating water sources and damaging surrounding forest.
In ruling No. 2026-10560, the Sala IV upheld an amparo petition and found that the Ministries of the Presidency, Health, Public Security, and Environment, along with the Costa Rican Water and Sewage Institute, AyA, had engaged in repeated and systematic neglect of their constitutional duties. According to the court, that inaction has allowed serious environmental damage to grow, put local communities at risk through contaminated drinking water, and weakened state control in a sensitive border zone.
The Ministry of Public Security was ordered to establish a permanent police presence in Crucitas, strengthen border controls to prevent illegal crossings, and secure the budget and personnel needed for lasting surveillance and enforcement.
AyA must continue providing potable water to affected communities for as long as contamination risks remain. The institution was also ordered to complete a comprehensive drinking water infrastructure project within 18 months for the communities of Llano Verde, Crucitas, Jocote, Chorreras, El Roble, and Chamorro.
The Ministry of Health was instructed to maintain active participation in the inter-institutional commission coordinating the government’s response in the region and to continue its monitoring and oversight role.
MINAE and the Ministry of the Presidency were jointly ordered to submit a detailed action plan to the court within three months. That plan must include timelines for environmental protection, remediation, and restoration. The court said all measures must be fully funded and carried out within one year of notification of the ruling.
The magistrates left little room for delay. Both the State and AyA were ordered to pay court costs and damages, with those amounts to be determined in later proceedings. The Sala IV also warned that failure to comply with its orders could bring criminal penalties under Costa Rican constitutional law, including prison sentences of three months to two years or fines equal to 20 to 60 days of wages.
