After several years of decreasing or stable homicide rates, the number of killings in Costa Rica spiked in 2015, leading law enforcement officials to call for more aggressive prevention, investigation and prosecution of organized crime.
The body of Sondra Lynn Elizondo, a 45-year-old who coordinated volunteer medical missions in Central America, was found Wednesday at a hotel in eastern San José, Costa Rica's capital. She had several stab wounds.
Suzye Lawson, who owns the Villa Alegre bed and breakfast in Playa Langosta near Tamarindo, says she was assaulted again by intruders on Saturday, just eight months after three men broke into the hotel, beat her husband -- who later died -- and stole tens of thousands of dollars.
Women’s rights groups in Costa Rica on Tuesday disclosed the details of a citizens' initiative aimed to draft and submit to the Legislative Assembly a bill for criminalizing street sexual harassment.
A spike in violent crimes and robberies in Costa Rica’s Northern Zone prompted Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata Vega on Friday to promise local residents an increased police presence in the area.
Costa Rica police arrested a suspected serial killer early Wednesday morning in Hatillo, a southern San José suburb. The man is suspected of killing seven homeless women since April.
A statement by the Costa Rican Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) on Wednesday warned of consistent crimes against foreign tourists, especially in the Cóbano and Puntarenas area.
“I want to once more ratify Costa Rica’s opinion in the sense that those ills — organized crime, terrorism — must be fought off in all ways possible by the international community,” the president said.
Costa Rican Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata said Friday that institutions such as the Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) must collaborate more to combat crime, and that citizens have a key role in reporting criminal activity in their communities.
