This was confirmed by the Minister of Security Mario Zamora from the Presidential House, when he informed that in the last 72 hours, violent events have increased.

The official referred to two armed confrontations, one in the Caribbean province of Limón and the other in the capital San José, in which three officers of the Ministry of Public Security were injured.

At the end of the first semester of 2023, Costa Rica registered 125 homicides more than in the same period of the previous year.

Data from the Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ) indicate that in the first semester of 2023, 430 murders were registered, while in the first six months of 2022 there were 305 cases.

Statistics show that the capital is the province with more homicides, but there is an important growth of violent acts in coastal and tourist areas such as the Caribbean Limón, Puntarenas in the southeast and the northern Guanacaste.

In the opinion of experts, most murders are the result of settling of scores over drugs, events that have also left innocent victims.

At the end of May, Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves signed the Law Against Organized Crime, aimed at combating the high crime rates facing the country.

The reform is one of five legal initiatives addressing this situation, which in 2022 accounted for 657 murders with a rate of 12.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, record-breaking statistics.

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