amid the country’s growing insecurity crisis
By Katherine Estrada Tellez (Confidencial)
HAVANA TIMES – President Rodrigo Chaves’ statements, emphasizing the Nicaraguan nationality of a detained individual suspected of murdering a police officer in Costa Rica on January 25th, have triggered xenophobic comments on social media. This has raised concerns among those warning against linking the Costa Rican insecurity crisis with migration, especially as official data shows no disproportion between the percentage of the Nicaraguan population in Costa Rica and individuals of that nationality detained for various crimes. Costa Rica closed 2023 with a concerning record of 907 homicides.
In the early hours of January 25th, in Herradura de Jacó, Puntarenas province, 28-year-old Costa Rican Police officer Bryan Josue Rivera Oviedo died after being shot in the head, with other officers injured. Minister of Public Security Mario Zamora lamented the officer’s death, describing it as a “new, more serious stage” in Costa Rica’s organized crime scene.
Less than a week earlier, on January 18th, Minister Zamora confirmed the murder of another officer, 28-year-old Jordy Rojas Zuñiga, in the Limon province. Three suspects were detained – and later released – in connection with the case, with no details on their nationality provided.
Zamora reported that in the operations related to the Puntarenas case, two suspects and thirty other individuals, including a minor, were detained. He added that the suspects had criminal records for offenses such as homicide, aggravated robbery, illegal possession of weapons, and usurpation. Costa Rican media reported that both suspects were Nicaraguans.
The President’s Statements and the “Erroneous Connection”
On the same afternoon, President Chaves recorded a video lamenting the officer’s death, extending condolences to his loved ones, and emph