- Costa Rica has seen steady increases in homicides over the past several years.
- These increases appear driven largely by the drug trade, exacerbated by poverty and inequality.
- It's not clear how the new president will address violence and its underlying problems.
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Drug-related violence is soaring in a quiet corner of Latin America, and it's not clear what the new president plans to do about it
Costa Rica set a new record for both homicides and homicide rate in 2017, but it's not clear what the new government plans to do about it.
But Alvarado Quesada still faces challenges at home, in particular a rising tide of deadly violence, and it's not yet clear how he plans to address them.
The number of homicides in the country has steadily risen since 2012, when there were 407. That total rose to 578 2016 and 603 in 2017.
Costa Rica, home to about 5 million people, also finished 2017 with a homicide rate of 12.1 per 100,000 people. That's well below rates elsewhere in the region — which is the deadliest in the world — but the highest the country has ever seen.
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