In only one year, seizures of cocaine have doubled, totaling over 15 tons with a U.S. market value of $2 billion.
Costa Rica, the Central American country noted for its economic development, its institutions, and social peace, is part of the land corridor where there is an increase in the operations of Mexican and Colombian cartels to transport drugs to the United States, the largest consumer of drugs in the world.
Life in Mexico is becoming uncomfortable for drug traffickers who find it easy to install themselves and continue their operations in Costa Rica.
According to the Costa Rican Drug Institute (ICD), the confiscation of cocaine rose from 3 thousand tons in 2002 to more than 32 thousand tons in 2007, and this does not appear to be due to increased efficiency of the authorities responsible for traffic enforcement, but merely that Costa Rica has become the passage route by air, sea and land for the drug to United States. It is estimated that the relationship between drugs captured and the total traffic through the country is 1:10.