The bill being discussed in Costa Rica basically seeks to extinguish the assets of organized crime, but there are those who claim that as proposed, it puts at risk the presumption of innocence of individuals.
The extinction of domain is a concept that in practice refers to seizing or confiscating assets linked to criminal activities, and then transferring them in favor of the State.
A report by InSight Crime highlights the homicide rate registered in Costa Rica in 2017, which was 12.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest number in its history.
The report indicates that Costa Rica is a country that has traditionally been considered "peaceful," and in respect to the escalation of the homicide rate, an increase that local authorities attribute to organized crime, the report indicates that "... lack of retrospective and a vague methodology is weakening the authorities' attempts to attribute blame to organized crime."
The phenomenon affects much of Latin America, whose countries spend on average 8% of their GDP on security costs.
That was the conclusion reached during the forum "Connecting businesses as partners for prosperity with security in the Americas", organized by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the private sector, under the framework of the Guatemala Investment Summit.
A survey of Salvadoran entrepreneurs reveals that during 2012, 66% of their companies or their staff were affected up to twice by extortion, kidnapping and murder.
The Survey ENADE 2013 assesses businesses' perception of the performance of government officials, in public safety, fiscal policy and democratic institutions.
According to a recent World Bank report, crime and violence have an impact on economic growth not only in terms of loss of wages but it also affects the investment climate and diverts scarce government resources to strengthen the application of justice rather than promoting economic activity."
El Salvador is not an easy country to govern, but despite all the difficulties faced during his presidential term, Mauricio Funes has the support of 79% of the population.
That makes him the most popular president in Latin America and this despite the fact El Salvador has the highest murder rate in the world and despite the fact its economy shrank 3.6% during the global economic crisis.
Paying for armed custody, satellite tracking and “tolls” to armed gangs are some of the additional costs that must be paid when transporting goods in Central America.
Some transportation companies state that $14.000 must be paid each year in security related costs for a single truck carrying goods within the Central American region.
Organized crime, especially the one related to drug trafficking, recruits its members in young, marginalized populations.
Antonio María Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stated that “Central America is very vulnerable to organized crime, due to a series of factors which include underdevelopment, large flow of guns and a young population”.
The Government of El Salvador is investing $100 million to fight violence and the high homicide rate which is at an average of 8.5 murders daily.
This is according to the Salvadoran Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marisol Argueta de Barillas, who was participating in the Europe Forum organized by the New Economic Forum in Madrid.
Recognized Brazilian company of backhoe loaders, telescopic, articulated and other types of cranes looking for companies interested in representing the brand and distributing their machinery in Central America and Mexico. The company manufactures and sells telescopic,...
español
1885