The General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica has announced they are intensifying the security protocols to prevent people suspected to be part of organized criminal groups or gangs in Central America (known as ‘Maras’ eg..Ms-13, M-18) from entering the country.

MS-13 and M-18, the two strongest and most widespread Mara gangs, were spawned in the 1980s in poor Los Angeles neighborhoods by disaffected Central American youth. Most were transplanted to the US by their families, desperate to flee civil war and extreme poverty in their home countries.

According to Migration authorities, during the first five months of 2018, they’ve already detected 15 members of the extremely violent Mara Salvatrucha in Costa Rica.

Part of the actions involve the revision of documents and migratory status of people detained in police operations and a constant communication with police forces from El Salvador, sharing important information on the profiles of dangerous people that are leaving that Central American country.

In 2017 close to 1500 citizens from El Salvador requested refuge in Costa Rica as a result of the violence and criminality affecting the Central American country.

Through the digital system ‘Migracion Visible’ (Visible Migration) which is in operation in airports in Costa Rica and around the world which will assist with organized crime prevention, drug trafficking, sexual offenders and criminals, among others.

The institution is currently working in the Intelligent System of International Migratory Control (SICOMI in Spanish) which will organize the Fingerprint Identification (ABIS) and the Facial Recognition System (Biometry) to control the entry and exit as well as the stay of nationals and foreigners in different points of entry in the national territory.

“This criminal gang has abandoned their habit of identifying themselves through the use of tattoos with the purpose of blending in with society; therefore, the institution is currently arranging training sessions with the Judiciary Investigative Police to strengthen the knowledge and abilities of the Migration Police officers and improve the experience when foreigners are approached that have certain characteristics that could be associated to mara members”, commented Raquel Vargas, general director of Migration.