As 2017 comes to an end Costa Rica will close with an alarming rate of 600+ homicides, at least 22 more than the total registered in 2016.

48% of the homicides that have been taking place obey to organized crime, confrontations between gangs to settle scores and win over specific territories.

In 2012 the year finished with 407 homicides, in 2013 there were 411; 477 in 2014 and a year later 557; 2016 closed with 578 and through this date in December 2017 a total of 600 have been killed in Costa Rica,

As we have mentioned in prior reports, San Jose is the province that registers the largest number of murders particularly communities like Pavas, Desamparados, Alajuelita, Guadalupe, among others. Limon and Alajuela are the provinces that take second and third place in the number of homicides registered.

Costa Rican authorities consider that the homicide rate will increase again in 2018 by 3-5%.

This will be the third consecutive year in which Costa Rica surpasses the rate of 10 homicides per every 100 thousand inhabitants; rate considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an epidemic; in previous years the country had reached 11 per 100 thousand people, but by reaching 600 homicides this number raises t 12 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Although alarming, the numbers are considerably lower in comparison to other Latin American countries, in the year 2016 El Salvador registered 103 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants; Honduras 57.1; Venezuela 91.8; Jamaica 45; Brazil 26; Guatemala 30.70; Colombia 25; Dominican Republic 17; Puerto Rico 16 and Mexico 13.0+