Police officers stand guard near Ciudadelas Unidas school which is now guarded 24X7 after a series of gunfights at the neighborhood in Alajuelita town, San Jose, Costa Rica, April 28, 2023. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
SAN JOSE 鈥� Costa Rican prosecutors said on Wednesday they were investigating allegations made in a Mexican newspaper that the government and drug traffickers had held talks last year in an effort to curb a spike in murders.
Prosecutors will probe a potential 鈥渂reach of duties,鈥� the attorney general鈥檚 office said in a statement hours after El Universal published the expose, which President Rodrigo Chaves rejected as 鈥渁bsurd.鈥�
The statement said prosecutors were investigating an international media report but did not name any targets of the investigation.
This year is the deadliest ever for Costa Rica, known for decades as one of Central America鈥檚 most peaceful countries, with homicides already exceeding the record high for all of last year.
Citing anonymous sources, El Universal reported that Costa Rican security officials contacted local 鈥渕afia networks鈥� linked to Mexico鈥檚 notorious Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels to ask them to cut the violence.
President Rodrigo Chaves, during a speech, called the story 鈥渁n absurd hoax鈥� aimed at damaging the image of the country and his government.
The president鈥檚 office announced that Security Minister Mario Zamora has filed a criminal complaint 鈥済iven the serious information revealed in the journalistic report鈥� but did not name any targets in the complaint.
鈥淲e find it highly suspicious that a news item that seeks to weaken the fight against drug trafficking is published in Mexico and not in Costa Rica,鈥� said Zamora, who told Reuters that Costa Rica was experiencing 鈥渁 Mexicanization of crime鈥� due to the influence of that country鈥檚 criminal groups.