President Laura Chinchilla has been peddling a Costa Rican image of innocence towards the drug trade. According to her, Costa Rica is but an innocent, if hapless, bridge between the producers in South America and the consumers in the U.S.
To date just this year, 4 tons of illegal drugs have been seized by Costa Rican authorities, mostly from the Peñas Blancas border shared with Nicaragua. The sheer volume of illegal drugs going through the country belies the true nature of this monster: that Costa Ricans are actively involved in the transportation of cocaine and other illegal drugs throughout the country despite what Chinchilla may be telling the international community.
Placing the fault on somebody else, say for example the Mexican Sinaloa Drug Cartel – who is considered to be the prime controllers of the Costa Rican drug trade – shows just how far Chinchilla has lost touch with the Costa Rican masses.
While the president’s comments could be her own diplomatic way of saying Costa Rica is not to blame for the robust drug trade in the region, the fact remains that Costa Ricans who have been driven by poverty and necessity have turned to trafficking illegal drugs to make ends meet.
And while most Costa Ricans would be led to believe that we are the victims in this scenario, the drug trade remains steadily alive, thanks or no thanks to the blind eye that has been turned in its direction.
