Insecurity has led Presidential candidates to discuss a possible ‘State of Emergency.’On Feb. 1, Costa Rica will hold general elections in a context marked by drug-related violence, which has turned the country into a drug transit, storage, and reshipment route to Europe and the United States. Treasury Sanctions One of the Caribbean’s Largest Narcotics TraffickersOFAC Continues to Target Costa Rica-Based Cocaine Trafficking to the United Stateshttps://t.co/1vp0rMuoZC pic.twitter.com/25E7XAJsnj — Oipol & Oijust (@Oipolorg) January 23, 2026Currently, Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 16.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2025, Costa Rican police dismantled the first local cartel, known as the South Caribbean Cartel, responsible for moving cocaine from Colombia to the United States and Europe. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Costa Rican suspects linked to the cartel and requested their extradition. In May, the Costa Rican Congress approved a constitutional reform allowing the extradition of nationals for drug trafficking and terrorism.