By Leland Baxter-Neal, Tico Times Staff

Attorney General Francisco Dall’Anese, in a public presentation of the Judicial Branch’s annual report Friday, warned of a rising trend of murders by hired hit-men, or sicariato, and organized crime in Costa Rica. 

“ Sicariato has been increasing in Costa Rica and is not limited to killing people, but also inflicting injuries, damaging property and making threats — all in exchange for money, ” Dall’Anese told a full auditorium in the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) building in downtown San José.

He added that the rise of murders by hired hit-men is “clear evidence of the criminal organizations that contract them. ” The only way to disband these groups is by investigating not only the circumstances and culprits of the crimes, but also the deeper motives, he said.

Dall’Anese added that the discoveries of members of the Colombian guerrilla army Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia (FARC), and the former guerrilla movement M-19 in Costa Rica “make us realize the weakness of our Immigration system ”.

He also thanked Colombian officials who have recently collaborated with Costa Rican authorities in investigating the presence of these groups in Costa Rica and checking the backgrounds of 18,000 Colombians with residency and refugee status here (TT, Sept. 15).

In addition, he continued, Costa Rican authorities have discovered “at least two” organizations dedicated to the illegal trafficking of children in Costa Rica, one Costa Rican and the other Ecuadorian.

Dall’Anese praised the efforts of the Prosecutor’s Office, in coordination with the OIJ, against Chinese criminal groups dedicated to kidnapping “Costa Rican citizens of Chinese origin.” Because of these efforts, the groups “have abandoned their activities;” there is no evidence that Chinese people have been kidnapped in a pproximately nine months, he said.