“Costa Rica was once known as Central America’s peaceful paradise. Now cartels, cocaine trafficking, rising homicides, and political battles threaten its stability. Can [the new government] reverse the country’s violent slide?” SOURCE: War Fronts on Youtube

We need to prepare our students for the workforce of tomorrow, not the job market that our parents had.  Likewise, we need teach our students about places are as they are now and as they are becoming, not just relying on what they used to be like when we were young.  Case study—Costa Rica, a country I lived in during the mid-90s (1995-1997), but that country is now a different place.

It was the most peaceful country of Central America and Latin America from the 1950s to the 2000s.  It had no army, a reputation for eco-tourism, and sustainability.  Intel and other computing companies entered Costa Rica in1997, jump-starting numerous industries and expanding into medical instruments to transform this once Banana Republic.  So why would this country be at peril to violence and instability?  Regional geography.  Cocaine from South America  

In the 2000s, drug runners searched countries with both Atlantic and Pacific coasts that had a minimal national security presence. Costa Rica checked all the boxes and the other countries were already used.  As drug runners used the country, the domestic drug market grew, leading to street violence and surging homicide rates.  Gangs  

Costa Rica was a political shining star in the 80s, with their president winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Costa Rica’s politics today are now following El Salvador’s iron fist approach to increasingly gang violence as people are alarmed at the quick cultural and economic changes they are seeing in their country.  A minimal police force is now being boosted. This is a place where we need to update our regional information as things have shifted rather quickly.

Tags: Costa Rica, narcotics, Middle America.