How Costa Rica Became as Violent as Mexico

There are some comparisons in geopolitics that end up telling you lot about the country being compared. So-and-so has more oil than the Saudis. Another has higher gun ownership than the United States.

Another is almost as insufferable as the French. You get the idea. For a long time, one such comparison, when discussed in Latin America, would have been such-and-such a country is as safe as Costa Rica.

In 2026, though, the comparison is more likely to go the other way. Judging by the local homicide rate, Costa Rica is now as violent as Mexico. That's right, Mexico, one of the more violent nations in the region, one that has now been fighting cartels for decades.