Costa Rica: Information about a police unit called "Sictropicos" and on protection available to someone who was threatened and/or attacked by corrupt members of that unit
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CRI30167.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Costa Rica: Information about a police unit called "Sictropicos" and on protection available to someone who was threatened and/or attacked by corrupt members of that unit, 1 October 1998, CRI30167.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acb57.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information about a police unit called "Sictropicos" and on protection available to someone who was threatened and/or attacked by corrupt members of that unit could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) attaché at the U.S. embassy in Costa Rica stated, during a 30 September 1998 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, that there is an anti-drug unit from the Costa Rican police named "psicotrópicos" which would translate as "psychotropic substances." The attaché has been in post at the US embassy for two years. He reported that the psicotropicos is a drug unit operating under Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), which is part of the Public Security Ministry, and represents the primary liaison police unit working with the DEA in Costa Rica. He qualified the psicotrópicos unit as "the most corruption-free anti-drug police unit he has seen in Latin America" and was unaware of threats or attacks conducted by corrupt members of that unit against individuals.
You will find detailed information on the OIJ in CRI29867.E of 17 August 1998 and CRI20131.E of 3 May 1995. Despite numerous attempts, the Research Directorate was unable to contact the San José-based Central America Commission for the Defense of Human Rights, one of Costa Rica's largest human rights organization, to investigate the availability of state protection in such a case.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Reference
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), United States Embassy in Costa Rica, San José. 30 September 1998, Telephone interview with the attaché.
Additional Sources Consulted
Central America Report [Guatemala City]. 1996-1998.
Central American Dialogue For Security and Demilitarization [San Jose]: Inforpress Centroamericana, 1995-1998.
Crime and Justice International [Chicago]. 1996-1998.
Drug-Trafficking Update [Lima]. 1996.
Jane's Intelligence Review [London]. 1996-1998.
_____. Special Report No. 18. July 1998. "Heroin and Cocaine: A Global Threat."
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1996-1998.
Mesoamerica [San José]. 1996-1998.
NACLA Report on the Americas [New York]. 1996-1998
Policing : An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management [Cambridge]. 1997-1998.
Police Studies : The International Review of Police Development [Bradford, G.-B.]. 1996.
On-line search.
Electronic Sources :IRB databases, Global News Bank, Lexis/Nexis,
Internet, REFWORLD, World News Connection (WNC), La Nación.