Costa Rica declares state of emergency over migrant crisis

Costa Rica on Wednesday declared a state of emergency over the migrant crisis!

As reported, the country struggles to deal with an influx of migrants passing through the tropical paradise, with more than a quarter million asylum seekers crossing through the treacherous Darien Gap this year to get to the US.

President Rodrigo Chaves ordered officials to declare a state of emergency as the number of migrants passing through the small Central American nation after crossing from South to Central America through the jungle jumped sharply, reaching 386,000 in 2023 alone.

‘The people that arrive are passing across Costa Rica trying to get to the United States, basically… I have instructed the security ministry to take a firm stance with anyone who takes Costa Rica’s kindness for weakness,’ President Chaves said at a press conference, referencing recent riots by migrants crossing the country.

Chaves said he would allow the migrants to get to the north of the country, and transport them via buses, but ‘disrespect’ towards authorities will not be allowed,’ as reported by The Tico Times.

As reported, in September, more than 60,000 people passed through the Costa Rican border town shared with Panama, Paso Canoas, which has a population of fewer than 20,000 people.

In August, more than 84,490 people entered Costa Rica through its southern border with Panama – recording a 55 percent increase from July.

President Chaves said the migrants passing through Costa Rica come from all over the world.

As reported the migrant presence in Costa Rica has increased as a record number of asylum seekers cross the dangerous 575,000-hectare jungle called the Darien Gap, which connects Colombia and Panama and serves as a route to the US for desperate migrants.

The dangerous jungle crossing has been reduced from over a week to as little as two days for the strongest walkers, by a network of guides, established camps, and rudimentary trail markers that start in the Necocli, on Colombia’s side of the gap.