-Published: Monday, January 20, 2020-




By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Fernando Llorca-Castro, Costa Rican ambassador in the U.S., met Thursday with a U.S. State Department official, Marta Youth, to dispute a warning on crime issued to travelers, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Youth is director for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas at the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

The ministry said the theme of the meeting was the concern and disagreement that the Costa Rican officials have about the reduction in the level of security classification for U.S. travelers to Costa Rica.

At the meeting, the ambassador presented an exposition on the improvements made by the country in terms of security, the ministry said, adding that in addition, the ambassador asked for a better explanation of what were the technical parameters of the new qualification methodology that motivated the reduction of security level.

Another top U.S. Department of State meeting where the reduction on security level an important subject will be Tuesday when U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo visits the country.


According to the U.S. Department of State, Pompeo will meet with President Carlos Alvarado and visit the Joint Operations Center, which facilitates regional law enforcement cooperation.

"Costa Rica, an important partner of the United States, supports democracy and the rule of law throughout the hemisphere, including in Nicaragua and Venezuela," said the U.S. Department of State in its announcement, which also said:

Pompeo will visit Costa Rica after traveling to Berlin Sunday to attend the jointly hosted German-U.N. international conference on Libya. Pompeo also is traveling to Bogota, Colombia, today where he is to speak at the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial and meet with President Iván Duque Márquez and other regional leaders. The secretary will also discuss strong counternarcotics cooperation with Colombia.


Also, last week, the minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Ventura-Robles, met with Julie J. Chung, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, as well with Sharon Day, the U.S. ambassador in Costa Rica to express concern over a crime warning issued by Washington.

According to the foreign ministry, Ventura expressed to Chung the country's' concern after the recent decision of the U.S. to reduce the level of safety for travel to Costa Rica.

"Both diplomats are confident that this decision will not negatively impact the high number of U.S. citizens tourists that the country receives" said the ministry said in its statement, referring to Ventura and Chung.

In addition, other issues were discussed in the session, such as the political situation in the region, especially the crisis in Nicaragua and Venezuela, said the ministry.

According to the U.S. Embassy, Chung visited Costa Rica for the first time to discuss top U.S.-Costa Rican priorities, such as security, trade and foreign policy. Despite the visit being her first here, she is no stranger to Latin America. Her online biography says she was the deputy political counselor in Bogota, Colombia, where she managed the U.S. government’s largest extradition program, including paramilitary and narco-trafficking cases.

During her official three-day visit, Chung met with Costa Rican government officials and visited several U.S. companies in Costa Rica, said the embassy.

“Costa Rica and the United States share many values and objectives of which one of the main ones is the protection and defense of democracy. We are both concerned about the situation in Venezuela and Nicaragua and, therefore, are committed to working together to address these issues, and it is vital to mutually support each other,” said Chung in the U.S. Embassy statement. "We have been partners since 1851, so I wanted my first trip of the year and the decade as PDAS to be to Costa Rica, a partner with whom we have a strong, democratic relationship, a partner who is a leader in security and regional peace. I am here to show my respect to the Costa Rican government and the people and to acknowledge that our relationship is important more than ever. ”

The latest U.S. travel advisory dropped Costa Rica from the top level to second on the four-level scale.

The U.S. government issues these advisories to help ensure the safety of the U.S. citizens traveling to other countries. The fourth and lowest category advises citizens not to travel to the country at all. Countries such as Iraq and South Sudan are in the fourth category.

According to the alert issued by the U. S. government, Costa Rica was lowered from Level 1 to level 2, which means that U.S. citizens must "exercise increased caution in Costa Rica due to crime." Level 1 says exercise normal precautions. Most northern European countries are included in this category.

"While petty crime is the predominant threat for tourists in Costa Rica, violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault, occurs in Costa Rica," said the U.S. Department of State in its statement.

However, the U.S. also mentioned that "the Costa Rican government provides additional security resources in areas frequented by tourists."

In the warning the authorities gave this series of recommendations to tourists who decide to travel to Costa Rica:

- Be aware of your surroundings.

- Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.

- Do not display signs of wealth, such as wearing expensive watches or jewelry.

According to the ministry, the U.S. Embassy in San José had said that the category reduction "is due to an adjustment in the evaluation metric."

However, the adjustment in the evaluation metric was not explained to the government, the ministry said.

Costa Rica is a tourist destination with 5 million inhabitants that in 2018 received 3,016,667 international tourists, a number that grew in 2019 around 5%, said the ministry.


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