Published on Monday, February 10, 2025
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Tourist Police, a division of the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) with support from the Tourism Institute (ICT), will open a new station at Cahuita Beach. 

Construction is 85% complete, with an investment of more than $680,000 from the ICT budget. The 388-square-meter facility includes offices, dormitories, an armory, a kitchen, a dining room, bathrooms, a detainee holding area, parking, and green spaces. 

Authorities expect to inaugurate the station in April 2025. It will be staffed by 20 officers serving Cahuita Beach, home to 13,000 residents and a destination for more than 75,000 tourists annually. 

Cahuita, a village on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast near the Panama border, serves as a gateway to Cahuita National Park. The park features coral reefs and the white-sand beach of Playa Blanca. Its rainforest is home to toucans, monkeys, and turtles. To the north, Playa Negra, with its strong waves, offers a black-sand beach. Further north, the Sloth Sanctuary cares for injured and orphaned sloths.

Three additional stations are set to open this year at Santa Teresa Beach and Panama Beach in the Nicoya Peninsula and Tamarindo Beach in Guanacaste, officials added.

The country's Tourist Police force includes more than 300 officers responsible for patrolling the country’s most visited tourist areas. They hold the same credentials as regular police officers. 

The Ministry of Public Security (MSP)oversees law enforcement, public order, and crime prevention efforts.

The Tourism Institute (ICT) promotes tourism and supports infrastructure development. 

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