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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Schools across the US canceled the week-long spring vacation to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19.</li><li>But mental <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> concerns are on the rise, and <keyword id="3216" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="students">students</keyword> are struggling to balance a need for a break with COVID safety.</li><li>Some students are venturing on traditional <keyword id="906096" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="spring-break">spring break</keyword> trips, while others considered lower-risk options.</li></ul>Kyle arrived in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, around 2 p.m. the last Friday of February. Just a few hours later, Kyle, who asked to omit his last name for privacy reasons, was drinking and taking shots at the shoreside bar Wrecked at the Reef. Later that night, his group of 15 friends (and friends of friends) went bar hopping, from Tekila Bar to Iguana Banana. Kyle said the only sign of the pandemic he noticed that night was the curfew, which cut his night short at 11 p.m. It wasn't a scheduled spring break for Kyle, a 21-year-old junior in <keyword id="6360288" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="College">college</keyword>, but it was his version of one. When his school, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, <a href="https://kjzz.org/content/1628583/nau-starting-spring-semester-virtual-classes-canceling-spring-break">canceled</a> its spring break last fall, Kyle and his friends started planning a trip."I thought, 'Why not just go?'" he told Insider. "The virus has been going on for a while now, so I might as well go because it's not going to end anytime soon."As early as last fall, <keyword id="48403" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="universities">universities</keyword> across the country canceled spring break. Some students, like Kyle, planned wild trips anyway. Others scheduled modified vacations while mourning the loss of a college ritual. Those who aren't traveling are looking ahead at a nonstop semester, and they're burning out. Across the country, schools are reporting a <a href="https://healthymindsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Healthy_Minds_NCHA_COVID_Survey_Report_FINAL.pdf">rise</a> in depression, anxiety, exhaustion, and loneliness among college students. Typically, spring break would provide a designated respite from the stress. But this year, schools have shortened or canceled the time off to discourage <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> during the pandemic, leaving students to find their own ways to take much-needed breaks. Despite <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-gov-abbott-opening-state-lifting-covid-19-mask-mandate-2021-3">some states preemptively lifting restrictions</a>, the coronavirus remains a serious threat - perhaps increasingly serious as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-covid-variant-coronavirus-variants-spread-mutations-pandemi-2021-3">new variants circulate the country</a>. It's possible that spring break could be a superspreader event again this year.<h2>Last year, spring break was a superspreader event</h2><div type="image" title="Last year's spring break crowds at Fort Lauderdale, Florida." height="800" width="1066" msid="81470111" hostid="261"></div>Last year was Moses Roldan's first "real spring break," the junior at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, told Insider. He spent the first week of March <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNxUHKH8HD8&amp;t=10s=10s">partying</a> on the shores of Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach. He said he remembers lifting his GoPro up and seeing "hundreds, maybe even a thousand people, all bunched up together."At that point, the coronavirus wasn't on his radar. Outbreaks of a new respiratory illness were popping up around the globe, but the World Health Organization wouldn't officially <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-pandemic-timeline-history-major-events-2020-3#january-23-chinese-authorities-placed-the-11-million-person-city-of-wuhan-under-quarantine-and-the-rest-of-the-hubei-province-followed-days-later-8">declare the coronavirus pandemic</a> until March 11. Much of what we now know about the virus, like how it can travel through the air and sometimes spreads via asymptomatic infections, was not yet understood.In retrospect, Roldan said he's lucky he didn't get sick because similar gatherings - like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-spring-breakers-cabo-texas-test-postive-2020-3">an outbreak among 44 spring breakers vacationing in Cabo</a> - would later be linked to the spread of COVID-19. Community case rates spiked two weeks after students returned to campus following spring break in mid-to-late March, according to an analysis of smartphone location data published in the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3606811">Journal of Urban Economics</a>. Those rates were especially high in areas that saw students return from destinations like Florida and New York via airports.A year later, students are again faced with the choice to travel or stay in place. Many of them have already tested positive for the virus, with little to no symptoms. And after a particularly difficult year, students are craving a break.<h2>Schools are replacing spring break with one-off 'wellness days' and offering 'staycation' grants</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-colleges-universities-with-the-most-coronavirus-cases-2020-9">College campuses have seen massive outbreaks</a> of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, leading many universities to cancel or reschedule spring break as early as last fall. Some schools have replaced the traditional week off with "wellness days." In theory it's a middle-ground solution: give students a couple days off, but schedule them during the week to discourage travel.In an email to students at Ohio State University, the college's president wrote in December, "While we hope students can use these days to relieve some stress, we want to re-emphasize the importance of following COVID-19 safeguards - particularly limiting travel - should current conditions continue."Other universities have even offered incentives for students not to travel. The University of California, Davis, offered <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/03/09/uc-davis-spring-break/">$75 "staycation" grants</a> to students who aren't planning to leave town for the break.<h2>It hasn't stopped students from going on vacation</h2><div type="image" title="Miami Beach, South Beach, Spring Break closed public beaches sign police warning due to Coronavirus Pandemic" height="800" width="1066" msid="81470112" hostid="261"></div>Nick, a Temple University sophomore who asked to omit his last name so he could speak freely, said he's not so sure these efforts have successfully stopped travel.Temple University moved its classes online this spring, and while Nick isn't planning to travel, he's seen his classmates log on to Zoom calls pool and shoreside. No one bats an eye, he said. "I know people who are traveling right now, and because they're on Zoom, they can just go," he told Insider.The sophomore said he feels jealous, but he also doesn't want to be responsible for spreading COVID-19. Lauren, a third-year at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, who also spoke to Insider on the condition of anonymity, said she's "over" the virus. She's driving from her home in Houston, Texas, to spend a week skiing with five friends in Buena Vista, Colorado, the third week of March.It's a smaller group in a more remote destination than she'd typically choose, like Florida, Mexico, and the coast of Texas.Other student travelers are still seeking sunshine. Although travel interest has drastically decreased - flight searches are down 76% from last March according to Kayak - travelers are still looking for warm, domestic destinations, a representative for Hotwire, a travel search engine, told Insider.Florida remains a popular destination for vacationers this year. Last January, only one Florida destination topped Hotwire's list of most-booked destinations for March. This January, a majority of the most-booked destinations for March were in Florida, Katie Lay, the senior director of database marketing at Hotwire said in an email.Marcelle, a senior at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan, who withheld her last name, wanted to escape the cold, so she traveled by plane to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with five friends when they had a Wednesday off in February. The group originally looked for an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/are-airbnbs-safe-coronavirus">Airbnb</a>, but ended up booking their accommodations at a small hotel. Like many other student travelers, Marcelle's group packed their laptops and tuned into remote classes poolside. Roldan, who lives in Miami, said he still plans to scope out the city's spring break scene again this year. He said he'll avoid crowded clubs and bars, and opt for places where he can just "chill out." "This year, I really just expect to have fun," he said. "But I don't really expect it to be crazy like last year."<h2>Young people need a mental health break</h2>Whether they're traveling or not, students told Insider that single days off don't provide the same mental break that comes with a full week vacation. They've had an especially tough year of balancing schoolwork with the added stressors of the pandemic.A CDC report published this summer found that one in every four young adults in the US had <a href="https://www.insider.com/cdc-11-percent-us-adults-seriously-considered-suicide-in-june-2020-8">seriously contemplated suicide</a> in the last month. In the fall, the Healthy Minds Network <a href="http://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/depression-anxiety-loneliness-are-peaking-in-college-students/">conducted a survey</a> of 33,000 students, and half of them screened positive for anxiety or depression.A fourth-year computer science major at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told Insider his first month of the spring semester this year was riddled with anxiety attacks. He requested not to be named so he could share his experience honestly."I've been in college for four years, and I've experienced stress before, but there's always something you can look forward to," he said. "This semester we don't even have that."What he did have was a "wellness day," but instead of relaxing, the 21-year-old spent the Tuesday off playing "catch-up." He had assignments due the next two days and a list of things to turn in Sunday night.For some students, a true break means getting away from campus. Others just want permission to stop and relax."The reason students miss spring break so badly is not so that they can go to Cancun or whatever, but so that they can just have a mental break from the stress of being a college student," Grace, a senior at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, told Insider. Grace, who declined to share her last name, is planning to go home for Easter in April, but Holy Cross canceled its usual end-of-February break this year. Waiting for a break later in the semester leaves several consecutive months of school to get through during an already tough year."I think we're all kind of just trying to take it week by week, and not having a break to look forward to makes it just that much more challenging," she said.<h2>COVID-19 variants make it harder to 'get lucky' and avoid infection </h2><div type="image" title="Students get tested at St. Joseph's College in New York." height="800" width="1066" msid="81470113" hostid="261"></div>No social interaction is risk-free during the pandemic, but some spring break options are riskier than others, Amesh Adalja, a pandemic preparedness expert at Johns Hopkins University, told Insider."We're talking about what used to be on MTV's spring break, that's what the concern is," Adalja told Insider.Mixing social groups, drinking alcohol, and yelling over loud music all increase the risk of coronavirus transmission, Adalja said. He added that the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant - the one first identified in the UK - is currently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/highly-contagious-variant-found-in-uk-could-get-a-foothold-in-florida-following-super-bowl-2021-2">circulating in Florida</a>, so there's less room for lapses of judgment."If you would have gotten lucky before with the original version of this virus, it's less likely that you would get lucky and avoid infection with a new variant, if you're in a situation where you're not following those general common sense principles," Adalja said.The safest spring break option is a solo road trip like Jocelyn Rausten's. The junior at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, <a href="https://www.insider.com/college-students-traded-dorm-life-for-van-life-2020-11">lives in a van</a> and plans to spend a couple of long weekends visiting national forests or driving along Oregon's coast. Adalja said a trip like that has "zero risk." If you want to travel with friends, keep the group small and limit it to your household contacts to minimize your risk of exposure. You should also avoid crowded places like restaurants and bars, where you're likely to remove your mask to eat or drink.Even outdoor spaces can be high-risk settings if people aren't properly masked and distanced, said Marissa Levine, professor of public health expert at the University of South Florida. She also emphasized the importance of signage at restaurants to remind people to take precautions."People need reminders that we're still in a pandemic," Levine said. "If we don't do that, then when people go on vacation to relax, they'll let their guards down."Most students Insider spoke with said they plan to travel domestically, wear masks, and social distance. But not all of them plan to get tested or quarantine before their trips, meaning they could potentially pose risks to the communities they're visiting.Any college student traveling for spring break should assume they've been exposed to the coronavirus, Adalja said. That means they need to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/isolate-before-after-covid-19-test-be-sure-of-results-2021">self-isolate for five to seven days</a> after coming home or returning to campus, get tested, and continue to quarantine while they wait for their results.<h2>It'll be a long time until students get their vaccines, but spring break is happening, shots or not</h2>With vaccine doses expected to be available to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-us-will-have-vaccines-300-million-people-may-2021-3">every American adult who wants them by May</a>, it may seem like the end of the pandemic is in sight.But most young people who don't have chronic health conditions won't be vaccinated in time for spring break, and the immunity afforded by previous illness wanes over time.Experts have <a href="https://www.insider.com/experts-analyze-3-thanksgiving-plans-what-is-safe-2020-11">previously told Insider</a> that people who have already gotten COVID-19 can take more risks because they have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/long-term-coronavirus-immunity-months-years-2020-11">some level of immunity</a>. But with at least five <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-variants-infectiousness-mutations-vaccines-2021-1">distinct coronavirus variants</a> circulating in the US and worldwide, that protection may have some holes. "If it's been a while since you've been infected, like you got infected last spring break, then maybe your immunity isn't so strong anymore," Adalja told Insider. "I would be a little bit more cautious if you're somebody that's more than several months out from your infection."When Kyle started planning his spring trip to Mexico back in November, he had no idea he'd have access to the vaccine before his vacation.Kyle said he got both of his vaccine shots before his trip through his mom and dad, who work in a hospital setting. Kyle said that he didn't technically qualify for the vaccine, but his parents didn't want him coming home frequently without being vaccinated.But even without the vaccine, Kyle said he probably still would've gone to Mexico."I stayed inside all summer and didn't do much last semester," he said. "This can't be on me now. I've been waiting to be done with the virus."

Colleges canceled spring break. Students are traveling anyway.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="55899" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="iron">Iron</keyword> deficiency can cause symptoms like fatigue, cold hands and feet, and irregular heartbeats.</li><li>People at high risk of iron deficiency include vegans, pregnant people, or people with cancer.</li><li>To raise your iron levels, take a supplement or eat iron-rich foods like spinach and tofu.</li></ul>Iron is an essential mineral found in foods such as chocolate, meat, spinach, and potatoes. When a person doesn't have enough iron, they can experience fatigue, lightheadedness, and an increase in blood temperature. Here's what you need to know about iron's role in the body, iron deficiency, and how to treat it.<h2>What does iron do?</h2><a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iron</a> is a mineral absorbed into the body through food and supplements. It is essential for blood production as it contributes to the creation of <a href="https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/hemoglobin-and-functions-of-iron#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hemoglobin</a>, a part of red blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen.Maintaining adequate levels of iron keeps the body functioning properly. "If the amount of iron is low in your body, it will not be able to produce enough hemoglobin, leading to iron deficiency anemia," says <a href="https://foodlove.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bansari Acharya</a>, a registered dietitian-nutritionist. Medical term: <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20351360#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anemia</a> is a condition occurring when a person doesn't have enough red blood cells to properly carry oxygen through the body. Anemia can cause symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, and pale skin. There are types of anemia not caused by iron deficiency. About <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/141/4/763S/4630688" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1.5 to 2 billion people</a> worldwide are iron deficient. In the United States, approximately 10 million people are iron deficient, and five million people have iron deficiency anemia. <h2>Symptoms of iron deficiency </h2>Understanding signs of iron deficiency can help you determine if you have the condition. According to Acharya, mild symptoms of iron deficiency include:<ul><li>Fatigue</li><li>Lightheadedness</li><li>Cold hands and feet</li><li>Lack of concentration</li></ul>According to <a href="https://www.nicoledemasi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicole DeMasi</a>, MS, RDN, CDCES, a registered dietitian-nutritionist, severe symptoms of iron deficiency include: <ul><li><a href="https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/other/pica" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pica</a>, craving non-food items such as clay or paper</li><li>Severe fatigue</li><li>A rapid or irregular heartbeat</li></ul><h2>Causes of iron deficiency </h2> Iron deficiency occurs when you consume less than your daily recommended intake of iron. The <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">daily recommended intake of iron</a> varies based on age and gender: <iframe title="Daily recommended intake of iron" id="datawrapper-chart-BJM4y" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/BJM4y/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% ; border: none;" height="634"></iframe>Some of the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355034" target="_blank" rel="noopener">common causes of deficiency</a> include:<ul><li>Little to no iron in your diet</li><li>Blood loss, from an ulcer, heavy period, or other cause</li><li>Difficulty absorbing iron due to recent bypass surgery or a gastrointestinal disease</li></ul>According to DeMasi, <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">individuals at a higher risk of an iron deficiency</a> include:<ul><li>People with heavy periods or <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17734-menorrhagia-heavy-menstrual-bleeding#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">menorrhagia</a>, a condition in which your period lasts longer than seven days, leading to a higher amount of iron lost each cycle. </li><li>Pregnant people, as their iron need increases but intake may not. </li><li>People with cancer have a 29% to 46% prevalence of iron deficiency. For colon cancer patients, the risk increases up to 60%. This risk may come from chronic blood loss or chemotherapy-induced anemia. </li><li><a href="http://insider.com/difference-between-vegan-and-vegetarian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vegans</a> because their diets exclude foods, such as meat, that are high in iron. </li></ul><h2>Diagnosis </h2>"One of the first symptoms of iron deficiency is fatigue," says Acharya. "If you find yourself becoming excessively tired constantly even after adequate rest and limited physical activity, you should go see a doctor." If a person is experiencing any symptoms of iron deficiency, you should visit your doctor to determine the cause.A blood test can quickly determine an iron deficiency. It can check iron count, iron-binding capacity, and hemoglobin levels, says Acharya. When <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hemoglobin-test/about/pac-20385075#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testing hemoglobin levels</a>, possible iron deficiency occurs below 12 grams per deciliter for women and below 13.5 grams per deciliter for men. <h2>Iron deficiency treatment </h2>To raise iron levels, you can eat more <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">iron-containing foods</a>, such as:<ul><li>Fortified breakfast cereals: 18mg per serving</li><li>White beans, canned: 8 mg per one cup </li><li>Lentils: 3 mg per ½ cup </li><li>Spinach, boiled and drained: 3 mg per ½ cup </li><li>Tofu, firm: 3 mg per ½ cup </li><li>Potatoes, with skin: 2 mg per medium potato</li></ul>General advice: In addition to dietary changes, or if you already eat an iron-rich diet, supplements can help treat a deficiency. Supplements are usually prescribed in doses of up to 150 to 200 mg daily.People who are high risk, but not yet iron deficient or who have just gotten over an iron deficiency may be prescribed 60 to 100mg daily, says DeMasi. <h2>Insider's takeaway </h2>Iron deficiency occurs due to issues such as excessive bleeding and insufficient iron in your diet. Symptoms of an iron deficiency include fatigue, cold hands and feet, and a rapid or irregular heartbeat. Iron deficiency can be easily diagnosed by a blood test and can be treated by adding iron to a person's diet and taking supplements.<h2>Related articles from <a href="https://www.insider.com/health-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health Reference</a>:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/iodine-deficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to recognize the symptoms of iodine deficiency and effectively treat it</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/is-spicy-food-good-for-you" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Is spicy food good for you? 5 proven health benefits of eating spicy food regularly</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/celery-juice-benefits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Many health claims about celery juice are false - here are 4 proven benefits backed by science</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/protein-deficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Are you eating enough protein? How to recognize the symptoms of protein deficiency</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/saturated-vs-unsaturated-fat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saturated vs. unsaturated fat: why nutritionists say unsaturated fat is healthier</a></li></ul>

How to recognize the symptoms of iron deficiency and effectively treat it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>We've assembled a <keyword id="6408534" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Quiz">quiz</keyword> to help you find the perfect gift for your loved ones for any special occasion. </li><li>From the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gifts-for-outdoor-lovers">outdoor lover</a> to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-gifts-under-25-dollars">techie</a> in your life, we've hand-picked gift ideas that will work from everyone on your list.</li><li>If you're looking for more ideas, check out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-gift-ideas">all of our gift guides here</a>.</li></ul><iframe src="//view.ceros.com/business-insider-editorial/gift-guide-quiz-1?heightOverride=1150" style="position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: 0 none;height: 1px;width: 1px;min-height: 100%;min-width: 100%" frameborder="0" class="ceros-experience" title="Gift Guide quiz" scrolling="no"></iframe>

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<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a622c2300d0ef6f048b4915-1400/ap061009017916.jpg" alt="Costa Rica prison police" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Kent Gilbert" data-mce-caption="A Costa Rican prison guard at the main gate at La Reforma Maximum Security Prison in La Guacima, Costa Rica, about 18 miles west of the capital of San Jose, October 9, 2006." />AP Photo/Kent GilbertA Costa Rican prison guard at the gate of La Reforma Maximum Security Prison in La Guacima, Costa Rica, October 9, 2006.</div></div></div><ul><li>Deadly violence rose again in Costa Rica in 2017, continuing a sustained increase seen over the past few years.</li><li>While Costa Rica's security situation is far better than its neighbors, homicides are at levels the country has never seen before.</li><li>Drugs and drug trafficking have been blamed for the increased violence, and it's not clear the government can mount an effective response.</li></ul><hr /> Homicides in Costa Rica hit a record level in 2017, as 603 people were killed - 25 more than the 578 homicides in 2016, a record at the time.This continues a climb seen since 2012, when there were 407 killings.Costa Rica, home to about 5 million people, closed 2017 with a homicide rate of 12.1 per 100,000 people. While that is just a fraction of the <a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/2017-homicide-round-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homicide rates</a> in Central America's Northern Triangle - Guatemala, 26.1 homicides per 100,000 people; Honduras, 42.8 per 100,000; and El Salvador, 60 per 100,000 - it is the highest that Costa Rica has ever seen and more than double the rate registered in the US.Central America is among <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-violent-cities-in-the-world-2017-4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the most violent regions in the world</a>, and much of the violence is related to gangs and drug-related crime. While the security situation in Costa Rica is much different than other countries in the region, many of the killings there during the past year were attributed to drugs and drug trafficking.Michael Soto, the deputy director of Costa Rica's judicial investigation body, <a href="http://www.ticotimes.net/2018/01/04/costa-rica-murder-rate-hits-record-high-in-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said 48%</a> of the deaths stemmed from gang violence, while 25% were related to drug trafficking. Fights and other causes, like domestic violence, led to the rest. Seventy-two percent of the homicides were committed <a href="https://www.nacion.com/sucesos/crimenes/cifra-de-asesinatos-llego-a-600-una-marca-nunca/XXWDLVWQCBFQZDXQKYIX4OQCME/story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with firearms</a>, the most common cause.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a622c91a24444ea048b4963-1400/rtssvqh.jpg" alt="Costa Rica police drug trafficking arrest" data-mce-source="Ministry of Public Security/Handout via Reuters" data-mce-caption="Officers of the National Intelligence and Security police (DIS) arrest alleged Honduran drug trafficker Wilter Blanco in San Jose, Costa Rica, November 22, 2016." />Ministry of Public Security/Handout via ReutersOfficers of the National Intelligence and Security police (DIS) arrest alleged Honduran drug trafficker Wilter Blanco in San Jose, Costa Rica, November 22, 2016.</div></div></div>"Poor neighborhoods have problems with crime and violence but not [a] significant organized gang presence," Geoff Thale, program director at the Washington Office on Latin America, told Business Insider. "So I think in the Costa Rica context, it mostly is drug trafficking and the effects of fights over trafficking routes and control of trafficking routes."Most illegal drugs smuggled into the US travel through Mexico after making their way through Central America. Costa Rica and its neighbors have long been transshipment points for drugs heading north, and the increase in homicides appears to be centered in areas where drug activity has increased - namely, urban areas and areas along the coasts.Nearly three-quarters of Costa Rica's homicides in 2017 were <a href="https://www.nacion.com/sucesos/crimenes/cifra-de-asesinatos-llego-a-600-una-marca-nunca/XXWDLVWQCBFQZDXQKYIX4OQCME/story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concentrated</a> in three of the country's seven provinces.Four hundred and twenty five homicides, or 71% of the total, took place in San Jose, which includes the capital city of the same name; Limon, which covers the entire Caribbean coast; and Alajuela, which abuts the northern border.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Wikimedia Commons/Shamhain" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a621e5fa24444fe3b8b45cc-960/mapacrprovinciassvg.png"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a621e5fa24444fe3b8b45cc-800/mapacrprovinciassvg.png" alt="Costa Rica provinces map" data-mce-source="Wikimedia Commons/Shamhain" data-link="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mapa_CR_Provincias.svg" /></a><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mapa_CR_Provincias.svg">Wikimedia Commons/Shamhain</a></div></div></div>Other countries have seen more intense transshipment activity, but Coast Rica has seen a big increase in such movement, Thale told Business Insider."Along the Atlantic coast, stuff comes in ... and along the route, along the coastline in particular, there's trafficking organizations operating," Thale said."And there's lots local conflict over who controls the route or who pays who off and stuff," he added. "Even though most of that is a flow north, there's a spillover effect in the cities, San Jose in particular."Costa Rican security officials have said they are not able to stop drug traffickers from making use of their territory."There does not exist a beach in Costa Rica where narcos haven't penetrated with a boat with cocaine, coming from Colombia," Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata <a href="https://www.nacion.com/sucesos/narcotrafico/ministro-de-seguridad-no-hay-playa-en-costa-rica-donde-no-haya-penetrado-el-narco/LODR6JCJZVF7VDCWZX2IV7SDRY/story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> legislators in February 2017.Mata also pointed to an increase in marijuana trafficked by Jamaican groups, who, he said, worked with Costa Ricans in Limon province. "That situation caused much of the homicides that there were" in 2016, he said.Mata <a href="https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/12/21/america/1513815860_229348.html?id_externo_rsoc=TW_AM_CM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in December that the country hadn't taken measures to confront the wave of drugs being trafficked through Costa Rica and that the country was seeing full-fledged "narcotrafficking," rather than "narcomenudeo" and "microtrafico" - terms for small-scale or street-level drug sales.Costa Rican coast-guard officials said in mid-2017 that the number of suspected drug-trafficking boats detected in the country's waters doubled between 2013 and 2016, with the majority spotted in near southern Pacific coast. One coast guard official compared the activity to "<a href="https://www.nacion.com/sucesos/narcotrafico/ninguna-playa-de-costa-rica-se-salva-de-ofensiva-del-narco/MRDTAFGXCVHNJD4L6ZF4MFYGOE/story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a plague</a>."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59b997f59803c51e008b597b-2106/centam trafficking map.jpg" alt="Central America drug trafficking map" data-mce-source="Adam Isacson/US Southern Command" data-link="https://adamisacson.com/2016-suspect-trafficking-maps/" /><a href="https://adamisacson.com/2016-suspect-trafficking-maps/">Adam Isacson/US Southern Command</a>Drug-trafficking routes detected by US officials in 2016.</div></div></div>"A lot of that stuff you see going into Costa Rica, that's when they first track it, and then it'll take these short hops up the coast, whichever coast it's on," Adam Isacson, WOLA's senior associate for <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> oversight, told Business Insider in late 2017, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-drugs-are-getting-smuggled-from-south-america-to-the-us-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">describing trafficking routes detected by US authorities</a> in 2016. "Just like a little ant going up and up the coast in little hops and then probably getting into Mexico, where it'll start going overland," Isacson said.Some of the drugs being trafficked through Costa Rica travel overland routes, said Mike Allison, a University of Scranton political-science professor who has done research in the region. That movement "leads to corruption and the buying off of police and border-patrol agents and perhaps to threats of the killing of those who ... won't accept bribes," he told Business Insider.<h2>'It's likely this curve will keep going up'</h2>Authorities in Costa Rica have warned for some time that the country's violence was directly linked to drugs.Seventy percent of the 570 homicides in 2015 were reportedly <a href="http://www.crhoy.com/nacionales/tomados-por-el-narcotrafico-crimen-tico-evoluciono-en-15-a/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the result</a> of fighting between drug groups. In late 2016, Costa Rican authorities <a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/drug-bust-points-to-evolving-criminal-structures-in-costa-rica/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismantled</a> a drug-trafficking network linked to the Sinaloa cartel. The Zetas and Gulf cartels are also reportedly present in the region.The country's attorney general - who previously <a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/mexican-drug-cartels-arming-gangs-in-costa-rica-official/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that Mexican cartels were arming Costa Rican gangs - said last year that Mexican cartels were recruiting local criminals, training them in Mexico, and returning them to Costa Rica to apply cartel tactics."We have an increase in violence because local drug trafficking organizations are applying the Mexican strategy of controlling territory," the attorney general, Jorge Chavarria, <a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/costa-rica-ag-says-mexico-cartels-recruiting-training-locals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in February 2017.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a626555a2444462008b4bb2-1400/rtr4n76b.jpg" alt="Costa Rica police CELAC summit" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate" data-mce-caption="A police officer stands guard in front of a site for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in Heredia province, Costa Rica, January 27, 2015." />REUTERS/Juan Carlos UlateA police officer stands guard in front of a site for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in Heredia province, Costa Rica, January 27, 2015.</div></div></div>The "<a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/costa-rica-drug-consumption-pushing-up-murder-rate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mexican recipe</a>," as Chavarria described it last summer, led to local gangs - driven by a greater supply of drugs - to focus on supplying local consumption, which in turn led to violent attempts to monopolize the local market."I imagine we're seeing ... that people are being paid in drugs," Allison said, "and so [you] see an increase in ... drug availability and use in Costa Rica and elsewhere, as ... they pay off the people simply by providing them drugs."Walter Espinoza, the chief of the judicial investigation body, said in late December that killings of criminal leaders could led to further violence, as those groups fight over leadership and control of territory - a phenomenon seen in Mexico as a result of the Kingpin anti-crime strategy."In recent years we do not remember a situation like that which we are experiencing," Espinoza told the press in December. There have been recent <a href="https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/12/21/america/1513815860_229348.html?id_externo_rsoc=TW_AM_CM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> of communities near San Jose being controlled by criminal groups, who extort businesses operating there.Costa Rica has <a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/costa-rica-send-barely-trained-police-on-streets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduced police training</a> in order to deploy more officers (less training may make those officers <a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/are-crime-groups-increasingly-corrupting-costa-rica-police/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more susceptible</a> to bribery) and partnered <a href="https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/costa-rica-nicaragua-join-efforts-combat-organized-crime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with neighbors</a> to combat organized crime. Costa Rica's police also flew more than <a href="http://www.infodefensa.com/latam/2018/01/15/noticia-servicio-vigilancia-aerea-policial-costa-fortalece-patrullajes.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3,400 hours</a> of surveillance flights over the country's coasts, mountains, and communities, in 2017, and next year the country's coast guard will acquire two 110-foot patrol ships <a href="http://www.infodefensa.com/latam/2017/10/30/noticia-guardacostas-costa-prepara-oficiales-operar-patrulleros-island.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> by the US.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/565850bedd08959a4a8b4621-2400/rtx1l46l.jpg" alt="costa rica" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate" data-mce-caption="A man sells fruits and vegetables in San Jose July 20, 2015. The words on the banner (top) read, &amp;quotThank you, Lord, to fight those who fight against me--Isaiah 49:25&quot;." />REUTERS/Juan Carlos UlateA man sells fruits and vegetables in San Jose, July 20, 2015. The words on the banner over the stand read, "Thank you, Lord, to fight those who fight against me - Isaiah 49:25."</div></div></div>The latest evidence of a sustained increase in violence in Costa Rica comes as the country prepares for February 4 elections that will select the president, first and second vice president, and 57 members of the legislature.The timing has reinvigorated debate about how to approach insecurity, whether <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/militarized-police-violence-in-latin-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">through "mano dura" policies</a> popular elsewhere in the region or with other, more comprehensive policies that address violence as a result of social conditions, like increasing inequality over the last two decades.Surveys in the final months of 2017 put security as the <a href="http://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-costa-ricas-2018-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth most pressing concern</a> among Costa Ricans, behind unemployment, corruption, and the economy - but ahead of poverty. Seven presidential candidates held a debate <a href="https://elfaro.net/es/201711/centroamerica/21120/Los-candidatos-a-la-presidencia-de-Costa-Rica-debaten-en-una-c%C3%A1rcel-interrogados-por-reos.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a prison</a> in November, focusing on issues in criminal justice and crime-fighting. ("I hope you feel at home," one prisoner told the candidates.)However security concerns factor into the voting in February, and into the potential runoff in April, crime and violence look set to remain problems in Costa Rica."Since 2012, we have seen an increase, and it's likely this curve will keep going up unless something extraordinary happens," Soto, of the judicial investigation body, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/costa-rica-record-murder-rate/4190033.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> earlier this month. But, he stressed, "we are not losing control, and we are at the same level as in other societies." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-costa-rican-park-has-been-taken-over-by-hundreds-of-dogs-2016-4">A Costa Rican park has been taken over by hundreds of dogs</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/GZBTVXda-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

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