Once tranquil Costa Rica eyes Salvadoran-inspired response to crime surge

A police officer stands next to men briefly detained to frisk them for drugs and weapons during the "Costa Rica Segura Plus" operation, carried out in tough neighborhoods by security forces, in San Jose, Costa Rica, December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Mayela Lopez/File Photo

SAN JOSE/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Long a byword for laidback environmental tourism, Costa Rica is now wrestling with a surge in violence so striking that its government is borrowing a page from nearby El Salvador, which took draconian steps to tackle its own crime problems.

In an effort to cut a homicide rate that has soared 40% in the last year alone, Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves has introduced tough new legislation to combat crime, dubbing El Salvador a "reference" point.