Costa Rican commission approves criminal organization law

The Security and Narcotrafficking Commission of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly has issued a positive ruling on bill 25.615, known as the “Law on Sanctioning Membership in Criminal Organizations.” The bill, originally proposed by President Laura Fernández, received unanimous support from the nine commission deputies.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend Article 281 of the Penal Code to more strictly penalize individuals who belong to criminal associations. Under the new rules, being a member of a group that associates to commit crimes and distributes tasks would result in prison sentences ranging from one to six years.

Penalties could increase to between 6 and 10 years, or even up to 20 years in cases involving aggravating circumstances. These higher penalties would apply to groups involved in organized crime, extortionate kidnapping, human trafficking, arms and organ trafficking, terrorism, or narcotics trafficking using technological means or modified transport.