Pursue dangerous armed criminals in wooded areas, participate in high-risk operations in hard-to-reach places, safeguard national sovereignty, and collaborate with judicial authorities in raids and other extremely risky proceedings. These are just a few activities, among the great diversity of operations carried out by the Costa Rican police forces, which increasingly require greater specialization and professionalism in the face of organized crime.
For this reason, thanks to the support of friendly governments, such as that of the United States, a training session was concluded in which these issues were addressed. The theoretical part was carried out in the facilities of the National Coast Guard Academy, located in Quepos, while the land patrol practices were carried out in the mountains of that canton.
A press release from the Ministry of Security indicates that the course, which lasted 4 weeks, was attended by 9 officers from the Border Police, 9 from the Special Intervention Unit (UEI), and 9 from the National Coast Guard Service. All of them learned about cartography and land navigation techniques, and tactical displacement in mountainous sites, as well as in rivers, streams and swamps.
In the same way, they carried out a reinforcement and update in terms of techniques for handling firearms and shooting. The officers were also instructed in first aid techniques, as well as how to immobilize and stabilize injured officers in the line of duty, or people who were victims of an attack by criminals. They also reinforced their knowledge of techniques to arrest people suspected of committing a crime.
Commander Edson Rodríguez, director of the National Coast Guard Academy, indicated that all this knowledge is vital during the development of joint operations between the police forces of the Ministry of Security and other institutions. In the case of the Coast Guard officers, although their scope of action is maritime operations, they must sometimes coordinate and carry out land-based follow-up operations for drug traffickers on the run who, after abandoning the boats with drugs, enter wooded areas.
At the end of this course, the 27 officers graduated during a ceremony held at the National Academy of Coast Guards, in Quepos.
