American Expatriate Costa Rica

English-language news and information on Costa Rica

  • Home
  • Original Articles
  • News Reports
  • Book Reviews

Tourist family says Spain does not warn about the number of homicides in Costa Rica

August 29, 2018 by Staff News Writer

The family of Arantxa Gutiérrez López, a Spanish tourist murdered in Tortuguero this year, sent a letter to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which they questioned that she was not warned about the high murder rate in Costa Rica. Gutiérrez, a 31-year-old physiotherapist, was murdered on August 4th on a hotel path in that Caribbean tourist community. The motive was a sexual assault perpetrated by Alvin Díaz Hawkings, a 33-year-old Nicaraguan who remained in the country under irregular migratory status. The forensic tests and analysis confirmed the presence of DNA from the foreigner in the body of the tourist.

According to the Diario Información , based in the Spanish city of Alicante where Arantxa was born, relatives sent the letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs , Josep Borrell.

Some the complaints of the relatives are the lack of warning about the homicides in Costa Rica, the lack of support after traveling to Costa Rican territory to process the repatriation of the body, and the delayed psychological care in Spain.

Pilar López, mother of the victim, told the newspaper that last6 Thursday she met with Minister Borrell and with Miguel Ángel Escribano, Arantxa’s husband.

She did not deserve what happened. She deserved that our government and Costa Rica’s government would defend her, and they didn’t. If someone had informed us of that danger, does anyone think she would gone for a walk alone? (…) The fact that from January 1st to August 4th there were 370 homicides, is reason enough to have alerted the pupulation and the agencies that make trips to Costa Rica so that preventive measures can be taken,”

said López.

On Monday, the director of the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) Walter Espinoza reported that the number of murders to date was 395 for a rate of 12 per 100 thousand inhabitants.

After the crime of Aranxta, the Spanish government included Costa Rica in the list of destinations with security risks and where they recommend caution to avoid unfortunate events due to crime.

crhoy.com

Related articles:

  1. Spaniard tourist was murdered during a 10-day trip to Costa Rica
  2. Homicides are a pandemic in Costa Rica
  3. Homicides for organized crime hit Costa Rica
  4. More than 500 homicides have been committed in Costa Rica in 2017
  5. Spain discovers narco route between Costa Rica and Canary Islands
  6. Spain arrested suspects of transporting cocaine hidden in pineapples from Costa Rica

Filed Under: News Reports

SIGN UP FOR AMERICAN EXPATRIATE IN COSTA RICA

It's free, we respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Connect with Social Media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Follow @expatcostarica

Search Articles and News Reports

Articles by Publication Date

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

News Summary

U.S. President Orders Navy Task Force to Caribbean to Counter Venezuela Threat

Costa Rica Government Silent on Travel Ban with Just 13 Days Left

News Summary

Legislators approve moratorium for registration of shareholders

President confirms gasoline give away for ethanol pilot project

Chinese company sells low cost smart phones in Costa Rica

Search continues for small plane missing in Drake

Farmers will march to the Ministry of Agriculture

IMN warns of dangerous UV radiation this Friday

Copyright © 2010 to 2025 · Link to Legal Notices and Privacy Policy