THE BEHAVIOUR of Jamaican gangs has caused the Costa Rican authorities to tighten immigration regulations against Jamaicans living in that country. This is, of course, a cause for shame for law-abiding Jamaicans and a further blotch on this country's reputation.

But it would be a mistake by those who might attempt to find solace in assertions that at least the criminality is not taking place in Jamaica. Nor must we be self-righteous in our indignation.

Any such response would suggest a dangerous misinterpretation of events and a clear misunderstanding of the culture of violence that is endemic in Jamaica, and the increasingly transnational nature of crime, particularly the drug trade.

In other words, recent killings, reputedly by Jamaican gangs in San Antonio de Escazu and other incidents elsewhere in the country, can't be read as completely separate by similar behaviour in, say, Spanish Town, St Catherine, Flankers, St James, or any other community in Jamaica where gang violence is prevalent. Undermining violent Jamaican gangs in Costa Rica, therefore, is not just a matter for a government in San Jose. Jamaica has a stake in their defeat.

Deepened ties, informal movement

The fact is that Costa Rica is geographically close to Jamaica, a not-too-long ride in a go-fast boat. There is also cultural affinity between the countries, especially on Costa Rica's south coast where people of Jamaican descent live and often speak English with a Jamaican accent.

In recent years, that relationship has deepened, helped by the informal movement of people and trade between the two countries. Both countries, because of their geographic locations, also serve as trans-shipment points for narcotics from Colombia, heading to the United States and Canada.

But this intermingling has led, it appears, to one of Jamaica's most notorious exports - its violence-prone gangs, including, perhaps, some of the same young men from our inner-city communities who are responsible for the bulk of the more than 1,600 homicides which take place in Jamaica annually. Like in Jamaica, they apparently have scant regard for law-enforcement agencies, believing they can behave with impunity. The recent shooting death of a Costa Rican policeman, allegedly by Jamaican gangsters, was a case in point.

Don't stigmatise all Jamaicans

Indeed, we suspect that Costa Rica might be emerging as a haven for Jamaican gang members, who can slip from the Caribbean Sea to the Central American coast when the heat is on here. We expect the same thing to be happening with Costa Rican criminals.

While we have sympathy for the concerns of the Costa Rican authorities and understand their impulse to move to secure their borders against Jamaican criminals and illegal immigrants, they have to be careful of an indiscriminate sweep that stigmatises all Jamaicans.

It would make sense, we feel, for Costa Rican law enforcement and other authorities to work closely with their Jamaican counterparts to deal with a problem that affects both countries, which share a healthy relationship. The criminals are already into transnational cooperation.

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