On July 8th, the Action Alliance sent out this news bulletin with information about the event, as well as verified facts about recent criminal activity in San Ramon:

"There have been a lot of rumors flying around about the recent spike in violent criminal activity in San Ramón.  Following are the facts provided by a reliable source with the local Fuerza Publica:

The Facts

• There have been 5 murders in the past several weeks.
• Two of these murders have been gang-related both in central San Ramón.
• There were also two other gang-related shootings that did not result in deaths. 
• These shootings have taken place between the hours of 10:00 pm and 3:00 am. 
• The other three murders were the result of various acts of non-gang violence, i.e., domestic violence, personal disputes. 

It is known that the gang-related violence is the result of a gang from San José (the Escalera Gang) coming in to San Ramón to attempt to take control of the drug activity in the market.  This has occurred in previous years however the number of gang members and arms this year is more than in the past.  It is speculated that the increased gang activity in San Ramón is in part due to the efforts of Costa Rican security forces to crack down on drug activity in San José.  This is supported by the fact that other neighboring communities have experienced increased gang activity as the Escalera Gang attempts to establish itself outside of San José. 

What is being done?

There have been a number of meetings with local authorities and community leaders.  The Minister of Security is appearing today at the Municipality at the request of Diputado Edgardo Araya and will be presented with a list of requested action items prepared by local authorities.  The Action Alliance has been represented at several meetings and formally conveyed our concern to the local authorities and the U.S. Embassy.   

The position of the Community Action Alliance has been to request (1) complete transparency from local security authorities on recent criminal activity; (2) community involvement including public displays of concern (see below); (3) immediate, decisive and tangible action against known gangs and drug dealers to send a clear message that gang activity will not be tolerated in San Ramón!

There are also several activities planned for Saturday, July 9 and everyone is encouraged to participate:

March (Marcha Pasifica para la Paz en San Ramón)

Saturday, July 9 at 10:30 am from the Iglesia del Tremedal (green church) to the Central Park; organized by Opinión Ramonense. 

Vigil

Saturday night, July 9 from 6:00 pm to 12:00 midnight at the Central Park; organized by local churches.

Also, a page has been created on Facebook, Quiero un San Ramon SIN delincuencia, where you can keep up on current activity and voice your opinion; note that this page was created earlier this week and there are already over 1,500 Likes.

Unite and act!