Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security, Gustavo Mata is warning that significant budget cuts this year will result in a decrease in security and will weaken the efforts of law enforcement to combat crime.

In an interview with the daily La Nacion published on Wednesday, Mata said that a reduction of 8 percent in the security ministry’s budget coupled with the loss of revenue from a corporate tax that was declared unconstitutional have the potential to “cripple” the country’s police force and other law enforcement agencies.

The ministry’s regular budget has been slashed from ¢237 billion (~US $443 million) in 2015 to ¢220 billion (~US $411 million) this year, a loss of some US $32 million.

The loss of revenue to the ministry from the failed corporate tax will further drain some ¢40 billion (about US $74.7 million) from its budget.

In total, the MSP chief estimates that the country’s law enforcement agencies will lose some ¢57 billion – more than $106 million USD – from its 2016 budget compared to its budget for last year.

“It is a terrible situation,” Mata said, adding that the budget cuts will mean cuts to the fleet of police vehicles, forcing police to “remain in their stations, unable to go and address crime,” and will leave law enforcement strapped for cash for uniforms, equipment, and other needs.

The budget cuts come after Costa Rica witnessed a record-breaking year for homicides in 2015, a year in which the country registered more murders than traffic deaths.

“How can we make an impact on organized crime if we are not given the necessary tools? It is a contradiction, instead of strengthening security, we are slashing it and this can not be,” Mata said.

Last week, Mata appeared before the Legislative Assembly’s Commission on Security and Drug Trafficking, where he called on lawmakers to approve a bill that would reinstate the corporate tax, 95 percent of which had been directed to the Security Ministry before the law was struck down.

The bill remains pending before the Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Financial Affairs.