The prized tourism industry in Costa Rica could be threatened by the surge in criminal gang activity that is sweeping through other countries in Central America, according to various news reports and the general sentiment of the population over the last few years. Such fears have already come true in Belize, a Central American nation that by all accounts should surpass Costa Rica as the ultimate tourism and expatriate destination in the region.

Belize City has become mired in violence instigated by gangs with allegiances to Mexican drug cartels, particularly the fearsome Zetas. The nation of Belize has been called the fourth corner of the northern triangle due to her proximity to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala -the hotspots of violence in Central America. According to a report on Insight Crime, drug cartels seek to control that nation’s borders and seaports to augment their drug trafficking routes, and in the case of the Zetas, that control is gained by force, intimidation and sheer violence.

Costa Rica is already considered a bridge nation for drug trafficking, and according to a report in the Global Post late last year, concern over the presence of drug cartels from Mexico and South America is in the mind of President Laura Chinchilla. With regard to cross-gang violence spilling over to Costa Rica from the northern triangle, she told the Global Post that:

“We need to see ourselves in the reflection. I think it’s closer than we can imagine.”

It’s not just gang violence that Belize has to worry about anymore. The country has taken steps to curb gang activity, and to that extent it has received assistance from the United States in law enforcement training. Another problem is corruption, which is alleged to have played a part in the bizarre case of John McAffee, the founder of the McAffee Antivirus program, which is likely to be running in the background of your computer as you read this article.

John McAffee is a resident of Belize who recently was the subject of a raid by members of that country’s Gang Suppression Unit and Belize Defense Borders. According to a report in online technology blog Gizmodo, Mr. McAffee believes that the raid, in which his dog was shot to death, and his arrest were arranged as retaliation from a scorned politician who did not receive a donation from the tech millionaire. Mr. McAffee claims no involvement with gangs, although during the raid agents allegedly found an illegal firearm and a clandestine antibiotic research lab -which they thought was a methamphetamine production facility.