Costa Rica, the once-peaceful land of 'pura vida,' battles violence as cocaine trade grows

CHACARITA, Costa Rica — Karol Vega remembers a time when her neighbors would spend long evenings outside together, laughing and listening to salsa music as they shared ceviche.

Then crack cocaine started flooding this Costa Rican fishing town — and dealers began competing for turf.

As young men were gunned down in succession — one while playing soccer, another while buying a lottery ticket, yet another while pedaling his bike — most residents stopped leaving their homes after dark.

Vega begged her 17-year-old son, Kedwin, who had started selling drugs, to stay off the streets. He didn't listen. In December, she was at home when a friend arrived, breathless, to report that Kedwin had been shot in the head and killed.

For so long, Costa Rica was an island of peace in one of the most turbulent regions in the world.

While other Central American nations suffered civil wars, and , Costa Rica had low crime, a thriving democracy and no armed forces. Each year, millions of foreigners come to enjoy its pristine beaches, jungles and laid-back "" vibe.