Costa Rican Turtle Defender Found Slain on the Beach He Patrolled

Costa Rican Turtle Defender Found Slain on the Beach He Patrolled By ANDREW C. REVKIN

This quiet stretch of beach near Limón, Costa Rica, was photographed on May 19 by Jairo Mora Sandoval, a 26-year-old conservationist who regularly patrolled there to protect endangered sea turtles and their nests from poachers. According to Costa Rican news reports, police said he was kidnapped Thursday night by armed men — along with three American women and one from Spain who were volunteering as turtle surveyors.

In a news article in Tico Times, Didiher Chacón, the coordinator for the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network program at the beach where Sandoval worked and died, was quoted as saying Sandoval had recently made statements in a national newspaper linking egg poaching to drug traffickers. Chacón added: “With everything we know about what happened, it seems like it was an act of revenge,” Chacón said. “Jairo didn’t drink. He didn’t smoke. He wasn’t involved in those kinds of things. We think it must have had to do with his work.”

The dangerous situation on the beach was conveyed by Sandoval in a Facebook message to friends on April 23 that, translated, reads: Can you send messages to the police so they come to Moin Beach. Don’t be afraid, but just come armed. 60 turtles lost, not a single nest. We need help fast. There are many places on this planet where efforts to protect endangered wildlife place the conservationists in peril. One case in point of late has been killings of park rangers in Africa’s ivory wars.

Can this vital work be done safely? A. Yes B. No

What does this say about the role of the state? A. It’s treason of the state B. It’s weakness of the state