Costa Rican authorities announced they would reinforce security, including streamlining procedures to expel foreigners linked to criminal activities, following a series of recent crimes that have shocked the country.

“Acts of violence in recent days have raised a justified alarm in the population and motivated new calls for attention to all authorities to intensify the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime,” said Security Minister Gustavo Mata at a press conference last week.

The announcement came two days after a shootout in front of Mount View school in the exclusive Guachipelín area west of San José that left two people dead and a wounded child, and occurred while children were arriving for classes.

Among those killed is a Lebanese with an international police record. Costa Rica’s Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS, in Spanish) revealed they had recommended expulsion Elias All, the homicide victim, last January.

Akl was involved with loaning money to people and businesses in Costa Rica, charging high interest rates and using intimidation and threats of violence when people defaulted on payments, according to reports in the Costa Rican Spanish daily La Nación; the information was confirmed by police in Escazú, where Akl lived.

“We will continue to review the procedures to expedite the expulsion of foreign individuals linked to criminal activities, while adhering to due process and to the provisions of the migration law,” Mata said of actions to be taken.

He also announced that he will expand cooperation with the French and Dutch navies to control the boats dedicated to drug trafficking in the Caribbean.

In 2016, Costa Rica registered 577 homicides, one of the highest levels in recent years. Most of these involved hired killings and were to settle scores among criminal groups, according to the judicial investigative police agency (OIJ).

Mata noted that the increase in crime has taken place along with “an intense growth in the trafficking of cocaine, marijuana and weapons on routes between Colombia, Jamaica and Costa Rica.”