Chaves ordered a state of emergency in Costa Rica as the number of migrants passing through the small Central American nation has risen sharply.

Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves on Tuesday ordered officials in the country to declare a state of emergency, citing a surge of migrants crossing through the small Central American nation toward the United States.

“The people that arrive are passing across Costa Rica trying to get to the United States, basically,” Chaves said at a press conference.

“I have instructed the security ministry to take a firm stance with anyone who takes Costa Rica’s kindness for weakness,” he added, referring to recent riots by migrants crossing the nation.

According to Chaves, the people crossing through his country are from around the world, including Venezuela, Ecuador, China, Colombia, Haiti, Yemen, and Bangladesh.

Since January, more than 386,000 migrants have passed through the border from Panama into Costa Rica.

According to the International Organization for Migration, over 84,490 people entered Costa Rica through its southern border in the month of August – an increase of 55% compared to the previous month.

Officials say that so far in September, more than 60,000 people have passed through the Costa Rican border town shared with Panama, Paso Canoas, where fewer than 20,000 people live.

Regionally, the number of migrants crossing the treacherous Darien Gap – which connects Panama and Colombia and has recently served as a barometre for movement – broke a new record this year.

Authorities say 248,901 people have crossed the jungle so far in 2023, and of those, approximately 20% are children and adolescents.

In August, Chaves visited US President Joe Biden to discuss migration and other issues.

“We all know that throughout the Americas there is a migration crisis,” Chaves said Tuesday.

The president is set to visit Panama in early October to discuss the issue.

Costa Rica is among several countries set to open so-called safe mobility offices, a new initiative by the US to partner with international organisations to establish brick-and-mortar processing centres for migrants to apply to migrate legally to the US, among other countries, instead of continuing their journey to the border.

A White House official said more than 38,000 individuals have registered in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala for the Safe Mobility initiative as of August 28.