Surprising news from Costa Rica

I just read an article in the Costa Rican weekly newspaper, Tico Times. In the article, Blake Schmidt discusses the drug trade, a common problem for all Latin American countries. I was aware that the drug trade was a pressing issue throughout Latin America before reading this article. However I found it very surprising that the drug trade was present in Costa Rica. Maybe i was being naive, but I thought that because Costa Rica is the oldest democracy in Latin America, and because it has had one of the most stable and transparent governments in Latin America, that it would repel the drug trade. However after reading this article, I learned that since "May 2006, authorities have seized an 'historical record' of nearly 27 metric tons of cocaine, more than sextupling seizures the year before." I think this displays the overall growth of the drug trade. The trade is getting so large and the cartels are gaining so much power, that it is beginning to invade at a higher rate into countries that would seem less prone to its influence. Here is the link for the article.