The Mercury Route: The Toxic Metal That Crosses from Nicaragua to Costa Rica Hidden in Eye Droppers
In Los Chiles, a woman answers Lucas's phone and says that "quicksilver" is scarce, but perhaps there will be some tomorrow. Mercury arrives contraband from Mexico and China: it travels in eye drop bottles. It crosses Nicaragua, the San Juan River, and ends up in the tunnels of Crucitas, Costa Rica, where rivers already show contamination levels 225 times above natural. Behind this route is a business with a 468% profit margin and the complicity of the Ortega-Murillo regime, which lies to the United Nations while handing over territory to Chinese companies that have boosted the gold rush and, with it, the artisanal industry that uses this metal.
TL;DR
- Mercury is smuggled from Mexico and China into Costa Rica, concealed in eye drop bottles.
- The mercury travels through Nicaragua and the San Juan River to reach Crucitas, Costa Rica.
- Rivers in Crucitas show contamination levels 225 times above natural levels.
- The illegal mercury trade generates a 468% profit margin.
- The Nicaraguan regime of Ortega-Murillo is accused of complicity and lying to the UN.
- Chinese companies have increased gold mining, boosting the artisanal industry that uses mercury.