Q COSTA RICA — The capture of the main criminal leaders in the Costa Rican Caribbean marked a turning point in the fight against drug trafficking in the region. In the last three years, Costa Rican authorities have neutralized the 12 highest-profile drug lords, an action that is part of the state’s response to the increase in homicides linked to disputes over drug control. The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) and the Prosecutor’s Office attribute these results to a review of strategies following the most violent year on record in the country.
Michael Soto, interim director of the OIJ, explained that “most of the homicides were related to drug trafficking-related revenge killings” and that the new investigative tactics allowed for concrete progress in containing the violence. Following the death of Ronnie Ríos, alias “Coco”, and the capture of Alejandro Arias Monge, alias “Diablo”, along with Jonathan Pérez, alias “Tan,” last Friday, July 24, 2026, authorities consider the main drug trafficking structures that fueled the wave of violence since 2023 to be dismantled. These actions have allowed for a gradual reduction in homicides, according to Attorney General Carlo Díaz, who emphasized the importance of the operational deployment despite budget cuts suffered by both institutions.
“The struggle between the organizations and the dynamics of local drug trafficking have caused the increase in the number of homicides, but we believe that with all these operational actions, it will continue to decrease,” Díaz stated. Criminal bosses, extraditions, and new drug trafficking routes The dismantling of the networks began with the capture of Gilbert Bell, known as “Macho Coca“, considered the pioneer of international drug trafficking in Limón, although he was never convicted of that crime. In February 2024, he was arrested for leading a fuel theft operation on the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE) — Costa Rica’s refinery that refines nothing — pipeline.
Later, in November 2025, a New York court requested his extradition for international cocaine trafficking. The investigation includes recordings obtained during negotiations with undercover DEA and FBI agents, and although a judge initially rejected the extradition last March, in June the Goicoechea Court of Appeals overturned that decision and authorized his transfer to the United States.
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