On 21 November Costa Rican authorities detained four suspected gang members accused of manufacturing and trafficking the synthetic drug fentanyl.
Analysis:
These are the first arrests in Costa Rica associated with the powerful opioid, which is driving record overdose deaths in the US – an issue which dominated recent talks between Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and US President Joe Biden. It also follows the first-ever seizure of fentanyl in Honduras earlier this month. While the dismantling of the first fentanyl trafficking organisation in Costa Rica is a key victory for local authorities, it will heighten security-related concerns in the country which continues to face record homicides linked to the presence of international drug trafficking organisations (DTOs). The surge in violence remains a source of significant pressure on President Rodrigo Chaves who, in May, was compelled to replace his security minister and introduce a new security plan.
- In a press conference with the country’s deputy health minister Mario Urcuyo and Attorney General Carlo Díaz, Security Minister Mario Zamora said the arrests were made during a joint operation between Costa Rican authorities and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He said raids took place in three residences in Tibás canton and San Sebastián district, both in San José province, and La Guácima, a district of Alajuela province.
- According to the local media, authorities seized 1,100 fentanyl pills which were targeted towards the international market as well as domestic consumption, in particular, bars in San José and Escazú municipalities, San José province. Those arrested were reportedly Costa Rican and Colombian nationals although further details have yet to be provided.
- The dismantling of the criminal organisation comes as Honduran police discovered a haul of 493kg of fentanyl on 8 November. According to the Honduran police, the drugs were hidden in a shipping container which had arrived from the UK in the port of Puerto Cortés. The police statement said it was unclear whether Honduras was the final destination.
- The latest arrests come as violence continues to soar in Costa Rica. On 17 November the local media reported figures from Costa Rica’s judicial investigation agency (OIJ) which registered 807 homicides so far this year, a significant increase on the 654 recorded for the whole of 2022 – a surge in violence blamed on DTOs.
- In a further sign of the unprecedented violence facing the country, on 15 November the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) designated Gilbert Hernán de Los Angeles Bell Fernández, a Costa Rican drug trafficker who “has played a significant role in Costa Rica’s recent transformation into a major narcotics transit hub”.
- According to the Ofac statement, Bell, who was arrested by Costa Rican authorities in 2015 on drug-related charges, is known “not only for the volume of drugs he moves but the violence with which he operates”. It describes him as one of the most prolific drug traffickers in Limón province, “moving large quantities of cocaine”.
Looking Ahead: The Chaves government is under particular pressure to address security, with opinion surveys showing that it has become the chief public concern. The latest survey released on 15 November by the Centro de Investigación y Estudios Políticos (Ciep) of the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) showed that 41.3% of the 1,003 respondents cited it as their chief concern, up from 27.8% in September.
