Caribbean & Central America - April 2026

At the end of February, the governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua agreed to boost security cooperation aimed at combatting cross-border illegal gold mining. The agreement, which drew attention given that Costa Rica’s right-wing populist President Rodrigo Chaves is not exactly ideologically aligned with Nicaragua’s authoritarian co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, again highlights the issue of illegal gold mining on the border, which the Costa Rican government warns has evolved into a new phase.

Five days before the 28 February meeting which produced the agreement, Costa Rica’s Security Minister Mario Zamora publicly called for Nicaragua to exercise tighter vigilance over the San Juan river which forms part of the border. He claimed illegal miners (‘coligalleros’), of whom he said some 90% were Nicaraguan, extract gold from the Las Crucitas open-pit gold mine in Costa Rica’s northern San Carlos canton, Alajuela province, and transport it through a smuggling corridor along the San Juan river to Nicaragua where “the mining sediment is processed, gold is extracted, and those profits remain there”, according to a statement cited by the international media.

The mine has been shut down since 2010, when its concession, which had been awarded to Canadian mining company Infinito Gold, was cancelled on the grounds that it contained irregularities. In November 2010 the government of former president Óscar Arias (1986-1990, 2006-2010) passed a new non-retroactive law banning open-pit mining altogether. Since then, informal miners, who were already present even before the concession was cancelled, have continued to occupy the abandoned infrastructure and extract gold independently. Profits are largely smuggled out of Costa Rica, with an 18 March article by Spanish daily El País estimating these to amount to US$250m annually, while the extraction process has reportedly caused severe environmental damage.

Speaking on 16 February before the national legislature, Zamora said that the area affected by mining activity had expanded rapidly in recent months, driven by a rise in international gold prices. While the original concession covered 900 hectares, Zamora said that 3,000 hectares are now impacted by illegal mining. Zamora was also cited by the media as warning that illegal mining had evolved from artisanal exploitation to semi-industrial exploitation with the presence of organised crime, and a new phase of mining had been identified, with new techniques.

The Chinese angle

In his appearance before the legislature on 16 February, Zamora also accused Chinese mining companies across the border in Nicaragua of buying the stolen gold and processing it. His claims come as Chinese involvement in mining in Nicaragua, a key component of bilateral ties which were forged in December 2021, continues to draw attention as the Ortega-Murillo government has significantly increased the amount of concessions awarded to Chinese mining firms in recent years. This has sparked alarm from NGOs which warn that these concessions are located in environmentally sensitive areas and indigenous territories, and violate national and international legislation [SSR-25-12].

In the latest sign of this concern, on 12 March Nicaraguan environmental NGO Fundación del Río released a new report entitled China’s mining invasion in Nicaragua which showed that between 2021 and 2026, the Nicaraguan government had authorised 71 mining concessions to 15 Chinese companies, spanning over a million hectares. According to the NGO, 8.5% of Nicaraguan territory has been handed over in concessions to Chinese mining companies.

The report also warns that this could generate regional tensions with neighbouring Honduras and Costa Rica. Amaru Ruiz, Fundación del Río’s president, told Nicaraguan independent media outlet 100% Noticias that 11 concessions have been identified in border areas with Honduras and Costa Rica. He singled out the La Guinea lot which has been awarded to Chinese mining company Thomas Metal S.A. and is located in the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border area, some 300m away from the San Juan river, on the site of Las Cruces – what Costa Rica-based Nicaraguan investigative outlet Confidencial has previously described as a shantytown of several thousand illegal miners who process and sell the illegal extracted gold from Las Crucitas.

Agreements

A 28 February meeting which took place at the Peñas Blancas border crossing in Guanacaste province, between a Costan Rican delegation led by Zamora and Foreign Minister Arnoldo André and a Nicaraguan delegation headed up by Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke, produced various agreements.

These include a plan to hold bimonthly meetings to address the issue of illegal mining, with the next session scheduled for 24 April. The two governments also reportedly agreed to strengthen coordinated patrols and border security operations, and to expand intelligence and information sharing between their security agencies to disrupt illegal mining trafficking networks. 

Reopening the mine?

The renewed focus on illegal gold mining activity comes as President Chaves has floated the possible reopening of legal mining operations in Las Crucitas. His government argues that regulated mining could reduce environmental damage, weaken illegal networks, and generate public revenue, and has introduced legislation which it claims would allow limited legal extraction under stricter environmental oversight – an initiative which continues to generate alarm among environmental groups.

The initiative also featured among seven key projects highlighted as legislative priorities by President-elect Laura Fernández, a Chaves protegé, once she takes office on 8 May following her victory in the 1 February general elections. Unlike Chaves, Fernández stands to have a majority in the new legislature when it begins sitting in May. Her Partido Pueblo Soberano (PPSO) won 31 of the 57 seats, two more than a simple majority.

• Fernández’s priorities

Other priorities identified by President-elect Laura Fernández include the expansion of a highway connecting the capital San José with San Ramón canton, Alajuela province, to be financed with a US$770m loan from the Central American Development Bank (BCIE). Another declared priority is the construction of an electric train which will be financed by BCIE, the United Nations green climate fund (GCF), and the European Union for a total of US$800m. The train will include two lines spanning 51km of double track, one linking Paraíso canton, Cartago province to San José, and another between San José and Alajuela canton, Alajuela province.

China rejects Costa Rica’s claims

On 14 March Costa Rica-based Nicaraguan investigative outlet Confidencial cited China’s ambassador to Costa Rica, Wang Xiaoyao, as rejecting the claims that Chinese companies were buying illegal gold from Las Crucitas. Confidencial cites Wang as saying that Costa Rica’s claims were yet another “example of media propaganda without any communication or verification” and that Beijing “always called on Chinese companies to strictly obey international rules and local laws when operating abroad”.