Costa Rica will deepen ties with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a second phase targeting alleged drug links among successful or highly visible businesspeople, professionals and politicians, Attorney General Carlo Diaz told Reuters.
Diaz said an earlier stage brought Costa Rican and U.S. authorities together in operations against organized-crime groups. He calls the people now under scrutiny “invisible drug traffickers” and said investigators would not give special treatment to an implicated person because of a senior position.
Reuters reported that the judiciary re-elected Diaz on Monday to another four-year term. Diaz said Costa Rica had extradited six people to the United States and had 25 more extradition proceedings underway. He described the ability to extradite Costa Rican citizens as a turning point in addressing cross-border crime.
Political divisions have also shaped the debate over security. Diaz told Reuters that DEA officials had raised concerns with him about divisions within Costa Rica’s political institutions, which he said were obstructing efforts against organized crime. Reuters has reported recurring disputes between Diaz, President Laura Fernandez and former President Rodrigo Chaves. Diaz has accused the government of trying to weaken the judiciary.
Costa Rica has worked with the DEA before; Reuters reported that earlier cooperation led to arrests of dozens of drug traffickers. Officials cited by Reuters describe the region as a major route for narcotics moving from South America to the United States. Costa Rican authorities have blamed traffickers for a rise in killings in recent years.
Fernandez has aligned Costa Rica more closely with Washington on security, including through the Shield of the Americas initiative launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. She proposed in September that U.S. forces operate in Costa Rica, a suggestion Diaz opposed. He argued that adequately resourced local forces could regain control of territory. The Fernandez government has built a correctional facility designed for 5,100 inmates, drawing on El Salvador’s security approach. Diaz said it might ease overcrowding but would not by itself stop organized crime, citing differences between the countries’ criminal landscapes.
Reuters reported that Costa Rica recorded 906 killings in 2023, alongside a homicide rate of 17.2 per 100,000 people.
