Costa Rica extradited a 40-year-old Costa Rican man identified by the surname Morales-Araya and four foreign nationals to the United States on Thursday to face drug trafficking charges, marking the fifth time the country has sent one of its citizens abroad to face criminal prosecution.

According to the Public Security Ministry (MSP), the other four people extradited were three Colombian men identified by the surnames Restrepo-Uribe, Finisterra-Lozano and Cuesta-Ochoa, and a Venezuelan man identified by the surname Sánchez-Chavarro. All five had extradition orders issued by U.S. authorities as suspects in drug trafficking cases.

Authorities carried out the extraditions at about 8 a.m. from Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela. The five men were handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service, the federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for transporting and managing federal prisoners, among other duties.

The extradition order for Morales-Araya was submitted by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida under a plea agreement that guarantees the Costa Rican will not face mandatory life imprisonment if convicted.

U.S. authorities must also ensure that any time Morales-Araya spent in pretrial detention in Costa Rica following his arrest is credited toward any sentence imposed in the United States.

Morales-Araya was arrested in May 2025 as part of two anti-drug operations led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The operations resulted in the seizure of nearly 70 kilograms of methamphetamine, the largest quantity of the drug ever confiscated in Costa Rican history.

Morales-Araya and the other suspects were held at the Jorge Arturo Montero Penitentiary Center, commonly known as La Reforma, in Alajuela province, until the extradition process was completed Thursday.

The five men were flown to the United States aboard an aircraft provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The aircraft had arrived in Costa Rica specifically for the extraditions.

In August, Costa Rica extradited a 63-year-old man identified by the surname Bell-Fernández to the United States to face drug trafficking charges. That extradition marked the fourth time Costa Rica had sent one of its citizens abroad to face criminal prosecution.

The recent extraditions follow a legal amendment that took effect in May 2025, allowing Costa Rica to extradite citizens by birth or naturalization to countries with which it maintains extradition treaties.

Authorities said about 20 Costa Rican citizens are currently detained and awaiting extradition to other countries to face criminal charges.

The Public Security Ministry (MSP) is the government department responsible for citizen safety, public order and efforts to combat crime.

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