The United States assisted Costa Rica on Friday in carrying out a large deportation operation under the Costa Rica Deportation Assistance Pilot program (CDAP), involving dozens of foreign nationals convicted of crimes or wanted internationally, authorities said.

The U.S. government, through its embassy in Costa Rica, provided technical advice and logistical support for the country’s first mass deportation of foreign nationals by air, the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) said.

The United States supplied a charter flight that departed from Juan Santamaría International Airport, located in Alajuela province, carrying 33 foreign nationals, two women and 31 men, who were expelled from Costa Rica after committing crimes in the country or after being flagged with Interpol Red Notice alerts issued by their countries of origin.

The United States may continue working with Costa Rica to facilitate similar deportation operations in the future, the U.S. Ambassador Melinda Hildebrand told reporters in brief remarks at the airport.

“In the coming months, the United States will offer more support to Costa Rica,” Hildebrand said. “We will help facilitate deportation operations with logistical support for flights, equipment and training.”

She added that Costa Rica “does very important work to detain and deport individuals who have no legal basis to remain in this country.”

Hildebrand said some of the deported individuals had committed serious crimes, including drug trafficking, kidnapping and abuse against minors, which she said: “pose a danger to the security of our countries and our communities.”

DGM authorities said the charter flight’s first stop was Panama, where 16 individuals were to be handed over to local authorities. The group included nationals from Panama, the United Kingdom, India, China, South Africa, Jamaica, Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.

According to migration officials, those individuals face charges that include kidnapping for extortion, drug trafficking, sexual abuse of a minor and illegal mining. Some will be extradited from Panama to their countries of origin, the agency said in a statement.

The flight was then scheduled to continue to Colombia, where authorities will take custody of 14 Colombian nationals who served prison sentences in Costa Rica for crimes including drug trafficking, illegal fishing, the sale of medications, attempted robbery and aggravated robbery. The individuals were expelled after completing their sentences.

The final stop will be Ecuador, where three Ecuadorian men will be transferred to local authorities after serving prison terms in Costa Rica for drug transportation and international drug trafficking.

Migration authorities said the deportation operation was conducted in accordance with Costa Rican law and international human rights agreements.

In a related development, Costa Rican authorities said Thursday that all legal requirements have been completed to move forward with the extradition of two Costa Rican citizens to the United States on drug trafficking charges, a case that would mark the first time the country sends its own nationals abroad to face criminal prosecution.

The announcement followed confirmation from the Costa Rican Public Prosecutor’s Office that it had received the final document required to complete the extradition process for two Costa Rican nationals identified by the surnames Gamboa-Sánchez and López-Vega.

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

Gamboa and López were arrested in June 2025 on drug trafficking charges after the United States submitted an extradition request.

In August 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Gamboa and López, along with two other Costa Rican nationals, for their alleged roles in narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

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