A joint counternarcotics operation led by the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATFS) resulted in the seizure of approximately 2 tons of cocaine and the arrest of three suspects off Costa Rica's Pacific Coast, authorities said.

According to the Public Security Ministry (MSP), the operation began Saturday after a JIATFS surveillance aircraft detected a suspicious 34-foot go-fast vessel about 97 nautical miles off Matapalo Cape on the Osa Peninsula in Puntarenas Province. Officials said the vessel displayed no visible registration numbers or national flag.

Using coordinates provided by U.S. authorities, the Costa Rican Coast Guard launched an operation to intercept the vessel. After approximately 12 hours of searching, on Sunday, officers located and boarded the boat, where they discovered large sacks containing dozens of packages suspected of holding cocaine.

Three suspects were arrested aboard the vessel. Authorities identified them by their last names as Murillo, Ruiz and Valencia.

The Coast Guard coordinated with the Special Operations Group (GOPES) to tow the vessel to the Coast Guard Station at Golfito Beach in Puntarenas, where Drug Control Police specialists conducted a detailed inspection.

Investigators counted more than 2,000 packages of cocaine, each weighing about 1 kilogram, for a total of approximately 2 tons.

Authorities also seized the vessel, the narcotics, fuel, documents, electronic navigation equipment and other devices as evidence.

Officials urged the public to report suspected drug-related activity through the confidential 10-digit hotline at 800-8000-645 or the rapid-response line at 1176. Both services are available in English and Spanish.

The operation was conducted under the Joint Maritime Patrol Treaty between Costa Rica and the United States, which allows the two countries to coordinate maritime counternarcotics operations.

The seizure comes as the United States and Costa Rica continue expanding security cooperation against transnational organized crime.

In March, the United States donated two mobile scanners to Costa Rica to strengthen security at major border crossings and improve efforts to combat drug trafficking and organized crime.

Costa Rica also recently joined a U.S.-led regional agreement to combat criminal cartels and organized crime across the Western Hemisphere during the Shield of the Americas Summit.

Since 2018, the U.S. Department of State has provided more than $269 million in bilateral and regional security assistance to Costa Rica. The assistance includes equipment, training and technical expertise designed to strengthen law enforcement, combat organized crime and improve the justice system's ability to prosecute transnational criminal organizations.

The Public Security Ministry is Costa Rica's national agency responsible for public safety, maintaining public order and leading anti-crime operations.

The Joint Interagency Task Force South is a U.S. multiservice and multiagency task force headquartered at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, and is responsible for coordinating international detection and monitoring operations against illicit trafficking in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern Pacific Ocean.

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