As part of the Joint Patrol Treaty, the U.S. Coast Guard recently led an anti-drug operation off the Pacific Coast, resulting in the arrest of three drug trafficking suspects and the seizure of a large cocaine shipment.

According to the Ministry of Public Security (MSP), the operation began on Tuesday when a U.S. Coast Guard vessel identified a suspicious 30-foot fishing boat, flying a Costa Rican flag and bearing a Costa Rican registration.

U.S. authorities provided the Costa Rican Coast Guard with the boat’s coordinates, instructing them to intercept the vessel about 220 nautical miles off the coast of Matapalo Cape, located on the Osa Peninsula in Puntarenas Province.

The boat’s three male crew members, Costa Ricans Villalobos and Estrada, along with a Nicaraguan national Gonzales, were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of drug trafficking.

The boat was towed to the Golfito Beach Coast Guard Station, where Drug Control Police specialists conducted a more thorough inspection of the cargo. The total amount of cocaine seized had not been determined by the time the press release was issued.

Authorities confiscated the boat, the cocaine, fuel, and electronic navigation equipment as evidence.

The three suspects were transferred to the cells of the Puntarenas Public Ministry, where they await a judge's decision on whether to issue a pre-trial detention order for international drug trafficking.

In 2024, Costa Rica seized nearly 32 tons of cocaine and about 15 tons of marijuana, according to the Ministry.

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) works closely with Costa Rican security forces in the fight against drug trafficking. Through ongoing cooperation, Costa Rica has been able to intercept and seize illicit drugs, with record-breaking narcotics seizures in 2020 and 2021—72.7 and 71.1 metric tons, respectively.

The U.S. has provided more than $269 million in bilateral and regional security assistance to help modernize Costa Rica’s security forces, improve local security, combat corruption, and strengthen the justice sector’s ability to investigate and prosecute transnational criminals.

This assistance includes donations of equipment, training, and technical support to bolster Costa Rica's capacity to confront organized crime and drug trafficking.

Recently, the U.S. also donated $1.8 million to Costa Rica to refurbish one of the country’s largest Coast Guard patrol vessels.

The Ministry of Public Security (MSP) is responsible for ensuring citizen security, maintaining public order, forming police units, and coordinating anti-crime initiatives.

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