Q COSTA RICA — Costa Rica transferred 45 tons of seized drugs to the United States for destruction in an operation coordinated by the Ministerio Público (Public Prosecutor’s Office) and the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), with the collaboration of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The shipment left the country aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 military transport plane, which arrived in Costa Rica specifically to carry out the transfer.
A notable aspect of the procedure is that the drugs will be destroyed in the United States due to budgetary constraints facing Costa Rican authorities regarding carrying out the process domestically, explained Costa Rica’s Attorney General Carlo Díaz.
“Today we are carrying out this operation—sponsored by the U.S. government, the Embassy, and the DEA—in which they are providing this plane to enable transport to the United States,” he stated.
Another notable detail is the absence of senior government officials from press reports featuring photos of Díaz with U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Melinda Hildebrand.
Díaz explained that the narcotics came from seizures made through the efforts of various Costa Rican institutions.
“This drug shipment was seized thanks to the work of various authorities—the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the OIJ—but due to budgetary constraints, we could not carry out the destruction within our own country,” Díaz noted.
The process will be subject to judicial oversight. A judge accompanied the shipment to the United States to formalize the handover and subsequently oversee the destruction of the narcotics.
The transfer takes place as Costa Rica continues to face intense pressure from international drug trafficking routes. For the 2027 fiscal year, the United States has kept the country on the list of 23 territories considered significant for the transit or production of illicit drugs—a classification that takes geographic, commercial, and economic factors into account.
Costa Rica’s geographic location—situated between cocaine-producing regions in South America and consumer markets in North America and Europe—has turned its waters, ports, and land territory into points utilized by transnational organizations.
The U.S. Embassy reported that approximately 44 metric tons of illicit drugs were intercepted in 2026 alone with U.S. support for the National Coast Guard Service—a figure released just days before this latest transfer was announced.
Recent investigations have also revealed an evolution in the criminal structures operating within the country. In September, an international operation dubbed ATLAS NEXUS resulted in 375 arrests and the seizure of over 27.8 tons of drugs and 181 firearms in Costa Rica.
Additionally, Costa Rican authorities have conducted joint investigations with the DEA over the past few months targeting organizations linked to international trafficking. In June, the so-called “Riverside” case led to 97 raids across five provinces and the arrest of dozens of individuals under investigation for alleged drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes.
Cooperation with the United States has also focused on maritime routes. In February, a joint operation near Cocos Island resulted in the seizure of over a ton of illicit drugs following three days of collaborative work between Costa Rican and U.S. authorities.
Regarding the 45 tons recently transported, authorities highlighted that the operation completes the post-seizure process for the substances.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the OIJ noted that the disposal of the shipments is part of an institutional effort to prevent seized narcotics from re-entering the illegal market, even as Costa Rica continues to strengthen cooperation with the United States in response to the growth of transnational drug trafficking operations.