Q COSTA RICA — Costa Rican authorities identified seven women as possible victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation during a raid on a bar and restaurant in Sámara, Guanacaste, officials reported.
The operation took place on the night of October 15 at Bar Restaurante La Jefa, according to Costa Rica’s immigration service, the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME). The women identified at the premises are Nicaraguan and Dominican nationals, though officials did not specify their ages, places of origin, immigration status, or the number from each country.
A Dominican-born woman who later obtained Costa Rican citizenship was arrested on suspicion of managing the alleged operation. Authorities identified her by the surnames Cabrera Durán. Investigators allege that she used her contact with foreign women seeking employment and higher incomes to recruit them.
According to the immigration police, the women were allegedly working without the minimum labor protections required under Costa Rican law and providing sexual services in exchange for money. Investigators are examining whether the administrator received a portion of the earnings through electronic transfers sent to her telephone number using SINPE, Costa Rica’s national electronic payment system.
Officials said the alleged contacts with the Dominican women may have been arranged through friends and relatives in the Dominican Republic. Cabrera Durán reportedly traveled there frequently. Authorities have not disclosed how the Nicaraguan women were allegedly recruited.
Cabrera Durán’s arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt. Her potential criminal responsibility will be determined through the judicial process.
The authorities have not said whether the seven women received specialized assistance, were placed under institutional protection, or were put in contact with the consular authorities of Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Officials also did not announce whether additional people are being investigated.
Costa Rican authorities urged the public to report suspected human-trafficking cases confidentially through the 911 emergency system or the immigration service at 2106-4005.
Prostitution in Costa Rica
The exchange of sex between consenting adults is not prohibited, yet activities surrounding it—including pimping, trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children—are criminal offenses.
That legal distinction has helped create a highly visible adult-sex industry while leaving authorities, advocates and communities to confront persistent concerns about coercion, abuse and exploitation.
Costa Rica’s reputation as a tourist destination has long drawn visitors from abroad, and the country’s sex industry has developed alongside its hotels, bars, nightclubs and entertainment districts.
The legal framework is often misunderstood. Although prostitution itself is not criminalized, Costa Rican law prohibits third-party involvement that profits from or facilitates another person’s prostitution.
The sexual exploitation of minors is illegal, and authorities have repeatedly warned that a child cannot consent to commercial sex.