Q COSTARICA — On Tuesday, Attorney General Carlos Díaz announced an investigation has been launched in Costa Rica following the release of files by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The focus is on alleged sexual abuse involving a minor, according to La Nación.
Due to the victim’s status as a minor, officials are withholding further details about her identity or the specifics of the case.
Díaz said he personally instructed the Deputy Prosecutor’s Office for Gender Affairs to start an inquiry related to this case, which has shaken political circles in both the United States and Europe.
The investigation has been assigned file number 26-000155-0994-PE and is currently directed against unknown suspects—no defendants have been identified at this stage.
Díaz also mentioned that as the case develops, there may be a need to form a specialized working group. This group could include leaders from prosecutor’s offices that focus on violence against children and adolescents, as well as those handling human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Right now, the investigation is in its early stages and remains confidential under Article 295 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
This probe ties back to January, when the U.S. Department of Justice made public over 3 million pages of documents, along with photos and videos, linked to one of the most notorious sex trafficking cases in recent memory.
Among this massive trove of information, at least 289 references mention Costa Rica.
Known as the Epstein Files, this collection contains emails, videos, photographs, phone records, federal indictments, flight logs, and declassified court documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Declassification and Costa Rica
Much of the content mentioning Costa Rica relates to efforts to find girls aged 14 to 16 for sexual exploitation. The FBI confirmed this through an undercover operation involving a fake travel agency called Costa Rica Taboo Vacations, which was used to arrange trips to Costa Rica for sex with minors.
The declassified emails, dated between 2012 and 2015, include numerous references to visits to Costa Rica by Epstein’s associates, accompanied by Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been identified as a key figure in the criminal network that procured minors worldwide.
Phone calls to Costa Rica Taboo Vacations, arranging meetings with underage prostitutes, served as evidence of legal violations. In one documented case, someone who contacted the agency made multiple calls, bought tickets, reserved hotels, and was arrested at the airport.
One email from February 28, 2010, shows Ghislaine Maxwell telling Epstein she planned to visit Costa Rica to attend the expansion of a national park by 80 kilometers and meet the new president. That year, Cocos Island National Park did see such an expansion, and Laura Chinchilla had recently become president. The email doesn’t confirm whether the meeting actually happened; it only notes the intent.
The emails also reveal Epstein’s ongoing interest in Costa Rica’s wind energy sector and telecommunications market.
According to Costa Rica’s immigration authority, Ghislaine Maxwell was in the country on March 2 and 3, 2010, and returned again on April 14, 2010.
These revelations add to thousands of legal cases opened worldwide against Epstein and his collaborators, reigniting concerns about how vulnerable tourist destinations can be to child sexual exploitation.