Costa Rica arrests most wanted drug trafficker 'El Diablo'
This handout image released by Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) shows agents escorting alleged drug trafficker Alejandro Arias Monge, alias "El Diablo", one of the country's most wanted fugitives and a suspect sought by US authorities, following his arrest during an operation in Limon province, Costa Rica, on July 24, 2026. Photo by HANDOUT / COSTA RICA'S JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY / AFP
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Costa Rican police arrested the country's most wanted drug
trafficker Friday, in an operation that left one person dead and eight injured,
officials said.
The United States had offered a $500,000 (Ksh.64.7 million) reward for the arrest of
Alejandro Arias Monge, who is known as "El Diablo," before he was
taken into custody Friday morning in Rio Frio, in the northeastern province of
Heredia, Costa Rica's Attorney General Carlos Diaz told reporters.
Diaz said law enforcement targeted a meeting of leaders of
criminal organisations on a rural property where another leader, Roney Rios,
was killed.
About 2,500 bullets were fired and eight police officers
were injured in the operation, Diaz said.
The US embassy in San Juan issued a statement congratulating
the Costa Rican government on the successful operation.
"El Diablo" had been sought by authorities for
about 10 years, and authorities suspect he was hiding out in neighbouring
Nicaragua for part of that time.
In recent years, drug trafficking has surged in Costa Rica,
which was once Central America's safest country.
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