Costa Rican authorities are on high alert after uncovering the so-called South Caribbean Cartel, believed to be the country's first transnational criminal organization, which could have serious consequences for security policy in the Central American country amid escalating violence and corruption scandals.
Local authorities declared the South Caribbean Cartel as the country's first transnational criminal organization following a November 4 operation that led to the arrest of nearly 30 people and the seizure of nearly 14 tons of drugs, mainly cocaine, as well as 68 powerful weapons, seven luxury condominiums, 40 properties and 73 vehicles and boats.
The group reportedly relied on top government officials to operate, as well as a network of associates working in Costa Rica and Latin America, the United States and Europe, according to local media.
The emergence of the Southern Caribbean Cartel
Led by brothers Luis Manuel, aka “Shock,” and Kevin Picado Grijalba, aka “Noni” – both imprisoned and wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges – authorities say the South Caribbean cartel is the main distributor of marijuana and cocaine in Costa Rica.
In just four years, the criminal group has grown from a local gang to a transnational organization. During this period, authorities said its members profited from the assassination of key middlemen like Leonardo Antonio Joseph Méndez, alias “Chombo,” and formed alliances with influential figures in Costa Rica's drug trade, such as Edwin Danney López Vega, alias “Pecho de Rata,” and Gilbert Bell Fernández, alias “Macho Coca,” both accused of being victims of violence. sanctioned by the US Treasury Department and accused of being major cocaine traffickers.
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These connections, some of which had high-level political and business ties, expanded their access to trafficking routes and contacts. This is evidenced by the constant travels of the group's members to Panama, Colombia, Nicaragua, the United States, France and Mexico.
From local gang to transnational criminal organization
The South Caribbean Cartel allegedly maintained direct contact with Colombian cocaine suppliers operating in the departments of Nariño and Cauca, with resupply points located off the coast of Panama.
Once the drugs reached Costa Rica, the group unloaded the shipments on isolated beaches such as Osa, Puerto Jiménez and Golfito, according to a review of the case by local media. From there, the drugs were transported to warehouses in Puntarenas and the Central Valley for distribution throughout the rest of the country. The group also managed moves to Nicaragua, largely through contacts it made in Colombia and Central America. Authorities also said the group drug trafficking by air using countries like the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico and the United States.
Additionally, Costa Rica's judicial investigative body (Organismo de Investigación Judicial – OIJ) reported that the South Caribbean cartel relied on a network of hitmen to consolidate its territorial control. This law enforcement unit was allegedly commanded by Tony Alexander Peña Russell, alias “La T”, who was sentenced last August for 78 murders.
It is unknown if this group is still active after the last operation. The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica said authorities had dismantled the network, but local officials continue to refer to it in the present tense.
A rise in crime with security implications
The designation of the Southern Caribbean Cartel as a transnational criminal group has sparked debate among local authorities. Attorney General Mauricio Boraschi urged caution in portraying the group as Costa Rica's first transnational criminal organization. However, former Security Minister Michael Soto Rojas highlighted the group's transnational reach, as well as its use of extreme violence, money laundering capabilities and territorial control in the southern Caribbean, the Pacific and the Gulf of Nicoya, primarily on the island of Chira.
The declaration of the Southern Caribbean Cartel as Costa Rica's first transnational criminal organization comes amid growing security concerns in the country. While several political and economic elites have been ensnared in corruption scandals, authorities have also seen an increase in violence – mainly homicides – as well as the rise of local criminal groups.
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Costa Rica has also become much more than just a transshipment point in the international cocaine trade, becoming a “warehouse and logistics operations zone,” said Karen Morales, professor and director of the police science program at the National Distance Learning University (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia – UNED).
Morales added that the South Caribbean cartel could mark the start of a new criminal evolution in the country.
“This is the first criminal structure identified as a cartel in Costa Rica, and it will likely not be the last,” she told InSight Crime.
As a result, this could push managers to change their security policies. So far, the deployment of specialist police officers and increased prosecutions for drug trafficking have proven insufficient.
Featured image: Costa Rican authorities are preparing their operation targeting the Southern Caribbean cartel. Credit: Diario Extra
