No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeCosta RicaAlleged Leader of MS-13 gang from El Salvador captured in Costa Rica

Alleged Leader of MS-13 gang from El Salvador captured in Costa Rica

Costa Rican authorities arrested on Friday a Salvadoran man who they identified as the alleged “leader” of a clique (cell) of the MS-13 gang in El Salvador, reported the Migration Police.

The detainee, surnamed Escobar Mojica, was arrested at the Peñas Blancas border post, on the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, almost 300 km northwest of San José.

“After an exhaustive investigation with international contacts, it was established that he belongs to MS-13 and that he is the leader of one of the cliques accepted in El Salvador,” said Enrique Arguedas, director of the Costa Rican Migration Police.

The authorities temporarily imprisoned the alleged gang member and he will be deported to El Salvador in the next few days, according to Immigration.

Dozens of gang members are seeking to leave El Salvador to escape the “frontal war” declared on them last March by President Nayib Bukele.

At Bukele’s request, the Salvadoran Congress established a state of emergency on March 31 last year in response to an escalation of homicides attributed to gangs, which between March 25 and 27 claimed the lives of 87 people. According to official data, the gangs controlled 80% of the territory.

Questioned by international humanitarian organizations, the emergency regime allows detentions without judicial order.

So far, the Secretariat of Communications of the Presidency of El Salvador counts 61,000 alleged gang members captured, including 900 gang leaders.

Trending Now

Costa Rican Congressman Faces Sexual Abuse Allegations from 2006

Fabricio Alvarado, a sitting congressman and presidential hopeful for the New Republic Party, now contends with a formal complaint accusing him of sexually abusing...

Costa Rica Proposes Date for Chaves Immunity Review

Costa Rica's lawmakers took a step forward today in addressing the latest push to strip President Rodrigo Chaves of his legal protections. The Legislative...

White House Calls Nobel Prize to Venezuelan Machado ‘Politics Over Peace’

The Norwegian Nobel Committee handed the 2025 Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Friday, sparking sharp words from the White...

Guatemala Joins Costa Rica and Ecuador in Building Anti-Gang Prisons

The Guatemalan government has put forward a new bill aimed at hitting gangs harder, with steeper sentences and a dedicated high-security prison, as the...

Riu Guanacaste Hotel Reopens in Costa Rica After Renovation

The Riu Guanacaste hotel in Costa Rica has reopened after a complete renovation, welcoming guests back to its beachfront spot on Matapalo Beach. The...

Cost of living in Costa Rica from a U.S. Expat

Paradise doesn’t come cheap. Cars, gas, appliances, phones, TVs often cost more in Costa Rica. But not everything. Here’s a simple, like-for-like look at...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica