Costa Rican authorities began a large operation early this morning in northern Costa Rica and other areas to target a criminal group known as “Los Talibanes.” Officers from the Judicial Investigation Agency and the Prosecutor’s Office executed 51 raids that began at 1 a.m. Most took place in Los Chiles, with additional actions in San Carlos communities including Aguas Zarcas and Santa Rosa de Pocosol, plus one each in Heredia and San José.
The goal is to arrest 67 people connected to the network. Reports indicate 52 people are in custody so far. Among those detained are four officers from the Public Force and one from the Professional Migration Police.
The group has operated since 2021. Members recruited migrants mainly in San Carlos, Nicaragua, and moved them irregularly into Costa Rica using private vehicles. They hid people in safe houses before taking them to blind crossing points near Las Tablillas. Some victims were robbed at gunpoint or with knives, then left behind without their money or belongings.
Authorities link the network to aggravated robbery, violations of the psychotropics law through drug sales, and one homicide. That case involves the death of a 30-year-old Nicaraguan man with the last name Duarte on June 14, 2025, in central Los Chiles after he resisted a robbery.
Records show the group moved between 150 and 200 migrants per day on normal days and up to 300 to 400 during busy periods. It affected at least 117 victims through assaults and thefts.
Nearly 600 officers took part, including members of the Special Tactical Response Service, canine units, surveillance teams and other police support from the Ministry of Public Security. The operation follows an investigation that opened in 2024 under the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Human Trafficking and Illicit Migrant Smuggling.
During the raids officers seized cash, cell phones and vehicles. Detainees will face the Prosecutor’s Office to determine their legal status as the effort to break up the full network continues.
