Drug trafficking is taking a growing toll on ecosystems in Costa Rica’s southern Pacific region, where environmental authorities warn that criminal groups are moving into protected areas around Puerto Jiménez. The Environmental Prosecutor’s Office says organized groups are following a systematic pattern of occupation in mangroves, forests and protected wilderness areas.
The activity has been reported in sensitive zones where squatters arrive, open paths or canals, clear vegetation and establish settlements. Authorities say the damage goes beyond illegal occupation. These interventions can destroy fragile ecosystems while also creating access points and logistical areas for criminal activity, including drug trafficking.
Luis Diego Hernández, coordinator of the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, said officials have detected a repeated pattern in mangrove areas: the arrival of squatters, the clearing of paths or waterways and the creation of informal settlements. Prosecutors say these actions are causing serious environmental harm and helping criminal groups consolidate control in strategic areas.
The pressure on authorities has also increased. Officials involved in environmental enforcement have reported threats, intimidation and attempts to stop them from filing complaints or carrying out inspections. Hernández also warned that the transfer or reassignment of officials who were actively handling these cases represents a setback at a time when oversight needs to be strengthened.
The situation has already had consequences for public officials. The environmental prosecutor assigned to Osa was removed from the area after receiving threats, while two SINAC officials were referred to the Prosecutor’s Office’s victim and witness protection program.
Óscar Beita, a SINAC park ranger assigned to Corcovado National Park, called on authorities to improve the handling of environmental complaints in Puerto Jiménez. He pointed to SITADA, the country’s official system for receiving and managing environmental complaints, and said the platform is not being used actively enough in the area, causing delays in case processing.
Beita said the failure to respond quickly to complaints leaves sensitive areas exposed. He urged officials to fully reactivate the complaint system in Puerto Jiménez and strengthen coordination between SINAC, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Investigation Agency.
The threat is especially serious because Puerto Jiménez sits near some of Costa Rica’s most valuable natural areas, including Corcovado National Park and the Preciosa-Platanares Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, created in 1998, is part of the Osa Conservation Area and was established to protect wildlife, forests, mangroves and other sensitive ecosystems.
Authorities say criminal groups are showing little hesitation in damaging protected land. Beita said some groups destroy mangroves, buy properties and invade state-owned land to support their activities.
He also warned of possible links between drug trafficking and illegal gold mining in Corcovado. Information under investigation points to criminal groups financing logistics, equipment and supplies for illegal miners, then buying the extracted gold. Authorities are investigating whether those operations are tied to money laundering.
The allegations point to a wider security and conservation problem in one of Costa Rica’s most biodiverse regions. Environmental crime in Puerto Jiménez is no longer being treated as isolated damage to land or vegetation. Prosecutors now describe it as part of a more organized pattern that threatens natural resources, weakens state control and raises safety concerns in an area heavily visited by tourists.
