Alejandro Arias Monge, the man Costa Rican authorities had described as the most wanted fugitive, spent his first night in custody inside the maximum security wing of the Jorge Arturo Montero Castro penitentiary complex, better known as La Reforma, in San Rafael de Alajuela.
Arias Monge, identified by the alias Diablo, was detained early yesterday morning during a Judicial Investigation Agency operation on a farm in San Bernardino de Río Frío, in the Sarapiquí district of Heredia province, roughly 68 kilometres (42 miles) northeast of San José. He was taken first to the courts of the First Judicial Circuit in the capital and moved to Alajuela after nightfall in an armored tactical vehicle escorted by members of the agency’s special tactical response unit.
The Ministry of Justice and Peace announced last night that general visits to the La Reforma complex and the Occidente prison centers are suspended for the entire weekend without exception, citing security reasons. The ministry also set out a special containment regime for Arias Monge and for Jonathan Pérez Méndez, alias Tan, who was detained in the same operation.
Both men are being held in individual cells under permanent surveillance by specialized tactical units, all interaction with them is to be recorded on body cameras, they may wear only clothing and footwear issued by the ministry, they may keep no personal belongings beyond hygiene items supplied by the institution, and family visits, conjugal visits and telephone calls are prohibited.
Michael Soto, interim director general of the Judicial Investigation Agency, told reporters Friday afternoon that the confrontation preceding the arrests lasted approximately 45 to 50 minutes and ranked among the most intense his officers have faced. Investigators counted at least 2,500 spent shell casings at the scene and recovered thousands of rounds that were never fired.
Eight judicial agents were wounded, one of them seriously; Soto said one officer’s leg injury was severe enough that surgeons were working to save the limb, and another officer lost a finger. A third man, identified by the surnames Ríos Oconitrillo and known as Coco Guácimo, was killed by tactical officers during the exchange. Soto said the weapons seized included assault rifles capable of penetrating the body armour worn by his agents, along with pistols, magazines, two drones used to monitor approaches to the property, and jewellery valued at around 30,000 dollars.
Soto said the criminal structures headed by the three men are linked by investigators to approximately 360 homicides in total, and he was explicit that the figure refers to the organizations rather than to the individuals themselves. None of the men has been convicted in connection with those cases, and Arias Monge now awaits the opening of judicial proceedings on suspicion of international drug trafficking, money laundering and involvement in homicides.
Authorities have also said he could become the subject of an extradition request from the United States, where the Drug Enforcement Administration had posted a $500,000 dollar reward for information leading to his capture. Soto said the location and arrest resulted from the agency’s own investigative work and that no outside informant is in line to claim that money.
The investigation has not closed with the detentions. Soto confirmed that investigators have evidence of possible links between the organization and officials inside various police bodies, that specific individuals have already been identified, and that further detentions of public employees may follow. He gave no names and no timeline.
On a separate note, the Judicial Investigation Agency publicly disowned a message that spread across social media and messaging apps within hours of the operation. The message carried the crests of both the agency and the Fuerza Pública and warned of imminent retaliatory violence in named communities, among them areas of Limón, Sarapiquí, San Carlos and several neighborhoods in the Greater Metropolitan Area.
Soto said flatly that the document did not come from his institution, described it as baseless and irresponsible, and stated that the agency is not currently maintaining any alert of that kind for Guápiles, Guácimo, Sarapiquí or the capital. Residents and visitors were urged not to forward images of this type unless they have appeared on the verified channels of the Ministry of Public Security or the Judiciary.
General visits at La Reforma and the Occidente prison centers remain cancelled through the weekend without exception. Arias Monge remains in the maximum security wing while the case against him begins, and Soto said that the investigation is not finished, with the identification of public employees suspected of assisting the organization still open.
