An employee of Costa Rica’s immigration agency was arrested this morning on suspicion of manipulating official records to push through a residency card renewal for the partner of an alleged leader of a criminal organization operating in Limón. The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería said its Policía Profesional de Migración detained the woman, a Costa Rican national surnamed Blandón Reyes, and carried out two simultaneous raids in Limón province. One targeted the agency’s Atlantic regional office, where she worked, and the other her home.
According to the agency, the investigation indicates the employee used the functions assigned to her post to enter documents and false data into the institution’s systems. The purpose, investigators allege, was to complete the renewal of a DIMEX residency card for a Nicaraguan woman surnamed White Rankin, who was entering Costa Rica at the time.
The documents allegedly entered relate to a criminal background record, or hoja de delincuencia, a standard requirement in residency filings. Migración said White Rankin is believed to be in a romantic relationship with a man surnamed Herrera Hernández, whom authorities identify as one of the leaders of “La H,” also known as “Los Hondureños.”
The agency describes it as a transnational criminal organization linked to drug trafficking and a series of homicides in Limón. Following her arrest, Blandón Reyes was transferred to the Ministerio Público at the Second Judicial Circuit in San José, where prosecutors will determine her legal status. No charges had been announced as of Thursday morning, and she has not been convicted of any offense.
The arrest adds to a pattern of alleged misconduct inside the immigration service this year. In July, prosecutors from the anti-corruption unit detained a Migración officer surnamed Barquero at Juan Santamaría International Airport in San Jose on suspicion of simulating the formal entry of a foreign national whom intelligence reports linked to an international terrorist organization. A court later ordered precautionary measures against her, including a 10-month suspension from her post.
Chief Prosecutor Carlo Díaz said this week that the infiltration of drug trafficking networks into public institutions is a documented reality, noting that one of the 23 Costa Ricans detained for extradition in the first phase of a joint effort with U.S. authorities was a former police officer. He announced that the Ministerio Público has prepared procedures for a second phase that could reach officials protected by immunity, though no such request currently exists.
The investigation into La H has intensified in recent months. Prosecutors previously confirmed six raids in Limón as part of the case, amid questions about whether the group had stockpiled assault rifles and whether some of its leaders had already left the country.
The DIMEX is the identity document issued to every foreign resident of Costa Rica, and its renewal depends on the same regional offices and internal systems at the center of Thursday’s investigation. The Ministerio Público has not indicated when it will present its request for precautionary measures.
