Costa Rican national team defender Carlos Barahona was detained before dawn today along with three other men as a suspect in an extortion investigation tied to informal high-interest loans, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) said. Barahona, 24, plays right-back for Club Sport Cartaginés. He was detained only hours after starting in his club’s 3-1 win over Puntarenas FC on Tuesday night.
OIJ agents from Heredia began raids on two homes in Cartago province at 5 a.m. The other three suspects were identified by their surnames and ages as Duarte, 40, Artavia, 21, and Aguilar, 18. According to the OIJ, the four are suspected of extortion to collect a debt, threats with a weapon, death threats and illicit association. None of the four has been charged.
The investigation began in April after the alleged victims filed complaints, the OIJ said. Investigators allege the case stems from a loan made in December 2025, after which the suspects demanded interest payments. When the payments were not made, the victims allegedly received threats at their homes, by phone and by text message, according to the OIJ.
Agents seized firearm ammunition, suspected marijuana and electronic devices during the raids, the agency said. The four detainees were placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will decide on precautionary measures. Local media reports have linked the alleged collectors to a Cartago criminal group known as “Los Gery,” which the reports associate with drug trafficking and homicides in the canton of La Unión. Authorities have not publicly confirmed that link.
The lending practice at the center of the case is known in Costa Rica as “gota a gota,” or drop by drop. It involves fast, unsecured cash loans repaid in small, frequent installments at steep interest, with collectors who visit borrowers in person. Cartaginés said in a statement this morning that it respects the legal system, the actions of the authorities and due process. The club said it would follow developments, act in accordance with Costa Rican law where applicable and make no further comment for now.
Barahona has played for Cartaginés since 2021, apart from a stint with Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, and is under contract with the club through 2027. He played for Costa Rica against Curaçao and Haiti last month. The detentions come on the same day Costa Rica opens a new maximum-security prison for organized crime suspects, with our prison population already at a record 21,173. Under Costa Rican law, all four men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
