Two Costa Ricans wanted since 2016, including a woman suspected of using forged deeds and powers of attorney to take property and money from a U.S. citizen, have been deported from the United States and handed to Costa Rican judicial authorities, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) reported Saturday.
Both were deported on Friday and arrived in Costa Rica after midday, according to the OIJ. Agents from the Interpol National Central Bureau in San José, which operates within the OIJ, detained them at the airport and brought them before the courts that had requested their arrest.
The 63-year-old woman is suspected of ideological falsification, use of a false document and simple robbery. According to the OIJ, in December 2016 she allegedly acted with other people to use false deeds and powers of attorney to take over properties belonging to a U.S. citizen and withdraw money from the victim’s bank accounts.
She also faces a separate, older allegation. Authorities say that in June 2014 she allegedly intercepted a person on a public street and took their cell phone, an account the OIJ described as preliminary. U.S. authorities detained Medina in February 2026 in Hampton Bays, New York, the OIJ said.
She was placed in immigration custody because she was apparently living in the United States without regular immigration status. The OIJ did not disclose the value of the properties or money involved, or the identities of any alleged accomplices. The man, a 54-year-old identified by his surname Grijalba, is suspected of involuntary manslaughter and causing involuntary injuries.
The OIJ says that in April 2016 he allegedly drove head-on into a motorcycle carrying two people in SarapiquÃ, in Heredia province. One rider died at the scene and the other was taken to a medical center. Investigators later determined that he had left Costa Rica for the United States, according to the OIJ. He was detained in Monticello, Indiana, where he also apparently lacked regular immigration status.
Authorities did not say when that arrest took place or which U.S. agencies carried out either detention. Both suspects are presumed innocent, and neither has been convicted in the cases for which they were wanted. Costa Rican judicial authorities will now determine what precautionary measures apply while the investigations continue.
The transfers come amid a busy stretch of law enforcement cooperation between the two countries. Earlier this month, Costa Rica handed four suspects to the United States in three days, and has taken on a growing role in U.S. deportation efforts. In June, authorities also turned to Interpol after suspects left the country ahead of planned raids.
The allegations against Medina touch on a long-standing concern for anyone who owns property in Costa Rica but spends long periods away, as forged deeds and powers of attorney remain a known route for property registry fraud targeting absentee owners. Nearly a decade after the alleged events, both cases can now move forward in Costa Rican courts with the suspects here.
