Costa Rica arrests most wanted drug trafficker ‘El Diablo’

1 day ago 16

About 2,500 bullets were fired, leaving one person dead and eight police officers injured in the operation

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Published Jul 25, 2026 • 1 minute read

A handout image released by Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency shows agents escorting alleged drug trafficker Alejandro Arias Monge, alias 'El Diablo,' following his arrest.

SAN JOSÉ — Costa Rican police arrested the country’s most wanted drug trafficker Friday, in an operation that left one person dead and eight injured, officials said.

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The United States had offered a $500,000 for the arrest of Alejandro Arias Monge, who is known as “El Diablo,” before he was taken into custody Friday morning in Rio Frio, in the northeastern province of Heredia, Costa Rica’s Attorney General Carlos Diaz told reporters.

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Diaz said law enforcement targeted a meeting of leaders of criminal organizations on a rural property where another leader, Roney Rios, was killed.

About 2,500 bullets were fired and eight police officers were injured in the operation, Diaz said.

The U.S. embassy in San Juan issued a statement congratulating the Costa Rican government on the successful operation.

“El Diablo” had been sought by authorities for about 10 years, and authorities suspect he was hiding out in neighbouring Nicaragua for part of that time.

In recent years, drug trafficking has surged in Costa Rica, which was once Central America’s safest country.

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