**International Trafficking Groups Outsource Local Operations in Costa Rica**
*San José, Costa Rica –* According to Michael Soto, interim director of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), drug‑trafficking groups operating within Costa Rica are providing logistical support to major Mexican and Colombian cartels without demonstrating any overt allegiance to those organizations.
Soto explained that the individuals involved in these Costa Rican networks do not necessarily belong to the cartels in a direct or hierarchical sense. Instead, they function as service providers, offering transportation, storage, and other operational assistance to the larger criminal enterprises.
The OIJ’s assessment highlights a pattern in which international trafficking organizations contract local actors to manage specific aspects of their supply chains, thereby outsourcing portions of their illicit activities to Costa Rican operators. No further details regarding the scale of these operations or specific incidents were disclosed in the statement.
Article and image source: qcostarica.com
