Costa Rica: Authorities capture 'El Diablo,' the country's most wanted drug trafficker, who is sought by the US

Police in Costa Rica arrested Alejandro Arias Monge on Friday, also known as El Diablo, the country's most wanted criminal and a fugitive sought by the United States. The operation, carried out in the early morning hours on a rural property in Río Frío, in the province of Heredia, about 56 miles northeast of San José, resulted in the death of one alleged criminal and injuries to five officers.

Arias Monge, for whom Washington had offered a reward of $500,000, was captured after an hour-long gunfight. Roney Ríos, identified as a member of the criminal organization, was killed in the shootout. Jonathan Pérez Méndez, alias Tan, was also arrested and is accused of several homicides.

During the operation, long guns, handguns, and drones used to monitor police activity around the house where the suspect was hiding were seized.

Washington seeks his extradition

The U.S. welcomed the arrest. The U.S. Embassy in San José described him as "the leader of a violent transnational criminal organization and Costa Rica's most wanted fugitive."

The drug lord faces charges of drug trafficking, robbery, aggravated homicide, and money laundering. Washington is seeking his extradition for conspiring to transport cocaine from Colombia.

Michael Soto, acting director of the Judicial Investigation Agency, stated at the scene that Arias "has caused a great deal of violence and problems for the country."

A decade on the run

Costa Rican authorities suspect that the criminal hid for a time in Nicaragua. He had been on the run for a decade, after evading a murder trial.

In recent years, Costa Rica lost its status as the safest country in Central America due to the rise of drug trafficking. In 2025, it recorded a rate of 16.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.