Washington– The United States has imposed sanctions on five Costa Ricans and five Costa Rican entities for allegedly helping transport tons of cocaine from Colombia, storing the drugs in Costa Rica, and then shipping them to the United States and Europe.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control alleges that Costa Rican national Luis Manuel Picado Grigalba, who was sanctioned on Thursday, is the leader of the network and one of the most prolific international drug traffickers in the Caribbean, along with his brother Jordi Kevin Picado Grigalba.
“The entire drug trafficking supply chain — from shipping facilitators to money launderers — bears responsibility for American addiction and deaths,” Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said in announcing the sanctions.
The latest sanctions also target Grigalba’s wife and mother-in-law, and family-run businesses, including a beauty salon, linked to alleged drug trafficking and money laundering.
A task force between the DEA and Homeland Security field offices, the Costa Rican Attorney General’s Office and others worked to track down the sanctioned people and companies.
Among other things, the sanctions prevent people and companies from accessing any property or financial assets owned in the United States and prohibit US companies and citizens from doing business with them.
Thursday’s sanctions are part of the Trump administration’s larger crackdown on drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
The US Army conducted an operation A series of fatal blows Concerning alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. More than 100 people have been killed in attacks since early September, the first known direct operation on Venezuelan territory. The CIA carried out a drone strike In December in a docking area believed to have been used by drug gangs.
Additionally, the Trump administration concluded an agreement with Costa Rica early last year Visit of US Secretary of State Marco RubioCosta Rica has agreed to hold American deportees in Trump administration detention facilities while it organizes their repatriation.