Alumni in Focus
SUCCESS STORY – COSTA RICA
José Pablo Cortés Salas
The investigation was completed on September 21, 2020. It was carried out between Costa Rica and Panama
A criminal organization involved in Illegal Human Smuggling of Migrants based in Panama and Costa Rica, with criminal connections in the region's transit countries, was identified. The victims were mobilized from their country of origin by air to Brazil or Ecuador, and then illegally crossed Colombia until they reached the border with Panama through the Darien Gap, where they were received and transported to the Paso Canoas sector in Costa Rica.
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Victims from Yemen, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Angola and Mauritania were identified, as well as migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Chile and Venezuela. |
A TOTAL OF 174 VICTIMS |
It was proven that the criminal organization smuggled a person under a terrorism alert, and it was linked to the death of a migrant from Uzbekistan. Before the organization was dismantled, its total profits were approximately USD $3.5 million.
The investigation was completed on September 21, 2020. It was carried out between Costa Rica and Panama, with the collaboration of HSI/ICE in Panama, Costa Rica and the United States of America. It was led by Alumnus José Pablo Cortés Salas, Supervisor of Investigations of the Costa Rican Professional Immigration Police. Alumni Augusto Mora and Moisés Quintero from Panama also participated in the coordination of the case.
