{"id":26736,"date":"2019-08-06T10:44:41","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T15:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=26736"},"modified":"2019-08-06T10:44:41","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T15:44:41","slug":"costa-rica-panama-arrest-dozens-suspicion-people-smuggling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/costa-rica-panama-arrest-dozens-suspicion-people-smuggling\/","title":{"rendered":"Costa Rica and Panama Arrest Dozens on Suspicion of People Smuggling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Costa Rican and Panamanian officials on Tuesday arrested nearly 50 people linked to an international network suspected of smuggling migrants from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean through Central America and toward the United States, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

In one of the largest operations against people smugglers conducted in the country, Costa Rican migration police and prosecutors raided 36 locations near the country\u2019s borders with Panama and Nicaragua, arresting 37 suspected members of the network.<\/p>\n

In Panama, federal police arrested 12 people connected to the same network, local authorities said.<\/p>\n

The number of migrants crossing the region to reach the United States has grown in recent years, stoking tensions between the Trump administration and Mexico and Central America.<\/p>\n

Stephen Madden, deputy director of Costa Rica\u2019s migration police, said the criminal network charged between $7,000 and $20,000 to transport each migrant.<\/p>\n

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The ring moved individuals from various Asian and African countries, as well as from Cuba and Haiti, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n