Costa Rica police seize 5 capybaras, crack cocaine and marijuana from fleeing vehicle
The large rodents are a semi-aquatic South American relative of the guinea pig and happen to be having a moment on social platforms. But they are not native to Costa Rica, and the Public Security Ministry said Thursday that possessing, transporting or trafficking them is illegal. The agency said it had never recorded another seizure of the animals.
Two men in the vehicle, who both had criminal records, were arrested.
'The police action was important and shows the concurrence where the drug world coincides with the introduction of non-native species,' Security Minister Mario Zamora said.
The capybaras were turned over to the National System of Conservation Areas to be evaluated by veterinarians. As a non-native species they can't be released in Costa Rica so they will be taken to a refuge for environmental and conservation education programs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Washington Post
House Democrat demands answers on deal to return MS-13 leaders to El Salvador
A key congressional Democrat is demanding answers from the Trump administration about a deal it reportedly struck with El Salvador's president to send him several MS-13 gang leaders held in the United States, alleging it may have compromised several ongoing investigations and national security. Citing media reports of that agreement, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, asked in a letter Monday to know what role President Nayib Bukele's demands for the MS-13 leaders played in his willingness to take in more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants deported from the U.S. this year. The migrants' transfer to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador has become one of the most controversial episodes of President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort. Garcia also asked Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem whether any of those MS-13 bosses had information that would have aided U.S. efforts to dismantle their criminal organization, one of the world's most deadly, or to investigate corruption within Bukele's own government. The administration's apparent willingness to give in to Bukele's demands 'not only undercuts ongoing federal investigations but also threatens U.S. national security,' Garcia wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post. 'If true, this surreptitious deal struck by the Trump administration has profound implications for the integrity of the United States justice system and national security,' Garcia wrote. 'The Committee demands to understand whether U.S. officials facilitated the repatriation of MS-13 leaders to prevent them from cooperating with American prosecutors.' The gang leaders sought by Bukele were charged in a pair of cases playing out in federal court on Long Island that U.S. government officials have described as 'the highest-reaching and most sweeping indictments targeting MS-13 and its command and control structure in U.S. history.' The indictments alleged that many of the accused had been directly involved in negotiating a truce with unnamed members of Bukele's government to tamp down public gang killings in El Salvador to help the president's party win a supermajority in the country's legislature in 2021 midterm elections. In exchange, Salvadoran officials offered the gang leaders cash and other perks, including improved prison conditions, control of territory and a commitment that El Salvador would deny requests to extradite them to face prosecution in the U.S., according to one of the indictments. 'In effect,' Garcia wrote in his letter Monday, 'the Salvadoran government traded criminal impunity for political gain.' In one instance, outlined in U.S. court filings, 'high-level Salvadoran government officials' personally escorted one of the leaders sought by the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison, housed him in a luxury apartment, provided him with a gun and then drove him to the Guatemalan border to be smuggled out of the country. That man — Elmer Canales Rivera, also known as 'Crooks' — was later apprehended in Mexico and sent to the United States in 2023. He and the other MS-13 leaders are incarcerated in New York, awaiting trial on an array of narcoterrorism charges. Prosecutors have said Canales Rivera was one of the lead negotiators of MS-13's alleged deal with the Bukele government. His eventual trial in New York is likely to include evidence about those talks that could prove politically damaging to Bukele in El Salvador. Reuters reported in late 2021 that U.S. authorities under the Biden administration had also been preparing indictments against two senior Bukele administration officials, accused of spearheading the alleged secret deal with the gang. Bukele has denied any cooperation between his government and MS-13. His ambassador in Washington, Milena Mayorga, said in March that Bukele's request for the gang leaders to be returned to El Salvador was 'a question of honor.' So far, the Trump administration has sent back only one of the requested MS-13 leaders: César Humberto López Larios, known as 'Greñas,' 'Shock' in Spanish. The Justice Department sought dismissal of its charges against him in March, and four days later, he was flown out of the country along with the first Venezuelans sent to El Salvador as part of the deal between the Trump and Bukele administrations. Weeks later, prosecutors moved to drop their case against a second man — Vladimir Arévalo Chávez, a gang member known as 'Vampiro' — citing 'sensitive and important foreign policy considerations' and 'geopolitical and national security concerns.' But that dismissal has been held up for months by U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, who has questioned what role the alleged agreement between Bukele and the Trump administration has played in prosecutors' request. Arévalo's attorneys say they fear their client will 'returned to El Salvador and be silenced by Bukele's administration there.' 'My life is in very danger if I'm deported,' Arévalo wrote in a letter to the judge last month. 'In my case, I will be tortured and desposed [sic] of.' The Justice Department has declined to comment on its decisions to drop charges against López Larios and Arévalo or say whether it intends to send back any of the other MS-13 leaders Bukele demanded, including Canales Rivera. Garcia, in his letter Monday, asked the Trump administration to respond to his inquiries by early next month.
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
Guatemalan prison guards held hostage by rioting inmates freed after 3 days
Guatemalan authorities on Saturday freed nine prison guards who had been held hostage since Thursday by rioting inmates in Guatemala City, an official said. Members of Guatemala's two largest gangs — Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha — began rioting Tuesday in two prisons, demanding the return of 10 leaders who had been transferred to another facility and placed in solitary confinement. José Portillo, Deputy Minister of Security, told The Associated Press that the guards released Saturday had been held by members of Mara Salvatrucha. One prison official died Friday after being shot, authorities said, without providing further details. Local media reported the shooting occurred at one of the prisons involved in the riots. In another similar incident, anti-kidnapping teams freed 11 guards on Wednesday who were also held hostage by gang members in two Guatemalan prisons. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez told The Associated Press that the rioters were demanding Guatemalan authorities return their leaders from the prison where they were transferred, Renovación I, to the prisons where they were able to lead the gangs and "exercised criminal power." Guatemala has been plagued by the violent rivalry between the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13. Authorities say they both seek to gain control of territory where they extort money from companies and individuals. At least 7 people were killed last month when armed MS-13 members stormed into the funeral of a Barrio 18 member who had been killed. Earlier this year, President Trump designated MS-13 as a terrorist organization, placing it on a list of criminal groups that he said operate in the region and threaten public safety across the hemisphere. Last week, Mr. Trump directed the military to target drug cartels in Latin America, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Guatemalan prison guards freed after being held hostage by gang members
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan authorities on Saturday freed nine prison guards who had been held hostage since Thursday by rioting inmates in Guatemala City, an official said. Members of Guatemala's two largest gangs — Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha — began rioting Tuesday in two prisons, demanding the return of 10 leaders who had been transferred to another facility and placed in solitary confinement. José Portillo, Deputy Minister of Security, told The Associated Press that the guards released Saturday had been held by members of Mara Salvatrucha. One prison official died Friday after being shot, authorities said, without providing further details. Local media reported the shooting occurred at one of the prisons involved in the riots. Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump designated Mara Salvatrucha as a terrorist organization, placing it on a list of criminal groups that he said operate in the region and threaten public safety across the hemisphere. In another similar incident, anti-kidnapping teams freed 11 guards on Wednesday who were also held hostage by gang members in two Guatemalan prisons. ___ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
