Seven men accused of aggravated human trafficking were convicted in the Specialized Criminal Court for Organized Crime of the First Judicial Circuit of San José, Costa Rica, on Wednesday, August 4, in a case involving migrants of Cuban nationality, local media reported.
According to the investigations, which began in 2019, the accused were involved in the crossing of Cubans in an irregular migration status at the border of Panama with Costa Rica.
For this act, Jean Carlos Zepeda Vargas was sentenced to nine years in prison, who according to the authorities was one of the people coordinating. Meanwhile, Deivys Ríos Miranda was charged with a sentence of eight years and six months in prison.
For their part, Juan Carlos Martínez, Gerardo Granados, and Carlos Narváez Delgado received a sentence of eight years. José Clemente López and Carlos Augusto Castillo were sentenced to seven and six years, respectively.
"Thanks to confidential information received by the Migration Police, it was disclosed that the now convicted individuals were involved in the irregular entry and exit of foreign persons in national territory; this activity was carried out in the southern region of the country, specifically on the border with Panama," stated the Costa Rican Judiciary in a statement.
Often, with the intention of continuing their journey to the United States, Cubans put themselves in the hands of coyotes, which in many cases results in kidnappings.
In December 2022, the authorities of Costa Rica along with those of Panama dismantled a network for trafficking Cuban migrants in that Central American country.
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