Costa Rica’s National Coast Guard detained two Ecuadorian men aboard a 38-foot go-fast boat in the Pacific south of Punta Burica.[1] The security ministry identified the men only by the surnames Trejos Domínguez, 25, who appeared to be the boat’s captain, and Flores Bawi, 49, the second crewman.[2][3]

Officers of the National Coast Guard’s Special Operations Group intercepted the boat at about 52 nautical miles south-east of Punta Burica, near the Costa Rica–Panama maritime border.[1][3] The operation began on Tuesday 3 November and ended on Wednesday 4 November 2026.[1] Coast guard officers took the boat to Golfito, in Puntarenas province, where drug police inspected the cargo under the Public Ministry’s coordination.[1][3]

Officers seized 2,648 packages of marijuana, each weighing about one kilogram, an estimated 2,648 kilograms in all.[1]

The two men were placed at the disposal of the Public Ministry, which decides their legal situation.[2][3] The operation was coordinated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and drew aerial support from Panama’s National Aeronaval Service intelligence directorate and the US Joint Interagency Task Force South, along with Costa Rica’s drug police, Special Support Unit and criminal intelligence directorate.[1] NCR Noticias reported that the authorities had not published an official monetary valuation of the marijuana or determined where the boat sailed from and where it was headed.[4]

The seized marijuana was packed in a rectangular block with Colombia’s flag and the legend “Made in Colombia. Lo mejor de Caro Quintero”.[5] The seized packages bore the image and reference to Mexican trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero.[5]

Officers also seized eleven fuel drums from the boat.[6]