Panama Border Force Arrests 20 in Operations Near Costa Rica

Panama's border service, Senafront, has carried out a series of operations in districts bordering Costa Rica, focusing on apprehending wanted individuals and combating the sale and distribution of illegal substances. The security forces deployed in Bugaba, Barú, and the border region with Costa Rica have led to the arrest of about 20 people.

According to Senafront's Chief of Operations, Alexis de Gracia, these actions are part of a strategy to curb cross-border crime. The majority of those detained are linked to micro-trafficking of narcotics. The operations extended from Bugaba to Paso Canoas and the Renacimiento comarca, areas along the Panamanian-Costa Rican frontier.

De Gracia highlighted that these efforts against organized crime, smuggling, and drug distribution are conducted in close collaboration with binational centers, the Drug Prosecutor's Office, the Judicial Investigation Directorate, the National Police, and the Naval Aeronaval Service. The primary objective of this inter-institutional coordination is to specifically target the retail sale of drugs within neighborhoods and communities in the border region.