The return of Daniel Fowlie Briggs, a marijuana smuggler from the United States who spent more than 15 years in prison, is being cited as one of several blunders that led to the termination of Kathya Rodriguez, Director of Immigration in Costa Rica.

President Luis Guillermo Solis, who appointed former Director Rodriguez based on her performance at the Office of the Ombudsman, recently confirmed her exit, adding that she should assume her previous duties as investigator and advocate.

Mr. Briggs is known as the “King of Pavones” due to his significant role as a developer of that beach town in Golfito, in the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Mr. Briggs’ accomplishments in Pavones include the Rancho del Mar resort along with roads and even an airstrip.

The development of Pavones took place in the 1980s, parallel to a marijuana smuggling enterprise that U.S. prosecutors estimated at about $30 million. Mr. Briggs was apprehended in Mexico and extradited to Southern California to appear in federal court. Aside from the drug smuggling offenses, Mr. Briggs also faced charges of tax evasion.

Each time Mr. Briggs comes back to Costa Rica, the seating Director of Immigration comes under fire, and this is something that dates back to 2005. Back then, former Director Marco Badilla attempted to enforce a section of immigration law that prevents the entry of foreigners whose backgrounds or life situations may disturb the peace in Costa Rica. Nonetheless, Mr. Briggs has entered and exited the country various times since.

Although each Director of Immigration has explained that the reason Mr. Briggs would be declared inadmissible is based on his criminal background, residents of Pavones -many of them North American expats- believe that a land dispute is the actual reason.

While Mr. Briggs was serving time in the United States, his land holdings in Pavones were mismanaged and eventually occupied by squatters, some of whom allegedly took advantage of an arcane agrarian law to enrich themselves and fraudulently convey title to others based on their perceived right to possession in the absence of Mr. Briggs.

Although former Director Rodriguez stated her intention to keep Mr. Briggs from entering Costa Rica, his passport was stamped at the Juan Santamaria International Airport.

Mr. Briggs’ entry was not the only bungle that took place under the oversight of former Director Rodriguez. The only immigration talking point that President Solis mentioned before taking office was related to foreigners working without a permit. President Solis promised that his administration would ensure that more than 2,500 companies suspected to employ foreign workers would be investigated, fined and obligated to pay back taxes and social security contributions. To date, only about two percent of the aforementioned companies have been investigated.

Yet another blunder attributed to former Director Rodriguez was her inability of tapping into a trust held by Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) that would have helped to alleviate the financial burden caused during the Cuban migrant crisis earlier this year.