A renowned Costa Rican narco-trafficker, Juan Carlos Arias Leiva, was captured– at last — on Wednesday, in Paso Canoas, Panama, by Panamanian authorities and Interpol International Police. Arias is better known by his narco nickname, “El Pellejo”. The name in English means skin, or sometimes the leather container in which liquids are carried. He is wanted in Texas for conspiracy to traffic drugs into the United States. Panamanian officials are working with the US on extradition procedures.
Arias Leiva (43-years old) was wanted for frequent and large shipments of cocaine to the US via Mexico. His home base was allegedly Golfito where he used fast boats to bring drug shipments up from Colombia, on the way to the US via Mexico. From Golfito, drugs were transported via small vans with false floors to Guanacaste, where shipments were transferred to smugglers who carried them up to Mexico.

El Pellejo had become the main link between Colombian and Mexican cartels, dominating the South/North drug route used by many smugglers. Arias and his wife have operated a small sociedad anonima for 29 years, including properties in Corredores de Puntarenas, and various vans, but those were covers for their primary money-making activity of drug smuggling. This area is the same one where La Reina del Sur Tica was living up until her arrest two weeks ago.

According to the Latin American Herald, “Costa Rica has gone from being a bridge for drug trafficking between South and North America, to becoming established as a warehouse and trading center for drug cartels.” Since 80% of the drugs produced in South America pass through Central America, the problem is considered very serious by drug enforcement authorities in Costa Rica and elsewhere.

Said the Costa Rican Security Minister, “This is a very serious problem and does not mean we can’t control it. We know, however, that we are fighting against a giant with seven heads, against a structure with a bigger budget than any rich country in the world.”
Former President Arias once commented to reporters about the drug smuggling problem Costa Rica faces, “We are the waistline of the Americas, we are between the producers and the consumers and we can’t do a thing.”
Fortunately, Costa Rica’s neighbors in Panama were able to coordinate a smooth apprehension of one of the largest drug kingpins operating out of southern Costa Rica.

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