Costa Rica seizes first liquid cocaine shipment in Pacific waters

On 3 July 2026 Costa Rican maritime authorities, aided by intelligence from the Colombian navy, intercepted the Costa‑flagged fishing vessel Sol de Oro VI about 289 km off Golfito in the Pacific. The operation recovered roughly 560 kg of liquid cocaine packed in eight plastic barrels (pichingas) and 95 kilograms of powdered cocaine in individual packages. The crew of four Costa Ricans – Madriz Sánchez, Solórzano Villalobos, Pérez Méndez and Herrera Acevedo – were taken into custody and will face charges of international drug trafficking, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Authorities described the seizure as “the first liquid‑cocaine interdiction in high seas” and an unprecedented step in the fight against organized crime. The suspects attempted to discard the barrels overboard, but the Coast Guard recovered them all. The UNODC defines liquid cocaine as a solution of cocaine‑hydrochloride in water or organic solvents, a method increasingly used to conceal the drug during transport.