Organized Crime Drives Wildlife Trafficking and Illegal Gold Mining in Costa Rica and Ecuador

In Costa Rica, wildlife trafficking has become a lucrative financing tool for international organized crime, generating an estimated $450 million annually. Between 2024 and 2025, authorities seized 4,366 animal and plant specimens at airports and border posts, including reptile, amphibian, insect, coral, orchid, parrot‑egg, and big‑cat claw and bone items. Officials say criminal leaders use these trophies to signal status and power, and current penalties are deemed insufficient. Prosecutor Carlo Díaz called for harsher sentences and classification of the activity as organized crime.

In Ecuador, illegal gold mining is similarly linked to criminal networks. The illicit gold is laundered into the formal market, blurring legal boundaries and financing organized groups that also engage in drug trafficking, extortion, and territorial control. The gold’s high value, ease of transport, and difficulty of tracing make it an attractive asset for these groups. Authorities note that merely destroying equipment or evicting camps will not stop the flow unless mechanisms for laundering gold are addressed.