Panama and Costa Rica arrest dozens over migrant smuggling network

FILE PHOTO: Migration police detain a person suspected of belonging to an international network for migrant trafficking, in La Cruz, Costa Rica July 30, 2019. Ministry of Public Security/Handout via REUTERS

SAN JOSE/PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Authorities in Costa Rica and Panama said on Tuesday they detained more than 40 people suspected of operating a cross-country people-trafficking organization by smuggling migrants overland to the United States.

The network handled migrants from Asian and African countries and to a lesser extent people from Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela, according to the Costa Rican security ministry.