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Nicaragua’s Army detained 25 Nicaraguan nationals linked to illegal mining in the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, located along the border with Costa Rica.
“In the areas of Las Cruces, Caño La Tigra, Veracruz, El Jardín, and Caño Las Vegas, 25 Nicaraguan citizens were detained while transporting materials intended for use in illegal mining activities within the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve,” the Nicaraguan Army said in a statement published Saturday, March 28, 2026.
During the operation, soldiers dismantled 28 “cyanide processing pits, which violated regulations governing the handling of controlled substances in the country,” the statement added.
In a separate operation in the same area, the Army seized “materials intended for illegal mining activities within the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, as well as equipment intended for illegal fishing. These were being transported by individuals who fled upon detecting the presence of troops.”
Those detained, along with the weapons and other seized materials, were handed over to the relevant authorities, according to the Armed Forces.
On February 28, 2026, Costa Rica and Nicaragua held a meeting in which they agreed to strengthen coordination between their security forces to combat illegal gold mining and the smuggling of the mineral along their shared border.
According to Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security, Mario Zamora, illegal miners extract gold in Costa Rica to process and sell it in Nicaragua. He urged the neighboring country to increase surveillance along the San Juan River—under Nicaraguan sovereignty—where a “smuggling route” operates.
