Costa Rica captures top fugitive sought by US, authorities say

SAN JOSE, July ‌24 (Reuters) - ​Costa ​Rican police captured Alejandro Arias, known as "Diablo," known as the Central ‌American country's most wanted fugitive and ⁠sought by the United States on drug ‌trafficking charges, judicial authorities ‌said on Friday.

Arias, 41, leads a violent transnational criminal organization, according to ​the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration which last year offered a $500,000 reward for ⁠information leading to his capture.

The arrest took place north ​of the country's Caribbean region, following an armed confrontation between Arias' ​group and police that ‌lasted nearly an hour, the Judicial Investigation Agency and the ⁠Public Prosecutor's Office said.

"In a fairly complex police operation we have managed to detain ⁠Alejandro Arias Monge and two very important subjects ​in the country's criminal history," the agency's director Michael Soto said.

Local authorities say Arias plays ‌a key role in violence in the historically peaceful Central ‌American nation, violence stemming from clashes ⁠between drug trafficking gangs.

(Reporting ‌by Alvaro ​Murillo; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Editing by Nick Zieminski and Sarah ‌Morland)

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