Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) has concluded its investigation into the armed attack on political activist Joao Maldonado and his wife, Nadia Robleto. The case identifies not only journalist Danilo Aguirre Sequeira as directly involved but also two other Nicaraguans—one of whom posed as a refugee in Costa Rica.
One of them, Orlando Antonio Ramírez Morán, is the owner and driver of a silver 2015 Geely (license plate BHP-282), which Aguirre Sequeira used on the day of the attack. According to the OIJ, Ramírez carried out surveillance, tracking, and tailing of Maldonado.
Footage included in the case file shows Ramírez Morán following Maldonado and Robleto from the moment they arrived at a hotel to meet Aguirre Sequeira on January 10, 2024—just hours before a hitman opened fire on them.
Maldonado was shot eight times—in the abdomen, face, back, and arms—but survived this second attempt on his life. He had previously survived a similar attack in 2021, in which he was shot five times. Robleto was shot in the neck and has since been paralyzed from the waist down.
In October 2024, after weeks of surveillance and under police intelligence measures, the OIJ attempted to arrest Ramírez Morán through a search and arrest warrant issued by a judge in San José. But by then, he had already vanished. Investigators believe he fled back to Nicaragua.
Ramírez Morán was born on January 17, 1996, in San Miguelito, Río San Juan. When contacted by Divergentes, Costa Rica’s immigration department said they could not release information about him due to his status as an asylum seeker.
“In the case of Orlando Ramírez Morán, and in accordance with decree 36831-G, the person’s immigration status is governed by the principle of confidentiality, which is why we cannot disclose the requested information,” the authorities explained via email.
The Pursuer
Another Nicaraguan involved is Eduardo Francisco Vargas Reyes, born on December 3, 1993, originally from Altagracia neighborhood in Managua and now residing in Costa Rica. He is currently in a Costa Rican prison. On the day of the attack, he was driving a white Hyundai (license plate BQY-250) that followed the victims from the Barceló San José Palacio hotel to a street in San Pedro, where the shooting occurred.
According to the case file, Vargas Reyes was just meters away from the victims’ car at the time of the attack, with a clear mission: to intervene if Maldonado tried to ram the motorcycle carrying the shooters.
With him was another man—still unidentified—who also monitored the victims hours before the attack. He was even caught on camera sitting in the hotel restaurant while Maldonado had breakfast with Aguirre Sequeira.
Neither of the Nicaraguans has a criminal record in Nicaragua. In Costa Rica, Vargas Reyes worked as a driver for Uber and DiDi. He was detained days later during what appeared to be a routine traffic stop, in which he was found carrying an expired firearm permit. He was driving the same car used in the attack.
Danilo Aguirre, Who “Marked” Maldonado
According to the OIJ, journalist Danilo Aguirre Sequeira played a direct role in the attack on Joao Maldonado in Costa Rica.
The case file and OIJ officials state that Aguirre arranged the meeting with Maldonado and was the one who “marked” him—initiating the surveillance that led up to the shooting.
Michael Soto, deputy director of the OIJ, told Costa Rican outlet CR Hoy that the investigation into the Maldonado attack has been concluded and forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will decide how to proceed.
“Nicaragua does not extradite its citizens, and the diplomatic situation with Nicaragua is often difficult, so that’s a very limited option,” said Soto. “We’ve submitted the case to the Prosecutor’s Office, and now it’s up to them, through their international relations office, to coordinate further steps.”
“We laid out in our report Aguirre’s responsibility and involvement, based on witness accounts and surveillance footage. We believe there is sufficient evidence to implicate him, but it’s now up to the Prosecutor’s Office to handle the diplomatic process,” Soto added.
On June 4, 2025, Nicaraguan media outlets like Café con Voz reported that Aguirre Sequeira was moving freely throughout Nicaragua. He was seen on a TN8 news broadcast—TN8 being a network owned by Juan Carlos Ortega, son of dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo—while covering a traffic accident. Despite being wanted by Costa Rican authorities, Aguirre was neither questioned by national police nor by the regime-friendly journalists at the scene.
Prosecutors Preparing Charges
A source at Costa Rica’s Public Prosecutor’s Office told Divergentes that investigations like this one move through three stages: the OIJ investigation, the preparation of charges, and the formal presentation before a court. “We’re currently in the second stage, preparing charges to be filed in the coming days,” the source said.
A Divergentes investigation published on April 23, 2025, revealed that the attack on Maldonado and Robleto on January 10, 2024, was carried out with a level of strategy typical of police or military operations.
That conclusion came from a partial copy of a report by the OIJ and the Prosecutor’s Office, obtained by Divergentes. According to investigators, the operation was carefully coordinated to minimize the risk of last-minute complications.
Political Ties to the Attack on Maldonado
“Police investigators suspect the attack was politically motivated, given that the victim, Maldonado Bermúdez, is linked to Nicaraguan politics and holds views opposing the Nicaraguan government,” reads case file 24-000055-0053-PE from Costa Rica’s Office for Drug Trafficking and Related Crimes.
“This theory is supported by the fact that this was not the first attack of this kind against Maldonado. In the previous incident, the same pattern was followed: he was in a vehicle when two men on a motorcycle approached and opened fire,” the file notes.
Throughout the lengthy report, investigators repeatedly reference potential ideological motivations, “especially given the recent wave of attacks in our country targeting exiled Nicaraguans who are members of opposition groups to the Ortega regime.”
The Aftershock of Roberto Samcam’s Murder
Costa Rican authorities are also under pressure after the recent murder of 67-year-old retired Nicaraguan Army major Roberto Samcam, a vocal critic of the military leadership aligned with the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.
Samcam was shot eight times at his residence in a condominium in Moravia. He sustained gunshot wounds to his leg, abdomen, chest, and armpits. He died at the bathroom door, according to police and Red Cross reports. Paramedics arrived quickly, but he had no vital signs and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Samcam went into exile in Costa Rica after denouncing human rights violations by Nicaragua’s Army and Police. Since then, he had been an outspoken critic of Ortega and Murillo—especially the military structures propping them up.
According to the OIJ, there are similarities between the two crimes. Samcam’s murder sparked an outpouring of solidarity. The United States has offered Costa Rica assistance in tracking down those responsible. As of this report’s publication, President Rodrigo Chaves’s government has not made any public statement about Samcam’s killing.
The Five Costa Ricans Involved
The OIJ case file identifies eight people involved in the attack on Maldonado and Robleto: three Nicaraguans (Aguirre Sequeira, Ramírez Morán, and Vargas Reyes) and five Costa Ricans:
- Jeremy Jacob Rivas Núñez, the gunman who fired from the back of a motorcycle. Originally from San Josecito, Alajuelita, he shot Maldonado eight times and Robleto once. After the shooting, he got off the motorcycle near Mall San Pedro, took a taxi to Alajuelita, and was picked up by another vehicle. All of this was caught on security cameras. He has prior convictions for aggravated robbery, vandalism, and theft. He was arrested in October 2024.
- Saymon Daniel García Zamora, the motorcycle driver. After dropping the gunman off at Mall San Pedro, he returned to his home in Mata Redonda, San José. Days later, he was recorded withdrawing cash from an ATM. He has no criminal record but was working for Uber Eats under a false name and with a fake driver’s license. He was arrested in October 2024.
- Jeycol Eduardo García Cubillo, who picked up the gunman in Alajuelita after the shooting, driving a white Hyundai Accent with no plates. He’s from Hatillo 8, San José, and has a record for aggravated robbery. He was arrested in January 2024.
- Unidentified suspect in a black shirt, who surveilled the victims early in the day and was later seen riding in the unmarked car that picked up the shooter. “He monitored the victims inside the San José Palacio hotel, bought a bottle of water at the Britt store, sat near them at the restaurant, and later walked out of the hotel,” according to the police report.
- Unidentified suspect in a white shirt, also seen monitoring the victims at the hotel. He was traveling in the Hyundai driven by Vargas Reyes and was tasked with observing the victims inside the hotel.
The police file suggests that more people may have been involved. Meanwhile, Costa Rican authorities continue to urge the most prominent suspect—journalist Danilo Aguirre Sequeira—to present himself to the appropriate judicial authorities and defend his claimed innocence, as his father, writer Erick Aguirre, has insisted on social media.
“If he were in Costa Rica, we would have already detained him and handed him over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. But that step must now be taken through judicial channels, not by police. We also invite him to appear before prosecutors if he believes he is innocent and wants to present his defense there,” said OIJ Deputy Director Michael Soto to CR Hoy.