Costa Rica Hands Over Corrupt Ex-Official and Drug Trafficker to U.S. Justice
In a landmark blow to narco-corruption, Costa Rica has extradited its first nationals to the United States: former security minister and Supreme Court justice Celso Gamboa Sánchez and alleged trafficker Edwin López Vega, alias “Pecho de Rata.”
The two were flown to Dallas, Texas, on March 20, 2026, to face federal charges of cocaine trafficking and conspiracy.
U.S. prosecutors accuse Gamboa of leveraging high-level government ties to move shipments from Colombia’s Clan del Golfo through Central America to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, with profits allegedly laundered via assets including a soccer club he owned.
This historic handover was made possible by 2025 constitutional reforms that ended a long-standing ban on extraditing Costa Rican citizens in major drug and terrorism cases.
Gamboa, once a top judge and deputy attorney general, was arrested in June 2025 alongside López Vega after years of U.S. investigations.
The transfer at Juan Santamaría Airport, secured by local OIJ agents and U.S. DEA and FBI personnel, signals a tougher stance against organized crime infiltrating elite circles in a nation once known for its stability. Justice finally crossed the border.