Ex-minister Gamboa targeted in Costa Rica’s first extradition to the US

A former Supreme Court justice, Celso Gamboa was accused by the US of using government connections to traffic cocaine.A US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) plane takes off from Costa Rica during an extradition operation on March 20 [AFP]Published On 20 Mar 2026For the first time in recent history, Costa Rica has extradited some of its citizens to the United States to face criminal drug-trafficking and conspiracy charges.The individuals included in Friday’s extradition include a top government official, Celso Gamboa, 49, who previously served as a Supreme Court justice from 2016 to 2018 and a deputy attorney general from 2015 to 2016.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3A vote for continuity? What to know for Costa Rica’s presidential electionlist 2 of 3Right-wing candidate declares victory in Costa Rica’s presidential electionlist 3 of 3Right wing candidate Fernandez declares victory in Costa Ricaend of listThe administration of Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles hailed the extraditions as a major step in ensuring criminal justice.“Costa Rica is sending a strong message: no one can use our nationality to evade justice,” Attorney General Carlo Diaz said in a video message.Diaz acknowledged that “high-profile individuals” were included in the inaugural extradition. “This is a historic day,” he added.Previously, the Constitution of Costa Rica banned the extradition of its citizens for prosecution abroad.But that changed in 2025 with a constitutional amendment championed by the Chaves government. Costa Rica’s legislature passed the amendment with 44 votes in support, out of a total of 57 deputies.Proponents have argued that the change was needed to combat growing crime in the country and that corruption in the judicial system made the pursuit of justice difficult.But critics have argued that extradition is a hardline tactic that fails to address the root causes of crime, while subjecting citizens to foreign laws.The amendment is tailored to extraditing only suspects accused of drug-trafficking and “terrorism”, specifically.It also sets conditions on extraditions: Suspects cannot be sent abroad to face the death penalty or sentences of more than 50 years’ imprisonment, the maximum allowed under Costa Rican law.The amendment is part of a broader, regional trend of aggressive tactics to combat organised crime in Latin America.In April 2024, Ecuador likewise approved an amendment — in its case, through a voter referendum — to allow extraditions of citizens to countries like the US. In July 2025, the US confirmed it had received its first extradition from the country since the amendment took effect.Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa praised the measure as offering officials “more tools to fight crime”.Friday’s inaugural extradition from Costa Rica, meanwhile, involved Gamboa and his alleged co-conspirator Edwin Lopez Vega, a suspected drug trafficker known by the nickname “Pecho de Rata” or “Rat’s Chest”.Both men were placed in handcuffs on a Texas-bound plane at the Juan Santamaria International Airport in the Costa Rican capital San Jose. Gamboa and Lopez Vega were arrested on the same day.Chaves Robles has accused Gamboa of representing “the tip of the iceberg” in terms of corruption in the political system.But Gamboa has said the accusations against him were made in “bad faith” and that he plans to testify against other government figures if his safety and that of his family are not ensured.Before serving as a judge and prosecutor, Gamboa had high-level roles in several presidential administrations.Under President Laura Chinchilla, he served as the director of intelligence and national security, and under President Luis Guillermo Solis, he was the minister of public security.But in 2024, a provisional warrant was issued for his arrest in the eastern district of Texas, and on June 23, 2025, Gamboa was arrested.In a federal indictment in July of that year, the US government announced it would be charging Gamboa with manufacturing and distributing cocaine destined for the US, as well as related conspiracy charges.The US Department of Justice said Gamboa worked with Lopez Vega to assist international drug trafficking operations. Both men were sanctioned by the US Treasury the following month.“Gamboa used his extensive network of contacts within the government to acquire information about ongoing counternarcotics investigations,” the Treasury alleged.“He subsequently sold this information to the targets of those exact investigations.”Gamboa and Lopez Vega face a minimum of 10 years in prison in the US if convicted.Costa Rica has forged an increasingly close relationship with the US under President Donald Trump.After Trump took office for a second term, Costa Rica became one of the first countries to accept US deportation flights carrying citizens of “third-party” countries, as part of Trump’s mass deportation push.This week, it also expelled Cuban diplomats from its borders, as part of a Trump-led pressure campaign against the Caribbean island.Costa Rican President Chaves recently joined other right-wing Latin American leaders at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a security summit on March 7.