A Costa Rican national has been sentenced to nearly 24 and a half years in federal prison for his role in importing cocaine into the Eastern District of Texas. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Rolando Alberto Vindas Abarca, 45, pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine intended for importation into the United States. On November 12, 2025, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant sentenced him to 292 months in federal prison following his extradition from Colombia.
Court documents indicated that Vindas Abarca coordinated maritime shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Telephone intercepts linked him to over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine destined for the U.S., and evidence showed he bribed Costa Rican naval officers to prevent interception of these shipments.
The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative created under Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. According to the press release: "The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad." It further states: "Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders."
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and other agencies worked with Colombian authorities to secure Vindas Abarca’s arrest and extradition on November 1, 2025.
The Drug Enforcement Administration – Dallas Division investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson prosecuted it.
