Two Costa Rican nationals, including a former government official, were extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges in the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced on March 23.
The extradition marks the first time Costa Rican nationals have been sent to the United States for such offenses since Costa Rica changed its constitution in May 2025 to allow these proceedings. The move is seen as a significant step in international cooperation against drug trafficking organizations.
Celso Manuel Gamboa Sanchez, age 49 and a former government minister and judge, along with Edwin Danney Lopez-Vega, also 49, were arrested by Costa Rican police on June 23, 2025. Gamboa Sanchez was indicted for allegedly conspiring with other traffickers to manufacture and distribute large amounts of cocaine from Colombia through Costa Rica into the United States and Europe. He previously served as Minister of Public Security in 2014 and as a judge from 2016 to 2018.
Lopez-Vega faces charges under a separate indictment alleging that he participated in an international conspiracy starting in 2008 to traffic cocaine not only into the United States but also across several countries throughout South, Central, and North America. Both men are scheduled for initial appearances before federal court in Texas on March 24.
These cases are part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159. The task force aims at dismantling criminal cartels and transnational criminal organizations through coordinated law enforcement efforts involving multiple agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration Dallas Field Division and FBI.
If convicted, both defendants could face up to life imprisonment. The Justice Department acknowledged assistance from various U.S. agencies as well as authorities in Costa Rica who facilitated the arrests and extraditions. Prosecutors emphasized that indictments are not evidence of guilt; all defendants remain presumed innocent until proven guilty.
