For the primary time in latest historical past, Costa Rica has extradited a few of its residents to the US to face legal drug-trafficking and conspiracy costs.
The people included in Friday’s extradition embrace a prime authorities official, Celso Gamboa, 49, who beforehand served as a Supreme Courtroom justice from 2016 to 2018 and a deputy legal professional common from 2015 to 2016.
Really helpful Tales
checklist of three objectsfinish of checklist
The administration of Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles hailed the extraditions as a serious step in guaranteeing legal justice.
“Costa Rica is sending a powerful message: nobody can use our nationality to evade justice,” Lawyer Basic Carlo Diaz mentioned in a video message.
Diaz acknowledged that “high-profile people” have been included within the inaugural extradition. “This can be a historic day,” he added.
Beforehand, the Structure of Costa Rica banned the extradition of its residents for prosecution overseas.
However that modified in 2025 with a constitutional modification championed by the Chaves authorities. Costa Rica’s legislature handed the modification with 44 votes in assist, out of a complete of 57 deputies.
Proponents have argued that the change was wanted to fight rising crime within the nation and that corruption within the judicial system made the pursuit of justice tough.
However critics have argued that extradition is a hardline tactic that fails to deal with the foundation causes of crime, whereas subjecting residents to international legal guidelines.
The modification is tailor-made to extraditing solely suspects accused of drug-trafficking and “terrorism”, particularly.
It additionally units situations on extraditions: Suspects can’t be despatched overseas to face the dying penalty or sentences of greater than 50 years’ imprisonment, the utmost allowed underneath Costa Rican regulation.
The modification is a part of a broader, regional pattern of aggressive techniques to fight organised crime in Latin America.
In April 2024, Ecuador likewise authorized an modification — in its case, by means of a voter referendum — to permit extraditions of residents to nations just like the US. In July 2025, the US confirmed it had obtained its first extradition from the nation for the reason that modification took impact.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa praised the measure as providing officers “extra instruments to struggle crime”.
Friday’s inaugural extradition from Costa Rica, in the meantime, concerned Gamboa and his alleged co-conspirator Edwin Lopez Vega, a suspected drug trafficker recognized by the nickname “Pecho de Rata” or “Rat’s Chest”.
Each males have been positioned in handcuffs on a Texas-bound airplane on the Juan Santamaria Worldwide Airport within the Costa Rican capital San Jose. Gamboa and Lopez Vega have been arrested on the identical day.
Chaves Robles has accused Gamboa of representing “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to corruption within the political system.
However Gamboa has mentioned the accusations towards him have been made in “dangerous religion” and that he plans to testify towards different authorities figures if his security and that of his household are usually not ensured.
Earlier than serving as a decide and prosecutor, Gamboa had high-level roles in a number of presidential administrations.
Underneath President Laura Chinchilla, he served because the director of intelligence and nationwide safety, and underneath President Luis Guillermo Solis, he was the minister of public safety.
However in 2024, a provisional warrant was issued for his arrest within the jap district of Texas, and on June 23, 2025, Gamboa was arrested.
In a federal indictment in July of that 12 months, the US authorities introduced it might be charging Gamboa with manufacturing and distributing cocaine destined for the US, in addition to associated conspiracy costs.
The US Division of Justice mentioned Gamboa labored with Lopez Vega to help worldwide drug trafficking operations. Each males have been sanctioned by the US Treasury the next month.
“Gamboa used his in depth community of contacts throughout the authorities to amass details about ongoing counternarcotics investigations,” the Treasury alleged.
“He subsequently bought this data to the targets of these precise investigations.”
Gamboa and Lopez Vega face a minimal of 10 years in jail within the US if convicted.
Costa Rica has solid an more and more shut relationship with the US underneath President Donald Trump.
After Trump took workplace for a second time period, Costa Rica turned one of many first nations to just accept US deportation flights carrying residents of “third-party” nations, as a part of Trump’s mass deportation push.
This week, it additionally expelled Cuban diplomats from its borders, as a part of a Trump-led strain marketing campaign towards the Caribbean island.
Costa Rican President Chaves just lately joined different right-wing Latin American leaders at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a security summit on March 7.
