Costa Rican ex-security minister extradited to US for drug trafficking / Photo: Ezequiel BECERRA - AFP
Costa Rican ex-security minister extradited to US for drug trafficking
Former Costa Rican security minister Celso Gamboa was extradited on Friday to the United States where he faces drug trafficking charges, authorities in the Central American nation said.
The 49-year-old has vowed to implicate officials in the current government in the case.
Gamboa, whose many top jobs included deputy attorney general and Supreme Court justice, was handed over by a judge to US anti-drug agents along with his alleged partner, Edwin Lopez Vega, alias "Pecho de Rata" (Rat's Chest).
The transfer took place amid a massive security operation at Juan Santamaria International Airport, which serves the capital, San Jose.
They are the first Costa Ricans to be extradited following 2025 constitutional reforms that allow for the extradition of nationals. Gamboa, also head of intelligence between 2013 and 2014, is the highest-ranking former Costa Rican official accused of drug trafficking.
"They are high-profile individuals," Attorney General Carlo Diaz said during a press conference at the airport. "This is a historic day."
Gamboa, who served as security minister during the 2014-2018 presidency of Luis Guillermo Solis, departed with convicted drug trafficker Vega on a plane escorted by US Drug Enforcement Administration agents bound for Texas.
Gamboa, who was wearing a red shirt and boarded the plane in handcuffs and under heavy guard, attempted to prevent his extradition with last-minute legal appeals, but the efforts were rejected.
- Possible plea bargains -
According to the US Attorney's Office, Gamboa helped "other international drug traffickers manufacture, distribute, and transport significant quantities of cocaine, much of which was trafficked through Costa Rica into the United States."
Gamboa, sanctioned by the US Treasury, denies allegations that he and Vega laundered their drug trafficking profits through a second-division soccer team.
In early March, Gamboa said he would speak with US authorities about people who "are currently in the executive branch" and should be imprisoned.
"There are people here who should be in jail...with me," the former minister told Costa Rican TV broadcaster Teletica, without naming names or mentioning potential crimes.
"Not a single gram of cocaine was seized. There wasn't a single dollar that wasn't justified," he said in the interview.
In recent years, Costa Rica has gone from being a drug transit point to a logistical hub for drug trafficking and has lost its status as one of the safest countries in the region. During the current administration, the homicide rate reached a peak of 17.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.
W.Janssens--RTC
