Q COSTARICA — The case of Celso Gamboa, the former politician, former lawyer, former Minister of Security, and former Magistrate of the Third Chamber of the Judicial Branch, has entered the final stage in his extradition to the United States.
Wednesday morning, the extraditable exercised his autorized farewell meeting granted by the appeals court. At approximately 11:45 a.m., the former magistrate and former minister was taken from the reinforced courtrooms of the Specialized Jurisdiction against Organized Crime (JEDO) of the San José Courts, and returned to La Reforma prison in Alajuela under tight security.
Arrested in June 2025 at the request of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Gamboa first had to complete all pending criminal proceedings against him in Costa Rica.
He has already been acquitted in two of them (for alleged interference in a search warrant on behalf of former mayor Johnny Araya and for the alleged use of a document to cover up a court absence).
In the other two cases (the “Ropita de Bebé” —Baby Clothes— case and the alleged pressure exerted on legislators that would determine his removal from office), a discretionary prosecution was granted. This is a legal mechanism that allows for the suspension of one case while awaiting a more serious one or one with a harsher penalty, such as the charges in the United States.
With this, the internal prosecution phase is complete.
The remaining issue concerned the appeal against the extradition order granted in October. The former magistrate’s defense challenged the decision, but on Tuesday, February 3, ruling 2026-189 rejected the arguments.
The sole condition by the appeals court was that the United States commit to not imposing a sentence longer than 50 years. While U.S. law allows for life imprisonment (cadena pertetua in Spanish), the Costa Rican maximum sentence is being respected.
The other condition is that the time the former Minister of Security has already spent in La Reforma prison be deducted from the final sentence.
According to Costa Rica’s Attorney General (Fiscal General), Carlos Diaz, the foregoing assurance by the U.S. government is the missing piece of the puzzle before Gamboa can be handed over to U.S. authorities to board a private flight.
Flight at US Expenses
Regarding the logistics of the extradited individuals’ travel to the United States, the protocols place all responsibility on the requesting states.
“The requesting country, in this case, the United States of America, must coordinate flights, layovers, surveillance, etc.,” the court explained.
In fact, the local proceedings against Celso Gamboa will only conclude then. “The work of the Costa Rican judge ceases, in such cases, when the person boards the plane,” the court concluded.
Celso Gamboa would be the second Costa Rican to be extradited to the United States. His associate, Edwin Danney López Vega, alias Pecho de Rata, who is expected to be extradited along with Gamboa, most likely on the same flight, would be the third.
Gamboa considered by the U.S. to be one of the leaders of a local drug trafficking gang
Gamboa is wanted by the Eastern District Court of Texas to face charges of international cocaine trafficking and conspiracy.
According to the extradition file by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Gamboa is identified as the alleged regional coordinator for the Gulf Cartel, with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
From this position, he allegedly managed the purchase and shipment of drug consignments for storage in Costa Rica and their subsequent transfer to the United States. All this while holding key positions in government and the judiciary.
Following a series of investigations and naming him a co-defendant in the case of influence peddling, among others, the Legislative Assembly removed his immunity as a magistrate and subsequently dismissed him from office.
In 2019, it was revealed that Gamboa had been chosen as the legal representative of the Venezuelan government, then headed by Nicolás Maduro, in Costa Rica.
He has been held in pretrial detention since June, while legal obstacles delaying his extradition have been resolved.