TEXAS – The long arm of the law reached across borders this week, ensnaring a former high-ranking Costa Rican official in a federal drug trafficking conspiracy. Celso Manuel Gamboa Sanchez, 49, has been formally charged and arrested, now awaiting extradition to the Eastern District of Texas to face justice, authorities announced.
Gamboa Sanchez, once entrusted with the safety of Costa Rica as Minister of Public Security in 2014, and later serving as a judge from 2016-2018, allegedly traded his oath of office for a role in a massive cocaine pipeline funneling drugs into the United States. A federal grand jury indictment details charges of manufacturing and distributing cocaine with the knowledge it would be illegally imported, as well as conspiracy to do so.
According to the indictment, Gamboa Sanchez didn’t just stand by – he actively conspired with other international drug traffickers, providing assistance in the manufacture, distribution, and transport of significant quantities of cocaine. The operation allegedly utilized Costa Rica as a key transit point, sending the deadly product north for further distribution within the U.S.
The arrest on June 23, 2025, wasn’t the first time federal investigators had flagged Gamboa Sanchez. Similar international drug trafficking charges were brought against him in 2024, prompting the provisional arrest warrant. Simultaneously, Costa Rican authorities, acting on U.S. requests, apprehended Edwin Danny Lopez Vega, identified as an associate of Gamboa Sanchez and also indicted in the Eastern District of Texas.
Both Gamboa Sanchez and Lopez Vega remain incarcerated in Costa Rica, navigating the extradition process. This case falls under the umbrella of “Operation Take Back America,” a sweeping federal initiative designed to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and stem the flow of illegal drugs and immigration. The operation leverages resources from the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
If convicted, both men face a grim prospect: a minimum of ten years and a potential life sentence in federal prison. The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the North Texas Strike Force, with crucial assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wes Wynne and Christopher Eason are prosecuting the case. It’s crucial to remember that an indictment is not proof of guilt; both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Public Corruption|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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