Ex-judge accused of drug trafficking in U.S. set to become Costa Rica's first extraditee

Record ID: 2366791

  • Title: Ex-judge accused of drug trafficking in U.S. set to become Costa Rica's first extraditee
  • Date: 18th March 2026
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) RETIRED ISTANBUL RESIDENT, 66, GULSEREN ARI, SAYING: "This has been going on for 23 years, 25 years, enough of the oppression that they have inflicted on us. We are now saying no. This is no longer just an (Ekrem) Imamoglu issue. Anyone who opens their mouth to say something is immediately thro
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Celso Gamboa Costa Rica USA crime drugs
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, COSTA RICA
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, COSTA RICA
  • Country: Costa Rica
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,South America / Central America
  • Reuters ID: LVA001535318032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Celso Gamboa, a former Costa Rican Supreme Court justice and ex-security minister accused of drug trafficking in the United States, said he is ready to be transferred to the U.S. and face American authorities, a move that would make him the first Costa Rican extradited to another country.
    Speaking remotely from a room in the maximum-security prison where he is being held, Gamboa told Reuters he wants to resolve his legal situation in the U.S. and is willing to share information about officials allegedly linked to criminal groups that use Costa Rica as a route for cocaine trafficking.
    "I do not want freedom. I need to go to the United States to resolve my legal situation because I am not going to be a fugitive. I want to go," Gamboa said, nine months after he was arrested in San Jose at the request of a court in Texas.
    Gamboa served as a prosecutor in Costa Rica's Caribbean region, as intelligence chief from 2010 to 2014, as security minister in 2014 and 2015, and as a Supreme Court justice from 2016 to 2018.
    The former official said he has knowledge of criminal structures tied to government officials involved in moving cocaine, and described himself as the victim of a "bad faith" prosecution. He said he believes he has become a bargaining chip in President Rodrigo Chaves' relationship with Washington.
    Gamboa, who turns 50 in April, also said Costa Rica's judiciary has been infiltrated by criminal groups. Once regarded as one of Latin America's most peaceful countries, Costa Rica has in recent years seen a steady rise in crime.
    He is the first Costa Rican to undergo an extradition process that would have been impossible before 2025, when lawmakers approved a constitutional reform as part of a broader push to combat insecurity and violence, now seen by many Costa Ricans as the country's main problem.
    (Production: Hector Guzman, Rodolfo Pena Roja, Liamar Ramos)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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