Q COSTARICA — The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and the extraditable Celso Gamboa used Honduras as a bridge for smuggling cocaine from Colombia and Ecuador to the United States, according to the indictment filed by the Eastern District Court of Texas against Gamboa, as evidenced by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who explained the Venezuelan president’s modus operandi during an interview.
In an interview with Fox News, Bondi explained that Honduran airspace is part of a route that begins in Venezuela and continues to Guatemala and Mexico, allowing for the undetected transfer of narcotics.
“There is an air bridge where the Venezuelan regime pays to have undetected access to open airspace to Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, where they can traffic these drugs,” Bondi said.
The U.S. Attorney’s comments are very similar to those stated in the indictment filed by a court in Dallas, United States, regarding the extraditable case against Celso Gamboa.
“Gamboa is responsible for the crimes charged in this case, which include the following: An investigation by U.S. law enforcement authorities identified a Drug Trafficking Organization (hereinafter “DTO”) operating in North, South, and Central America since at least 2020 and responsible for the importation of large quantities of cocaine into the United States. The DTO operates in Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, and has ties to several drug cartels, including the Clan del Golfo (hereinafter “CDG”) in Colombia and the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.”
“In fact, the extradition request indicates that a witness told U.S. authorities about a drug shipment sent by Gamboa to Honduras.
“The DTO typically manufactures, processes, and packages cocaine in clandestine laboratories in Colombia. The drug is then transported to and through the aforementioned countries on its way north. Some of the cocaine is illicitly imported into the United States for further distribution. The resulting drug profits are transported from the United States back to and through the aforementioned countries.”
Gamboa legally represented Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in Costa Rica. In March 2019, he filed a criminal complaint on behalf of himself and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela against Venezuelan nationals who participated in the takeover of that country’s embassy in San José.
The U.S. State Department says Maduro is the leader of the so-called Cartel de los Soles. The U.S. attorney general called Maduro a “narco-terrorist” and reiterated her call for his extradition and imprisonment in a U.S. prison. “This is not a legitimate presidency. Maduro is a narco-terrorist and must be brought to the United States to face justice.”
In the complaint filed by Celso Gamboa in 2019, he described Maduro as the victim of “unfounded attacks,” and he was appointed as his legal representative in a letter signed by the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office.
According to documentation sent from the United States, Gamboa and López allegedly sent shipments from Limón to Honduras, with the final destination being the United States.
The DEA report indicates that in 2024, one of the confidential sources (CS-1) revealed to U.S. authorities that Gamboa had acquired these properties through one of his sons, who was involved with the Limón Black Star soccer team in the Liga de Ascenso and is being investigated for money laundering in case file 21-000078-1322-PE.
“(…) Mr. López Vega had recently purchased property in Sixaola to host cocaine-laden aircraft. According to CS-1, Mr. López Vega remained the “King of Cahuita” and collaborated closely with Celso Manuel Gamboa Sánchez (hereinafter “Gamboa Sánchez”). CS-1 reported that Mr. López Vega was laundering money with Gamboa Sánchez through his professional soccer team in Limón,” the document states.
The purchase of these lands coincides with what was described by a judicial agent involved in the “Caribe Sur” money laundering case, included as a witness in one of the legal proceedings brought against the López family after his release from prison.
“With respect to Edwin López, the office handles a lot of information related to drug sales. The information is handled at the investigative level, just as the information on the line is handled confidentially by the OIJ. Edwin has no known official document; according to information received, he was buying properties and lending money at ridiculously low interest rates,” he stated.
Celso Gamboa is still awaiting an extradition request by the United States. He insists he could refute the accusations and has appealed to the Constitutional Court on several occasions.
Source: CRhoy.com
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