Q COSTARICA — The arrest of Celso Gamboa was not the result of an improvised action. Behind them was a silent and sustained operation that lasted more than a year, coordinated by the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
It all began with a formal arrest warrant issued by a federal prosecutor in the state of Texas and validated by a U.S. judge. This request was channeled through the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry, which in turn forwarded it to the Supreme Court of Justice for approval.
“The request officially arrived on Monday morning, June 23. By 9 am, the Foreign Ministry had already validated it. At around 11 am, the Supreme Court’s Secretariat forwarded it to the respective judge, and at that time we received the go-ahead to proceed,” said Randall Zúñiga, director of the OIJ, in an interview with the program Asiento Extra
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But the OIJ didn’t wait for the formal order. They already knew the request was on its way and deployed undercover personnel two days earlier. One group was stationed in Escazú, where Gamboa lived.
Another team was in Cahuita, Limón, to follow ex-convict Edwin López Vega, alias Pecho de Rata. who was also arrested on Monday.
The surveillance was intended to ensure that both men could be located when the court order was executed.
The first arrest occurred in Cahuita. “At around 12 noon, we found him (López Vega) having lunch. We waited until a few people were around and arrested him at 12:30 pm,” Zúñiga said.
López Vega was immediately transferred to San José, while the second operation was underway in Escazú.
Gamboa was intercepted around 6 pm as he was leaving a client’s house. “We intercepted him with a car in front and another behind him so that he couldn’t move. We asked him to get out of the vehicle, but he couldn’t open the lock, apparently because he was nervous,” the OIJ chief explained.
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Once outside the vehicle, he was handcuffed. At that moment, Gamboa thought it was a local judicial matter. But when he received notification that the arrest was in response to a DEA extradition request, his reaction changed.
“That’s when he completely lost his temper. That’s a nice way of putting it… but his reaction was obvious,” Zúñiga said.
The big question that arose after the arrests was: why didn’t Gamboa face criminal proceedings in Costa Rica sooner?
Zúñiga explained it frankly: “Since he was removed from office as a judge (in 2018), we began monitoring him, for fear that he would leave the country. Then, in 2019, he was acquitted due to doubts in a trial for influence peddling. We don’t agree with that ruling; we believed there was sufficient evidence.”
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The head of the OIJ added that opening a local investigation against Gamboa would have meant handing the file over to his lawyers, which could hinder the process.
“We saw that the most viable option was to work the case with the DEA. Here (in Costa Rica), they would likely have imposed mild precautionary measures. However, since this is a case of international drug trafficking, the DEA could act more forcefully,” he stated
The collaboration with the DEA began in 2022, under the direction of Walter Espinoza. There was already confidential information pointing to Gamboa, and a more effective channel was being sought to ensure real judicial consequences.
“Don Walter, with foresight, said: let’s talk to the DEA. And so it was. I don’t rule out that they were already working on the case,” Zúñiga acknowledged.
Gamboa and López could become the first Costa Ricans to be extradited to the United States, following the reform of Article 32 of the Political Constitution, approved on May 15, 2025. This amendment allows for the extradition of nationals for drug trafficking or terrorism offenses.
Both Gamboa and López Vega face charges of international drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to the DEA, Gamboa allegedly led a drug cell operating in Costa Rica, with connections to Colombia’s Clan del Golfo and the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
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