Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly is intensifying its investigation into alleged links between public officials and organized crime. Earlier today, the Special Permanent Commission on Security and Drug Trafficking voted unanimously to summon former presidents Laura Chinchilla (2010–2014) and Luis Guillermo Solís (2014–2018) to testify before Congress regarding their potential connections to Celso Gamboa, a former high-ranking security official now facing extradition.
Gamboa, who served as Vice Minister of Security under Chinchilla and later as Minister under Solís, is currently in provisional detention after a San José court approved a U.S. extradition request on June 24. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has linked Gamboa to suspected drug trafficking networks, prompting heightened scrutiny of his political and institutional ties.
Lawmakers on the commission say both ex-presidents must clarify the nature of their relationships with Gamboa, particularly whether political appointments or endorsements may have facilitated criminal activity. The goal, they said, is to determine whether Gamboa’s rise to power was enabled by institutional blind spots or political protection.
In addition to Chinchilla and Solís, several other current and former senior officials will be called to testify, including Minister of Security Mario Zamora, Minister of Justice and Peace Gerald Campos, Costa Rican Drug Institute director Fernando Ramírez, Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) director Rándall Zúñiga, Supreme Court Justice Patricia Solano, and former Attorney General Jorge Chavarría.
Hearing dates have not yet been confirmed but are expected to take place in the coming weeks. The inquiry comes amid growing concerns over the infiltration of drug trafficking networks into Costa Rica’s political and judicial systems. Gamboa’s extensive career in law enforcement, the judiciary, and politics has made the case particularly high-profile.
Authorities are also pursuing a related case involving Edwin López Vega, alias “Pecho de Rata,” a Costa Rican national currently held in provisional detention and also wanted for extradition to the United States on drug trafficking charges.
With two extradition cases now involving prominent figures, the Assembly’s investigation marks one of the most significant efforts to address allegations of organized crime influence within the Costa Rican government in recent years.
