Costa Rica detains ex-security minister on drug trafficking charges

Costa Rica's former security minister and Supreme Court justice, as well as being a high-ranking official under past administrations, Celso Gamboa Sanchez, was arrested in San Jose on Monday, on charges of international drug trafficking, following a U.S. extradition request from Dallas, Texas.

An associate, Edwin Lopez Vega, was also detained.

Gamboa's arrest marks the first under Costa Rica's constitutional reform enacted in May, which permits the extradition of nationals for drug trafficking and terrorism, reversing a previous embargo.

The Public Security Minister praised the operation as "the first of many blows" against transnational crime and said Costa Rica will hold suspects accountable "within or outside our borders."