Costa Rica has extradited former top judge and security minister Celso Gamboa to the United States, where he is wanted on charges of international drug trafficking. This is the first-ever extradition of Costa Rica's own nationals. A judicial reform in 2025 eliminated a ban on extraditing nationals in a bid to combat organized crime, which has worsened violence in the country. Gamboa was removed as Supreme Court justice in 2018 amid corruption allegations. The case against him has been at the center of a debate about potential collusion between organized crime and political circles. The new extradition law rules that Costa Ricans sent to the U.S. cannot be subject to the death penalty or a sentence exceeding 50 years.