Costa Rica sends top drug trafficker, fellow cartel member to U.S.

Costa Rican authorities have extradited one of the country's most significant alleged drug traffickers, Gilbert Bell Fernandez, along with Colombian national Gabriel Lozano Bonilla, to the United States to face federal charges. The two men were flown from Juan Santamaría International Airport near San Jose to New York on Thursday.

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I thank the United States for taking me out of this country. They are saving my life.

Bell Fernandez, 63, identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as "Macho Coca," is recognized for both the volume of drugs he allegedly moves and the violence associated with his operations. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) links both Bell Fernandez and Lozano Bonilla to the Gulf Clan, a Colombian cartel designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by Washington. Both are accused of trafficking cocaine to the United States on behalf of the cartel.

Bell Fernandez, who claimed mistreatment in prison, expressed gratitude for the extradition, stating, "They are saving my life." Lozano Bonilla, a naturalized Costa Rican citizen, is also implicated in alleged shipments of liquid cocaine to Europe and Asia. Both men were escorted to the plane under heavy security, wearing bulletproof vests and helmets.

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The DEA links them to the Gulf Clan.

Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez, who pledged a "firm hand" against drug trafficking during her inauguration, has made combating organized crime a priority. Despite its reputation as a stable democracy, Costa Rica has increasingly become a logistical hub for regional drug trafficking, contributing to a surge in local violence and murder rates. This extradition follows the capture last month of Costa Rica's most-wanted fugitive, known as "Diablo."

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I thank the United States for taking me out of this country. They are saving my life.

Extraditions have become more common in Costa Rica since a 2025 constitutional reform. The country has previously extradited former security minister Celso Gamboa and his associate Edwin Lopez Vega to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. Gamboa was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in July 2025.

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The DEA links them to the Gulf Clan.