{"id":44664,"date":"2026-08-14T16:06:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44664"},"modified":"2026-08-14T16:06:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:06:42","slug":"top-drug-trafficker-macho-coca-and-cartel-member-compadre-extradited-to-u-s-from-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44664","title":{"rendered":"Top drug trafficker &#8220;Macho Coca&#8221; and cartel member &#8220;Compadre&#8221; extradited to U.S. from Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>San Jose extradited one of Costa Rica&#8217;s top drug traffickers and a fellow cartel member to the United States on Thursday to stand trial in federal court, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p> Costa Rican businessman Gilbert Bell Fernandez, known as &#8220;Macho Coca,&#8221; and Colombian Gabriel Lozano Bonilla, known as &#8220;Compadre,&#8221; were flown from Juan Santa Maria International Airport, northwest of San Jose, to New York.<\/p>\n<p> Bell Fernandez, 63, is considered one of the biggest drug traffickers in Costa Rica by the U.S. Treasury Department, <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy1911\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">which says<\/a> he is &#8220;known not only for the volume of drugs he moves but the violence with which he operates.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bell Fernandez was <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy1911\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">placed on its sanctions list<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;The DEA links them to the Gulf Clan,&#8221; Costa Rican Attorney General Carlo Diaz told reporters, referring to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.<\/p>\n<p> Both men allegedly took part in trafficking cocaine to the U.S. for the Colombian cartel, which Washington has labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization.<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;I thank the United States for taking me out of this country. They are saving my life,&#8221; said Bell Fernandez, who said he had been mistreated in prison.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed__float-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\" data-ads=\"{\" extrawordcount=\"\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content \"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/14\/564bedb1-1a4a-453d-a841-55ca8348a014\/thumbnail\/620x465\/efd78ecacb58f9ef37cdda81cb76b90b\/2026-08-14t003736z-1978620136-rc2qxmar0gp4-rtrmadp-3-usa-costa-rica-drugs.jpg#\" alt=\"Costa Rica extradites two alleged drug traffickers to the U.S. \" height=\"465\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/14\/564bedb1-1a4a-453d-a841-55ca8348a014\/thumbnail\/620x465\/efd78ecacb58f9ef37cdda81cb76b90b\/2026-08-14t003736z-1978620136-rc2qxmar0gp4-rtrmadp-3-usa-costa-rica-drugs.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/14\/564bedb1-1a4a-453d-a841-55ca8348a014\/thumbnail\/1240x930\/12b2ec59f8e43ea91f30ffb6f037ac09\/2026-08-14t003736z-1978620136-rc2qxmar0gp4-rtrmadp-3-usa-costa-rica-drugs.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents observe alleged drug traffickers Gabriel Lozano (not pictured) and Gilbert Bell Fernandez as Costa Rican security forces escort them aboard a plane for extradition to the United States, in Alajuela, Costa Rica, August 13, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Ministerio de Seguridad Publica\/Handout via REUTERS<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Lozano Bonilla, a naturalized Costa Rican, is also allegedly linked to shipments of liquid cocaine to Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n<p> Both Bell Fernandez and Lozano Bonilla were taken to the airport wearing bulletproof vests and helmets flanked by tight security, local media reported.<\/p>\n<p> Costa Rica&#8217;s right-wing President Laura Fernandez, a key ally of President Trump, pledged a &#8220;firm hand&#8221; against drug trafficking during her May inauguration, saying her &#8220;hand will not tremble when confronting organized crime.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> Costa Rica, a country of 5.2 million people famous for its white-sand beaches, has long been seen as an oasis of stability and democracy in Central America.<\/p>\n<p> But in recent years, it has developed into a logistical hub in the regional drug trade, fueling local turf wars that have caused the murder rate to soar. Last month, Costa Rica captured its most-wanted fugitive, known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/costa-rica-captures-top-fugitive-diablo-drug-trafficking\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">&#8220;Diablo,&#8221;<\/a> who was wanted by the U.S. for alleged drug trafficking and had a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/alejandro-arias-monge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$500,000 bounty<\/a> on his head.<\/p>\n<p>Extraditions have been allowed in the country since a 2025 constitutional reform promoted by former President Rodrigo Chaves, Fernandez&#8217;s predecessor.<\/p>\n<p> Since then, it has extradited former security minister and judge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edtx\/pr\/former-costa-rican-government-official-and-fellow-drug-trafficker-extradited-eastern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Celso Gamboa<\/a>, who is accused of drug trafficking, and his alleged associate Edwin Lopez Vega, alias &#8220;Pecho de Rata,&#8221; among others to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Gamboa was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edtx\/pr\/former-senior-costa-rican-official-has-been-charged-arrested-and-pending-extradition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indicted<\/a>\u00a0by the U.S. Justice Department on July 9, 2025, and charged with conspiring with other international drug traffickers to manufacture and transport significant quantities of cocaine.<\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation  \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__tags\">\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>San Jose extradited one of Costa Rica&#8217;s top drug traffickers and a fellow cartel member to the United States on Thursday to stand trial in federal court, authorities said. Costa Rican businessman Gilbert Bell Fernandez, known as &#8220;Macho Coca,&#8221; and Colombian Gabriel Lozano Bonilla, known as &#8220;Compadre,&#8221; were flown from Juan Santa Maria International Airport,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/14\/564bedb1-1a4a-453d-a841-55ca8348a014\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/fa9fc32174cc541223efcaa04cead790\/2026-08-14t003736z-1978620136-rc2qxmar0gp4-rtrmadp-3-usa-costa-rica-drugs.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}