Costa Rican drug trafficker sentenced to federal prison for importing cocaine into the Eastern District of Texas

SHERMAN, Texas –A Costa Rican drug trafficker has been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking cocaine into the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Rolando Alberto Vindas Abarca, 45, a Costa Rican citizen, pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for importation into the United States, and was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison, after being extradited to the United States, by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant on November 12, 2025.

According to information provided at court, Vindas Abarca was a Costa Rican trafficker of cocaine responsible for coordinating maritime shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States.  Telephone intercepts of Vindas Abarca revealed that he was responsible for more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine that was destined for the United States, as well as for bribing Costa Rican naval officers to permit the shipments from being intercepted.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá, Colombia worked with the Government of Colombia to secure the arrest and November 1, 2025, extradition from Colombia of Vindas Abarca.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration – Dallas Division.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson.

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