Large-Scale Costa Rican Cocaine Trafficker Extradited To The United States

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, and Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), Terrance C. Cole, announced today the unsealing of a Complaint and Indictment charging Gilbert Bell Fernandez, a/k/a "Macho Coca," with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. BELL FERNANDEZ was extradited from Costa Rica to the United States on the charges contained in the Indictment on August 13, 2026. BELL FERNANDEZ was presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo and ordered detained pending trial. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho.

"Our Office will not stop in our efforts to disrupt international drug operations like this one," said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. "For years, Gilbert Bell Fernandez allegedly sourced ton-quantities of cocaine from Colombia and transported this cocaine through Costa Rica for ultimate distribution in the United States and elsewhere. Bell Fernandez's drug organization has lost its leader. Now, one of Costa Rica's most notorious drug kingpins will face justice in an American courtroom for the harm he caused and sought to cause to this country. That is because of the dedicated efforts of our prosecutors and the Drug Enforcement Administration."

"The extradition of Gilbert Bell Fernandez to the United States demonstrates DEA's global reach and our commitment to holding drug traffickers accountable," said DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole. "Known as 'Macho Coca,' Bell Fernandez allegedly built a vast criminal network to move massive quantities of cocaine through Costa Rica for distribution in American communities, including New York City. DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue those who traffic poison into our country. We will not stop working to save American lives and we will not allow borders to shield criminals from justice."

According to the charging documents and other public statements and records:(1)

Until his arrest, BELL FERNANDEZ was a major international narcotics trafficker and one of the most prolific cocaine traffickers in Costa Rica, which he helped develop into a major narcotics transshipment hub. BELL FERNANDEZ, who also owned and operated commercial fishing businesses in Costa Rica, controlled the distribution of ton-quantities of cocaine imported into and transiting through the Port of Limón, a seaport in the Limón Province of Costa Rica that has served as a major transshipment point for U.S.-bound cocaine.

In or about March 2022, members of BELL FERNANDEZ's drug organization began discussions with a DEA confidential source ("CS-1") about the purchase of large shipments of cocaine for CS-1's purported customers in New York and elsewhere. During these initial conversations, BELL FERNANDEZ's co-conspirators confirmed that BELL FERNANDEZ was the leader of the organization and could facilitate ton-quantity shipments of cocaine.

In the months that followed, CS-1 spoke directly with BELL FERNANDEZ on multiple occasions, in person and telephonically, to negotiate the terms of their cocaine distribution partnership. During those conversations, BELL FERNANDEZ confirmed, among other things, that he had the means to export ton-quantities of cocaine out of Costa Rica and that his organization could arrange for CS-1 to purchase a sample of the cocaine in advance of potential larger deals in the future.

After negotiating the purchase of this sample, in or around February 2023, with BELL FERNANDEZ's approval, a member of BELL FERNANDEZ's organization provided CS-1 with a sample of one kilogram of cocaine in Costa Rica in exchange for approximately $6,000 in United States currency. Following CS-1's acquisition of the one-kilogram sample, CS-1 continued conversations with BELL FERNANDEZ and other members of BELL FERNANDEZ's organization about the large-scale distribution partnership they had been negotiating. In early August 2023, CS-1 met again with BELL FERNANDEZ in Costa Rica to continue discussions about a potential cocaine deal. During that meeting, BELL FERNANDEZ discussed providing CS-1 with approximately 700 kilograms of cocaine and eventually transporting that cocaine to New York City.

In November 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") sanctioned BELL FERNANDEZ. In announcing its sanctions, OFAC described BELL FERNANDEZ as being "known not only for the volume of drugs he moves but the violence with which he operates," noting that BELL FERNANDEZ "has played a significant role in Costa Rica's recent transformation into a major narcotics transit hub." OFAC also noted that BELL FERNANDEZ was one of the "most prolific" and "most violent" traffickers in Limón.

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BELL FERNANDEZ, 63, of Costa Rica, is charged with conspiring to import over five kilograms of cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA's Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit. Mr. McDonald also thanked the DEA's Costa Rica Country Office, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division, and Costa Rica's Organismo de Investigación Judicial for their assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of BELL FERNANDEZ.

This case is being handled by the Office's National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Cheng, Kaylan E. Lasky, and David J. Robles are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint and Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

1. ^

   As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and Indictment and the descriptions of the Complaint and Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described therein should be treated as an allegation.