A Costa Rican national has been sentenced to nearly 24 and a half years in federal prison for his role in trafficking cocaine into the Eastern District of Texas, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Rolando Alberto Vindas Abarca, age 45, pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine intended for importation into the United States. He received a sentence of 292 months from U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant on November 12, 2025, following his extradition from Colombia.
Court records indicate that Vindas Abarca coordinated maritime shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Telephone intercepts showed he was responsible for more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine destined for the U.S., and that he bribed Costa Rican naval officers to allow these shipments to proceed without interception.
The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative created by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF brings together multiple government agencies with the goal of dismantling criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling operations both within the United States and abroad. According to information provided in the release: “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.” The statement also notes: “In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.” Additionally: “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 collaborated with its Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá as well as Colombian authorities to secure Vindas Abarca’s arrest and extradition on November 1, 2025.
The investigation was led by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration – Dallas Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson prosecuted the case.
