United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MILWAUKEE -- Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Special Agent in Charge Todd C. Smith of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chicago Field Division, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge John McGarry of the DEA Milwaukee District Office announced the extradition of three Mexican nationals, who were crew members of a U.S.-flagged vessel, to face maritime narcotics trafficking charges.

Miguel Ángel Campos-Barragán, Giovanni Vidrio-López, and Eustaquio Espinosa-Hernández, all Mexican citizens, were extradited from Costa Rica after being indicted in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in May 2025 for alleged violations of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA). On Oct. 19, the defendants made their initial appearance and arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Judge Joseph ordered that they be held in pre-trial detention.

According to count one of the indictment, from approximately January 2024 until on or about April 15, 2025, the Campos-Barragán, Vidrio-López, and Espinosa-Hernández allegedly conspired together and with others to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while on board a vessel of the United States. Count two of the indictment alleges that on April 15, 2025, the defendants possessed with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while on board a vessel of the United States. 

On April 15, 2025, Costa Rican authorities interdicted the My Lisa Too, a U.S.-flagged vessel, near Quepos, Costa Rica. Law enforcement seized approximately 840 kilograms of cocaine concealed within the vessel, and arrested Campos-Barragán, Vidrio-López, and Espinosa-Hernández, who were the vessel’s crew.

“This case is noteworthy for several reasons,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel. “First, this is one of the largest drug seizures ever charged in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Second, it is an unusual case because an enormous quantity of drugs was intercepted before it ever entered the United States. This case demonstrates the incredible capabilities of U.S. authorities working in partnership with our counterparts in Central and South America.”

“The extradition of these individuals reinforces our commitment to relentlessly pursuing those who traffic dangerous illicit drugs into our communities,” said Todd C. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Chicago Field Division. “We are grateful for our partnerships with the Homeland Security Task Force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and our state and local law enforcement partners, as well as our foreign partners in Costa Rica, in holding those affiliated with Foreign Terrorist Organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel accountable.”

“The FBI and our Homeland Security Task Force partners are working together every day to crush violent crime to include cartels,” said FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Alan Karr. “The FBI along with our local, state, federal and international partners are committed to disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking networks through collaborative investigations to protect the American people.”

An indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The DEA Milwaukee Field Office and the DEA San Jose, Costa Rica Country Office investigated this case, with support and assistance from the FBI’s Milwaukee Field Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Costa Rican government, including the Policía de Control de Drogas (PCD) and the Grupo de Operaciones Policiales Especiales del Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas (GOPES SNG), secured the arrests and extraditions from Costa Rica. The U.S. Marshals Service provided substantial assistance with returning the fugitives to the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Brady, Jr. of the Eastern District of Wisconsin is prosecuting the case.

This case 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.