Costa Rica's president opens door to US military operations amid regional security push

Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez opened a door this week that many in the region have kept firmly shut. In an interview with Reuters published Friday, she suggested that allowing United States military forces to operate within her country's borders could serve national security interests, particularly in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. But she was careful to frame the possibility as conditional—any such arrangement would require approval from Costa Rica's Congress, and she made clear that no concrete plans currently exist to bring American troops onto Costa Rican soil.

Fernandez, a right-wing populist who took office in May following a February election dominated by security concerns, has staked much of her political identity on confronting the violence that has gripped the Central American nation. The numbers driving voter anxiety are stark: Costa Rica's homicide rate has doubled over the past decade, reaching 17.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023. While that figure remains lower than many neighboring countries, the trajectory has alarmed residents and shaped electoral politics. She succeeded her mentor, former President Rodrigo Chaves, and campaigned on a tough-on-crime platform. Yet despite her hardline rhetoric, she has resisted declaring a state of emergency—the kind of sweeping suspension of constitutional protections that has become standard practice elsewhere in the region, most notably in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele, where emergency declarations have been extended repeatedly since 2022.

Fernandez's openness to American military involvement reflects broader pressure from Washington. Since returning to office for a second term, President Donald Trump has aggressively expanded U.S. influence across Latin America through military channels. Earlier this year, he launched the Shield of the Americas, also known as the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, bringing together right-wing leaders to coordinate responses to drug trafficking. At the inaugural meeting, Trump encouraged governments to adopt military-centered approaches to crime, even as human rights organizations have raised alarms about the consequences.

The cautionary tale comes from Ecuador, where U.S. and Ecuadorian forces have already begun joint military operations aimed at reducing crime rates. A July report from Human Rights Watch documents what that collaboration has produced on the ground. Ecuadorian fishermen have reported being attacked at sea. In one incident, Ecuadorian soldiers allegedly detained and tortured four Colombian farm workers during a raid near the border that was carried out with American support. The methods used included mock executions, beatings, and electric shocks. The report notes that Ecuador's armed forces have been accused of torture and enforced disappearance more broadly, abuses that experts warn could intensify with U.S. backing. The researchers concluded that the deepening security relationship between the two countries is occurring precisely when both governments have engaged in serious human rights violations, framed through the lens of a war against organized crime.

Not all regional leaders have welcomed American military presence. Mexico has resisted the prospect, citing Washington's long history of interventions and documented rights abuses in Latin America. Yet Ecuador's experience suggests that receptiveness carries its own risks. Ecuadorian voters rejected a referendum last year that would have allowed foreign countries to establish military bases on their territory—a democratic check that Fernandez's conditional openness might eventually circumvent through legislative channels. What unfolds in Costa Rica over the coming months will signal whether the region's security crisis has shifted the calculus enough to override historical wariness of American military involvement.