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President Laura Fernández-Delgado is one of the youngest presidents in Costa Rican history and the second woman elected to the country’s highest office. Photo courtesy of the Presidential House.

Costa Rica Has No Plans For U.S. Military Ground Operations, President Says

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Published on Monday, September 7, 2026

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Costa Rican President Laura Fernández-Delgado said Friday in an interview with Reuters that there are no specific plans for U.S. military ground operations in Costa Rica, even though such operations could benefit the country's national security.

According to Reuters, Fernández emphasized that if there were a strategy to allow U.S. military operations in Costa Rica, it could be beneficial if the operations focused on a shared objective of combating transnational crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.

"It would obviously be very good for national security if it were about pursuing a common objective against transnational crime, transnational drug trafficking, transnational terrorism," Fernández told Reuters.

Fernández also told Reuters that she is not considering asking Congress to declare a state of emergency or suspend constitutional guarantees to address the country's wave of violence. She noted that homicide rates are declining.

Costa Rica and the United States have maintained a Joint Maritime Patrol Treaty since 1999, allowing U.S. authorities to participate in counternarcotics operations in Costa Rican waters.

One of the most recent counternarcotics operations was led by the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South, or JIATF South, in July. The operation resulted in the seizure of approximately 2 tons of cocaine and the arrest of three suspects off Costa Rica's Pacific Coast.

In March, the United States donated two mobile scanners to Costa Rica to strengthen security at major border crossings and improve efforts to combat drug trafficking and organized crime.

Costa Rica also recently joined a U.S.-led regional agreement to combat criminal cartels and organized crime across the Western Hemisphere during the Shield of the Americas Summit.

A legal amendment that took effect in May 2025 allows Costa Rica to extradite citizens by birth or naturalization to countries with which it maintains extradition treaties.

One of the most recent extraditions of a Costa Rican national to the United States was reported in August, when authorities extradited a 63-year-old Costa Rican man identified by the surname Bell-Fernández to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

Since 2018, the U.S. Department of State has provided more than $269 million in bilateral and regional security assistance to Costa Rica.

The assistance includes equipment, training and technical expertise designed to strengthen law enforcement, combat organized crime and improve the justice system's ability to prosecute transnational criminal organizations.

At 36, Fernández is one of the youngest presidents in Costa Rican history and the second woman elected to the country’s highest office, following Laura Chinchilla-Miranda, who served as president from 2010 to 2014.

Before assuming the presidency, Fernández served in the Chaves administration as minister of the presidency and minister of national planning.

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Should Costa Rica allow U.S. military ground operations in the country to fight drug trafficking? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com