SAN JOSE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez said on Friday that U.S. ground operations could strengthen national security in the Central American nation, while emphasizing that nothing concrete was in the works with Washington and any such move would require legislative approval.
"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," Fernandez told Reuters in an interview, when asked about the possibility of U.S. ground operations on Costa Rican soil.
Costa Rica and the U.S. have cooperated for years on security matters, including through joint maritime patrols. U.S. President Donald Trump invited Costa Rica to join his Shield of the Americas coalition, which is aimed at combating drug cartels.
A right-wing populist who took office in May, Fernandez campaigned on a tough anti-crime platform, vowing to restore order in Costa Rica, a country that has seen a spike in drug trafficking and violence in recent years. The homicide rate hit a record 17.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, double the rate of a decade ago.
Fernandez said she is not considering requesting from Congress a state of emergency or suspending constitutional guarantees in order to address the wave of violence, noting that homicides are declining.
Court data shows that in the first half of 2026 homicides fell 14% compared to the same period in 2025.
Fernandez has been in a tense standoff with Costa Rica's courts, accusing the judiciary of being infiltrated by organized crime and blocking her tough-on-crime security policies.
"I've been very critical of how slow the courts are, very critical in specific cases where judges release convicted criminals long before their sentences are complete, and I've also been very critical of administrative failures and potential corruption in the judiciary," Fernandez said.
The dispute has increasingly centered on the judiciary's role and funding. Fernandez has backed significant budget cuts to the judicial branch and supports a legislative proposal to have Congress, rather than the Supreme Court, appoint the attorney general.
Judicial officials have denied corruption allegations, challenging Fernandez to provide evidence. They argue that budget cuts planned for 2026 and 2027 would weaken democratic checks and balances and undermine efforts to fight crime.
(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Emily Green and Sanjeev Miglani)
