Costa Rica doesn’t ‘officially’ have an army – but apparently it will be home to one for the rest of 2010.

A flotilla of 46 United States Navy warships capable of carrying 200 helicopters, along with 10 Harrier vertical take-off and landing fighter jets, and 7,000 combat ready marines available for land based operations is on its way to this Central American country with no standing army.

On July 1, 2010 the Costa Rica Legislative Assembly voted 31-8 to grant the U.S. military full in-country access through the end of 2010 to help fight drug trafficking.

As of this writing the new administration of President Laura Chinchilla -- who was previously Costa Rica’s Vice-President, Justice Minister and Minister of Public Security -- has not commented in great detail as to what the U.S. troops will be trying to accomplish with their new right of entry other than to say there will be a combination of anti-drug and humanitarian operations.

This type of deal is a growing trend in Latin American countries.

Columbia has for the last decade been increasing its commitment to full-time anti-narcotic U.S. support.

In September 2009, ten years after the last U.S. troops had ‘officially’ left Panama soil due to the canal treaties, the United States entered into a new agreement to open 2 new U.S. military bases on their Pacific coast in exchange for $7 million to fight organized crime associated with illicit drugs.

April 2009 Honduras opened a new Navy base near the border of Nicaragua with $2 million from the U.S. and most recently announced July 10, 2010 another new military base will be constructed on the Caribbean with U.S. funding to help fight drug trafficking.

The Switzerland of Central America

As for Costa Rica, it has prided itself as the first country in the world to formally abolish military forces while being known for its stability in a region where other countries often struggle both politically and economically.

And although Costa Rica continues to earn high rankings both regionally and worldwide in areas of health care, education, public safety and equality; the geographic location that makes it so uniquely beautiful is also causing some major security concerns – often from outside sources.

Illicit drug producers from South America seeking paths of least resistance have found running shipments of cocaine along un-enforced or under-patrolled shorelines, air and land routes of sovereign Central American nations very effective in getting shipments through to their North American customers.

The spread of these drug-trafficking cartels has affected all of the Americas in terms of increased violent crime. In Costa Rica, the murder rate nearly doubled between 2004 and 2008 with mostly foreign drug gangs being attributed to a majority of this increase.

During the 2009-2010 presidential campaign ‘security’ consistently polled as the number one concern of the Costa Rica people. Then candidate Laura Chinchilla ran on a platform of being tough on crime proposing the hiring of more police, professionalizing the various law enforcement agencies with improved training and increased salaries, and eradicating corruption throughout all levels of government. In one of her first acts, then President-elect Chinchilla created the first Costa Rica anti-drug czar as part of her incoming cabinet.

Show Me the Money

But it takes money to fight a war on drugs, gangs, violence and corruption.

With a large debt burden due to previous president Oscar Arias’ borrowing heavily to insulate Costa Rica from a worldwide recession, tourism revenues being down due to reduced discretionary spending by potential travelers and the fruition of aggressive free-trade agreements that exchanged immediate import tariff income for supposed longer-term benefits … Costa Rica finds itself cash-strapped for even the most necessary of infrastructure improvements, let alone another country’s “war on drugs”.

In 1999 a U.S.-Costa Rica Counter-Narcotics Maritime Agreement or “Joint Patrol” accord began the alliance between the two countries in anti-drug enforcement efforts. As part of the arrangement the U.S. donated a retiring Coast Guard ship to the Costa Rica Ministry of Security toward formally establishing the Costa Rica Coast Guard in the year 2000.

Since then both the U.S. Coast Guard and Costa Rica Coast Guard (Guardacostas de Costa Rica) have been publicly working together to patrol Costa Rica waters and airways. Pacific and Caribbean international waters off the coast of Costa Rica have less formally been under the supervision of the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).

Operational funds for the various Costa Rica law enforcement agencies involved in fighting drug trafficking and its associated organized crime come from a variety of sources, with the largest contributor being the United States via direct funding for Costa Rica’s Public Security Ministry (Ministerio Seguridad Pública – MSP) who in-turn reallocates funds as needed to its divisions of Coast Guard, Drug Control Police (Policía de Control de Drogas - PCD) and National Public Police (Fuerza Pública ). Other funds provided to the Costa Rica Judiciary (Poder Judicial) are allocated to investigate drug related crimes by the Judicial Investigation Organization (Organismo de Investigación Judicial – OIJ) and prosecute alleged criminals within the judicial system.

Annual, semi-annual and special need requests for additional monies are made by Costa Rica to the U.S. for continued and increased police narcotics interdiction activities. Although regular requests are made openly, it would be naive to think all resources asked for and received are a matter of public record.

Fact, Conspiracy, or Just Plain B!tching

News of this very public vote by the Costa Rica legislature to invite the United States military into its territory was a bomb unto itself for many, prompting viral Internet coverage and even an anti-military rally or "Gran Manifestación contra la Presencia Militar en Costa Rica" in front of the former San José military fortress (Cuartel Bellavista) that is now the National Museum (Museo Nacional de Costa Rica).

Even though Costa Rica’s own democratically elected government from the president on down chose this course of action by an almost unanimous vote, the citizens and foreign residents had a lot to say and constitutional court challenges are more than likely to follow.

As a matter of fact, Costa Rica abolished its military in 1949 with constitutional Article 12:

English translation: "Military forces may only be organized under a continental agreement or for the national defense; in either case, they shall always be subordinate to the civil power: they may not deliberate or make statements or representations individually or collectively.”

But does this prohibit the elected representatives of the Costa Rican people from entering into agreements with foreign militaries for defense or support of internal security problems? Probably not. The 1999 to present U.S.-Costa Rica “Joint Agreement” is standing proof that such security force treaties will most likely withstand a court challenge whether it is in its current form or a modified version after court review.

Conspiracies are only theories until they come true … especially when history teaches us that governmental decisions too often are not made in the best interests of the public as a whole. That said, some of the conspiracy theories floating around this ‘military invasion’ are fairly interesting:

• Costa Rica is re-instituting their military to keep out Rush Limbaugh.  [aka: The OxyContin Theory]
• The U.S. in maintaining the appearance of combating the flow of drugs is actually protecting established CIA drug trade routes by cracking-down on competing freelance operations that don’t pay the expected cuts or protection fees.
• The electricity went out again at Jurassic Park.  [aka: The Jurassic Park was Really Filmed in Costa Rica Theory]
• The U.S. is borrowing money from China to fund military operations. China is an ally of North Korea and bedfellows with Russia, Iran, Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. China is attempting to influence Central American countries with financial advantages like Costa Rica’s 200 free police cars and new National Stadium. The U.S. has a large military presence sitting in the Pacific looking at China. Do the math. [aka: The “Renminbi” or “Yuan” Theory]
• The ever imperialistic United States is putting itself in a position to take over countries throughout the Americas one-by-one using anti-drug trafficking as an excuse for military bases and troops.
• They're gonna nuke the gulf oil spill so they’re moving all the ships South. As for the coastal population, they’re gonna study the effects. Nothing to worry about.
• NATO has ordered the forces relocated away from the Gulf of Mexico for fear the BP oil disaster is about to rupture the fracture zone between the North American and Caribbean plates potentially unleashing a catastrophic methane earthquake/tsunami. [aka: The Big Fart Theory]
• The U.S. is either getting ready to invade Venezuela to remove Hugo Chavez from power or just make him “behave” while an Iran offensive is launched.
• After conducting its successful coup d’état in Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya, the Obama administration is now bent on ousting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Costa Rican Vice President Luis Lieberman, a noted Zionist, has arranged for Israeli special forces to participate in operations directed against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua.
• Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla was heard saying the influx of Marines is to “provide a boost to lagging sex tourism" in this country where prostitution is legal.  [aka: The U.S. Economic Stimulus Package Theory]

Or one could go with a theory much less fun but a little more rational:

“There is not going to be any convoy of 46 warships. There will be small groups of 4 to 5 ships rotating through the area on both coasts for a month or two at a time. They will do training and drug intervention while they are down there. As one group rotates down another group will return to the U.S. With the water of the northern Gulf of Mexico restricted due to the oil spill they cannot train there. There are a number of small cargo and fishing boats down there that never seem to transport enough cargo or even carry fishing gear but always have the money to pay for fuel. The DEA has agents in every port down there and have been watching these ships for years. That is the target.” –ANNED

As for points of view, these too are subjective.

With Cost Rica promoting itself as a peaceful, green paradise to tourists and investors … a large U.S. military presence can send the wrong signals to potential vacationers and those that relocated or are considering making the move to a country that is supposedly conflict free.

While some are comforted in knowing their beach is protected by the occasional Navy or Coast Guard ship manned by highly trained personnel. Others get sick to their stomachs if a boat in the distance resembles anything other than a Carnival Cruise ship.

Business owners benefiting from several thousand sailors and marines on shore leave might not have the same opinion as a yoga/raw food retreat that doesn’t appreciate the new low flying helicopter interruptions.

Some peace activists that feel "where there is an army, there is violence" will never like this situation.

But please keep this in mind regardless of any opinion on U.S. political policy or Costa Rica’s decision to allow U.S. military forces within its territory; those in uniform are part of a brave, volunteer, highly trained force that unselfishly go anyplace in the world where they are needed – whether it is for disaster responses, humanitarian missions or conflict resolutions.

These men and women deserve respect and will hopefully find Costa Rica a hospitable destination during their deployment.

¡Pura Flota!