Costa Rica President: U.S. forces would help national security

By Alvaro Murillo

SAN JOSE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez said on Friday that U.S. ground operations in the Central American nation would be good for national security, 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.

A right-wing populist who took office in May, Fernandez campaigned on a hardline anti-crime platform and 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 a wave of violence fueled by drug trafficking and organized crime.

(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Emily Green)