Costa Rica invites US military to combat drug trade

[Judi Lynn]

Costa Rica invites US military to combat drug trade
Published 09 July, 2010, 04:03

The government of Costa Rica has approved a measure to bring in 46 US warships and 7,000 troops to aid in the fight against drug trafficking.

In 1999, a previous agreement allowed US Coast Guard vessels into Costa Rica. The new agreement, however, brings in warships, helicopters and US Marines.

“Neither the Costa Rican government nor the US government through the ambassador or embassy has really told us what this is all about and what the mission is or what the deployment is. Ultimately it just smacks of something that we don’t know, it’s the unknown and that’s the unknown that is causing a great deal of confusion in anger here in Costa Rica,” said John Holtz in Costa Rica, who is the executive director of the Center for the Studies of Modern Management.

Costa Rica is dependent on its neighbors for military aid. The Latin American nation has no army or military of its own. In the past, it brought in help from Venezuela. However, with relations with Venezuela in decline, the US seemed the next best option.

“They’re sending down just a massive amount of military. It’s sort of like dropping the atomic bomb on a group of ants,” said Holtz.

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