Q COSTARICA — Washington’s increased presence in Latin American affairs has been noticeable since President Donald Trump began his second term last January.
The most recent example was the intervention in Venezuela to remove dictator Nicolás Maduro from power and try him for narcoterrorism and international drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, in the political and electoral arena, Trump has already done so in Argentina and, more recently, in Honduras, with direct messages in favor of candidates and political groups during the electoral campaigns that tipped the scales in these countries.
In the case of Argentina, Trump directed messages of support toward the La Libertad Avanza party of President Javier Milei in the legislative elections last October; he also threatened to withhold millions of dollars in economic aid to the South American nation if the party lost.
A month later, a similar situation arose in the Honduran presidential elections. In this case, he ended up supporting Nasry Asfura, of the traditional right-wing conservative National Party, asserting that he “was the only true ally of freedom in Honduras,” while also pardoning former president Juan Orlando Hernández, accused of drug trafficking and belonging to the same party as Asfura.
And Costa Rica?
Three weeks before the presidential elections, the United States has remained on the sidelines of any political pronouncements regarding the elections.
However, experts at the Universidad Nacional (UNA) — National University — do not rule out the possibility that Trump will make some political statement regarding the elections.
“There is a global trend of conservative leaders influencing the electoral processes of other countries; therefore, it would not be surprising if, in the case of Costa Rica, Trump expresses some support, especially through his social network (Truth Social), in the electoral process, offering the possibility of increasing assistance or cooperation programs if the ruling party wins,” stated Carlos Murillo, an academic at the School of International Relations at the UNA.
For his part, José Andrés Díaz, from Idespo-UNA, emphasized that the second Trump administration is resuming a more interventionist policy toward Latin America.
“This new tension could translate into diplomatic, economic, or even security pressure on Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, creating the conditions to influence political processes directly or indirectly,” the academic stated.