Q COSTARICA — Fabián Silva, lawyer and advisor to President-elect Laura Fernández, publicly raised the possibility of establishing U.S. military bases in Costa Rica as part of a strategy to combat drug trafficking and organized crime.
The proposal was made during an interview with the media outlet ¡OPA!, in which the constitutional lawyer suggested the presence of United States armed forces at strategic points in the country.
“Establish U.S. military bases in Limón, Puntarenas, and Guanacaste, and start allowing them to capture those drug lords and take them to the United States. We shouldn’t have that mafia, that filth, in Costa Rica,” Silva, one of the members of the “technical group”, stated.
The advisor argued that strengthening criminal prosecutions against criminal organizations could lead to a displacement of criminal groups to Costa Rica, given the pressure in other countries in the region.
“Look what happened in Mexico. A militarily powerful state, with a tremendous army facing a drug lord—do you think that when they start going after all those criminals… they’re going to come to Costa Rica, because it’s a paradise of anarchy and impunity?” he added.
According to the lawyer, the country lacks sufficient operational capacity to confront a potential increase in organized crime.
“Will we have the capacity, through our police forces, to contain it? No. So, we have to talk about establishing constitutional reforms, establishing agreements that allow us to have military bases,” he argued.
Legal Team to Promote Reforms
Silva’s statements come in the context of Fernández’s recent presentation of a legal advisory team, with the goal of promoting structural reforms without legal obstacles.
The president-elect announced last week the formation of a group comprised of four highly experienced jurists, who will be tasked with supporting projects such as reforms to the usury law, changes to criminal law to increase penalties, and potential amendments to the Political Constitution.
The advisory team is composed of:
- María Lourdes Echandi, a specialist in public law and former Deputy Attorney General of the Republic.
- Fabián Volio, an expert in constitutional and administrative law with over 30 years of experience.
- Juan Diego Castro, a criminal lawyer and former Minister of Justice and Security.
- Fabián Silva, a constitutional law expert with years of experience analyzing reforms to the Judiciary.
“The time has come to take that step forward and move from diagnoses and constructive analyses to proposals for legal reform. I feel very well supported by them, and I am absolutely certain that the service they will provide to the country is deeply personal and very, very committed to correcting what all Costa Ricans know is very wrong in the country,” Fernández stated when introducing the team.
The potential installation of foreign military bases would require a constitutional reform, and maintain a historical tradition of demilitarization, so the proposal anticipates a high-caliber legal and political debate in the coming months.
The proposal, given that Costa Rica abolished its army in 1948, would require a constitutional amendment, a broad legislative majority that the 31 legislative seats won by the PPSO are not sufficient.
To move forward with this initiative, at least seven opposition legislators would need to join them.
It is still unknown whether Laura Fernández or the rest of the “technical team” supports this proposal.