r/worldnews • u/sighbourbon • 7h ago

Costa Rica’s President Says US Government Already Operates on Costa Rican Soil

https://ticotimes.net/2026/10/16/costa-rica-president-us-operations-dea-fbi
359 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

117

u/IronyElSupremo 6h ago

Actually has since after 1948 when Costa Rica constitutionally banned their own permanent military, but has enjoyed close relations with the U.S. since 1851 and, beyond being it’s largest trading partner, … security support is implied.

Costa Rica has universal healthcare, free education even paying to send students abroad, etc.. but not really a welfare state as everyone is required to have a job. Pretty interesting socioeconomic experiment imho.

14

u/derpbynature 3h ago

How do they require them to have a job? A quick Google search said that's not true.

What happens if someone is unemployed - is it like a legal offense? What about retirees?

13

u/IronyElSupremo 3h ago

Could have been my source down there misinterpreting their strong labor protections .. most employment is done by contract apparently with “just cause” firing (coming to the office drunk, etc..); work is required for health, social security, and disability coverages.

11

u/derpbynature 3h ago

Oh, I see. I think I misinterpreted your "everybody has to have a job" phrase in the original comment. It just kinda makes it sound like some dystopia where it's illegal to be unemployed. Seems like it's not, fortunately.

I did some brief research myself, and it agrees with what you're saying now - that Costa Rica has strong legal protections and labor laws for employees and a strong social security program.

Something I Googled up was that any employment over 90 days has to be under contract and not "at will."

•

u/Own-Librarian-9699 21m ago

They also are net zero energy use. Wind turbines creates more energy than they use.

0

u/HackermanCR 2h ago

No one is required to have a job lol

34

u/Interesting_Berry439 6h ago

Always has, but low profile. They used to send fbi plants to get Tax evaders and people running from the law.

27

u/CombatRedRover 5h ago

...duh?

Costa Rica literally does not have a military. Or, to put it another way, Costa Rica has the most leveraged military in the history of humankind.

8

u/HackermanCR 2h ago

But we have narcotraffic and organized crime :)

7

u/ArchiStanton 2h ago

It’s important to diversify

-21

u/old-legs-623 7h ago

This seems likely to only increase under the Drumph-Putin accord.

24

u/SoftDreaam 7h ago

There’s a big difference between cooperating with the FBI and DEA and allowing foreign military forces to operate on your soil. People need to understand that distinction.

5

u/Previous-Space-7056 4h ago

Fernández said a strict collaboration protocol with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began under the previous administration

-20

u/ContessaChaos 7h ago

Of course they do.

-19

u/VirtualRy 7h ago

Are we (US) the baddies now?

-26

u/ContessaChaos 7h ago

Of course we are. Always have been.

21

u/Hm46290 6h ago

The DEA operates there under an agreement with the government of Costa Rica. But good for you for choosing to not read the article so you can make dramatic statements.

-21

u/djollied4444 6h ago

If you know anything about the history of US foreign intervention it's pretty clearly not a dramatic statement.

8

u/Hm46290 6h ago

It is not a relevant statement given the content of the article in this post.

-15

u/djollied4444 6h ago

I'm not sure you know what the word "always" means

8

u/Hm46290 6h ago

I bet there’s a lot you’re not sure of.

-9

u/djollied4444 6h ago

Yes. Just like literally every human in existence. Doesn't change the fact that US intervention especially in Central and South America has rarely been good for those countries.

0

u/[deleted] 6h ago

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-25

u/Ahdahn 6h ago

Nah fuck the yanks