Costa Rica Is Wary of Plans to Allow U.S. Naval Ships to Dock on Its Shores for Anti-Drug Missions

A U.S. warship capable of deploying more than 1,000 military personnel and dozens of helicopters is headed right for Costa Rica’s peaceful Caribbean coast. In July, Costa Rica's legislative assembly approved a U.S. request for permission to dock 46 warships and 7,000 military personnel, mostly for narcotics missions in Costa Rican territory, sparking outrage among skeptics of the global war on drugs, including outspoken politicians, pacifists, student groups and everyday "Ticos", who are proud of their country’s six decades without a military. In short, it’s been an outright public relations disaster.