Embassy of the United States of America San José, Costa Rica Press Office Tel: (506) 519-2000     Fax: (506) 232-7944 http://usembassy.or.cr

Introduction

The Unites States and Costa Rica signed a cooperative agreement to help suppress the flow of illicit drugs through the coastal regions of Costa Rica in December 1998.  The agreement was ratified by Costa Rica and signed into law by President Miguel Angel Rodriguez in October 1999.

The accord, which has come to be known in Costa Rica as the “Joint Patrol” agreement, commits the two countries to work together in a variety of ways to suppress drug trafficking by sea and air.

Drug trafficking is not only a problem for the United States. Consumption of drugs in Costa Rica, particularly crack cocaine, has risen sharply in recent years.  This is partly because traffickers use narcotics to pay their local collaborators, who then sell the drugs to local customers.  Drug trafficking brings money laundering, and can also bring corruption when traffickers attempt to buy influence.  Drug traffickers show no respect for national boundaries or fundamental principles of national sovereignty.  Virtually all countries are victims of the corrosive effects of the production, distribution and consumption of illicit drugs, and the laundering of drug money.

Drugs such as cocaine are produced in South America and are transported through a zone that is six million square miles in size.  The transit zone includes the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.  The U.S. Coast Guard believes that two-thirds of the illegal drug traffic moving through the region does so on boats, including small coastal freighters, fishing vessels and the small swift vessels called "go-fasts."

The U.S. experience has showed that bilateral agreements are the best way to fight illicit maritime narcotics traffic. These agreements preserve the partner nation's sovereignty and its jurisdiction, while deterring the abuse of its vessel registry, territorial sea and airspace by drug traffickers.

Elements of the Maritime Agreement

The U.S.-Costa Rica agreement provides for increased intelligence sharing and coordination in counterdrug activities.  It permits Costa Rican law enforcement personnel to embark on U.S. vessels as “shipriders” and authorizes U.S. vessels to pursue suspected traffickers in Costa Rican territorial and international waters.  Similarly, U.S. law enforcement personnel are permitted to be shipriders on Costa Rican vessels, to provide advice on pursuit and boarding of suspect vessels and to coordinate with U.S. elements.  In exceptional “hot pursuit” situations, the agreement allows U.S. law enforcement vessels to pursue, stop and secure a suspect vessel while awaiting the arrival of Costa Rican authorities.  The Government of Costa Rica has primary jurisdiction over all suspects apprehended in its territorial waters, and assets seized in Costa Rican territory will be disposed of in accordance with the laws of Costa Rica.

Increased U.S. Assistance

With the signing of the agreement, the U.S. is committed to making its best efforts to obtain additional material assets and training for Costa Rica in its fight against drug traffickers.  The U.S. will donate a former U.S. Coast Guard ship that will patrol the waters of the country’s Pacific coast.  Teams of experts from the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies are providing training courses and technical assistance in areas such as marine safety, equipment maintenance and renovation of Costa Rica’s naval facilities.

Other Benefits

In addition to improved drug interdiction, the agreement will provide closer coordination between U.S. and Costa Rica in life-saving search and rescue operations, and will enhance the enforcement of environmental and fishing regulations in territorial and international waters.

The United States has comprehensive bilateral maritime counterdrug agreements with the Governments of nine other Caribbean nations.  These include Dominican Republic, Belize, Dominica, Nevis/St. Kitts, Antigua/Barbuda, St.Vincent/Grenadines, St. Lucia, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago.  Haiti, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are considering similar agreements with the United States.

Related articles:

Spanish text of U.S.-C.R. Counter-Narcotics Maritime Agreement ('Patrullaje Conjunto')