Costa Rican President Laura Fernández said Friday that prospective U.S. ground operations on her country's soil against international criminal organizations would be very good for national security.

Speaking to Reuters, Fernández clarified that no concrete plans for such operations are in the works and that any deployment would require approval from the Legislative Assembly. She noted that the topic had come up in conversations with Washington several months earlier, during which she outlined the legal channels Costa Rica would need to follow.

"It would obviously be very good for national security if it were about pursuing a common objective against transnational crime, transnational drug trafficking, transnational terrorism," Fernández said.

The right-wing populist president, who took office in May after succeeding Rodrigo Chaves, has made cracking down on organized crime a central priority. Costa Rica has experienced a sharp rise in drug-related violence in recent years. The homicide rate reached a record 17.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, double the level from a decade prior. Recent data show homicides declined 14 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

Costa Rica has long cooperated with the United States on security issues, including joint maritime patrols and the presence of DEA and FBI personnel. Fernández has welcomed deeper collaboration to target cartel leaders operating across borders.

Any U.S. troop deployment would face constitutional hurdles. Costa Rica abolished its standing army in 1948, and the constitution requires legislative consent for foreign forces to enter the territory.

Fernández has not sought a state of emergency or suspension of constitutional guarantees to address crime, despite her tough-on-crime platform during the campaign.