Content area
Full Text
Costa Ricans are proud of their history of avoiding war and living in peace. By presidential decree, Costa Rica disbanded its military on December 1, 1948, following abrief civil war. The Constitution of 1949 prohibited the formation of a standing army and required neutrality in international conflicts. Abolition Day is celebrated as a national holiday each December 1 .
In 2003, then-president Abel Pacheco yielded to intense United States pressure and allowed Costa Rica to become part of the "coalition of the willing," which supported the invasion of Iraq. Doing so violated the Costa Rican Constitution. Roberto Zamora, a law student at the time, brought a case to the Supreme Court (Sala FV) to remove Costa Rica from the coalition. He prevailed and Costa Rica withdrew.
The comedian Jon Stewart of The Daily Show joked that Costa Rica had not sent any troops or other resources, but when they withdrew, the U.S. had to return two bombsniffing toucans. Despite the joke, Costa Rica's participation in the coalition carried great symbolic weight and damaged its national pride and its reputation as a neutral, peace-loving nation.
COSTA RICA & THE U.S. COAST GUARD AND NAVY
Costa Rica has been also been enlisted in the war on drugs, because of its location on the route between Colombia and the U.S. Since 1998, Costa Rica has allowed the U.S. Coast Guard to patrol its waters and dock in its ports. This Joint Maritime Agreement was initially acceptable because the Coast Guard was part of the Department of Commerce. The Costa Rican Legislative Assembly must renew the permission every six months. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard was placed under the Department of Defense, making it part of the military and thus making its presence a violation of the Costa Rican Constitution. Members of the Legislative Assembly challenged the renewal of the permission, but their numbers were too few to stop it.
The U.S. reactivated the Navy's fourth fleet in the Caribbean in 2007 and requested permission to sail into Costa Rican waters and ports in 2010. The Costa Rican Legislative Assembly voted to allow up to 46 Navy warships and...