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Security & Strategic Review - August 2026
COSTA RICA: Moving on hardline promises
Since taking office in May, Costa Rica’s new government led by President Laura Fernández, the protégée of her predecessor, conservative populist Rodrigo Chaves (2022-2026), has announced various security measures as well as progress regarding the construction of a new maximum-security prison, Centro de Alta Contención de la Criminalidad Organizada (Cacco). Inspired by the notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) in El Salvador constructed under Fernández’s ally, authoritarian President Nayib Bukele, the new jail forms the centrepiece of her hardline stance. The government’s new measures and its commitment to forging ahead with Cacco are in line with Fernández’s election-winning campaign pledge to tackle insecurity, with Costa Rica having faced soaring homicides in recent years, attributed to the presence of drug trafficking organisations [SSR-26-02]. It is the latest sign of the pivot from security policies pursued under Chaves’ predecessors, which had focused on social prevention and increasing the police presence.
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