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Laura Fernandez Takes Office in Costa Rica With Hard-Line Crime Pledge

A rare single-party majority gives her the runway to push Bukele-style security changes.

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves speaks during a press conference with president-elect Laura Fernandez in San Jose, Costa Rica, on February 4, 2026. (REUTERS/Mayela Lopez)
Costa Rica's president-elect Laura Fernandez takes part at a press conference with President Rodrigo Chaves at the presidential house, in San Jose, Costa Rica, February 4, 2026. REUTERS/Mayela Lopez/File Photo
Police officers detain a protester ahead of the inauguration of Laura Fernandez, who has cited iron-fisted Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as a model for tackling crime
Right-winger Laura Fernandez was sworn in as president of Costa Rica on a promise to crack down on drug-related violence

Overview

  • Fernandez, inaugurated Friday in San José, vowed a “war without quarter” on organized crime and tapped Gerald Campos as security minister.
  • She installed predecessor Rodrigo Chaves in dual cabinet roles as minister of the presidency and minister of finance in what her team calls a government of continuity.
  • Her Sovereign People party holds 31 of 57 legislative seats, positioning the new government to rush judicial and policing changes.
  • Costa Rica is building a maximum-security prison modeled on El Salvador’s CECOT complex, which rights groups say has seen torture, mass trials, and denial of food, medical care, and legal aid.
  • The crackdown follows record homicides linked by U.S. officials to cocaine routes that turned Costa Rica into a logistics hub, a stark test for a nation that abolished its army in 1948.