Full Breakdown
Costa Rica Fires Foreign Minister Over Unapproved Attendance at U.S. Security Summit
By Drooid · · How we work
Dismissal of Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar
President Laura Fernández announced the immediate termination of Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar after he represented Costa Rica at the U.S.-led “Shield of the Americas” security summit in New York without prior notification. The administration said the omission prevented Fernández from attending the high-profile event and caused “great strategic damage” to the country’s interests.
Background: Shield of the Americas Meeting
The summit, convened by U.S. President Donald Trump, gathered representatives from more than a dozen Latin American and Caribbean nations to discuss drug trafficking, illegal mining and other regional security challenges. It was held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Costa Rica, which maintains no standing armed forces, sent Tovar as its delegate. The meeting was part of a broader U.S. effort to label cartels as foreign “terrorist” organizations and to increase pressure on narcotics networks.
Official Statements & Responses
Fernández stated that she should have been the one to attend the meeting and that Tovar’s failure to seek her approval “blocked her own participation” and inflicted “significant strategic damage.” She later explained at a public event in Golfito that the invitation had not been properly forwarded to her, prompting an apology for missing the summit. The Presidential Office described Tovar’s handling of the invitation as negligent. Indiana Trejos Gallo, the current Minister of Foreign Trade, was named acting foreign minister and is expected to assume the role permanently after returning from her own UNGA assignment.
Data & Statistics
- Tovar had served as foreign minister for 139 days, the shortest tenure since the founding of Costa Rica’s Second Republic in 1948, according to La Nación.
- He previously held the foreign-trade portfolio for four years under former President Rodrigo Chaves.
Verbatim Quote
“There are errors that cannot be overlooked,” — Laura Fernández, president