Laura Fernández fired her foreign minister for attending the American Shield conference in New York.
Published September 24, 2026
Costa Rica’s President Laura Fernández has dismissed, without notice, Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar, who attended a US-led regional security summit with President Donald Trump, an inaction that prevented her own participation and caused serious strategic damage to the country’s interests, the government claims.
Fernandez said he should have attended a meeting of President Trump’s Shield of the Americas anti-cartel coalition in New York. The coalition says its mission is to combat drug trafficking and organized crime throughout the region.
The Costa Rican government said Tovar attended the president, a conservative ally of Trump, “without prior notice or notice.”
The conference, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, was also attended by several right-wing Latin American presidents. The 15 coalition member states issued a joint statement announcing their intention to impose asset freezes, visa restrictions and pursue criminal charges against members and supporters of 24 criminal organizations.
The rally was the administration’s latest effort to rally the region behind a more aggressive approach to drug trafficking. Since returning to office last year, Trump has designated cartels as foreign “terrorist” organizations and ordered dozens of attacks on ships in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that U.S. officials say are carrying drugs destined for the United States.
Costa Rica, a tourist haven long seen as a beacon of stability in Latin America, is facing a surge in drug-related violence.
Mr. Tovar declined to comment on his dismissal, saying only that he thanked Mr. Fernández, who has been in power since May last year, for including him in his cabinet.
Indiana Trejos, Costa Rica’s current Minister of Foreign Trade, has been appointed Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and will take over the role upon her return from duty at the United Nations General Assembly.
