U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced the donation of security equipment valued at more than $13 million to Costa Rica.

The announcement was made during Richardson's Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC) that was hosted by Costa Rica this week.

Richardson arrived in the country on Monday for bilateral meetings with senior Costa Rican government leaders before joining Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security Jorge Torres to co-host CENTSEC.

The series of U.S.- funded security assistance donations are aimed at supporting Costa Rica’s efforts to disrupt transnational criminal organizations.

The donations to the Ministry of Public Security “reflect the United States’ steadfast commitment to Costa Rica as a longstanding security and democratic partner,” Richardson said.

The donation included a security operations command and control system to support the Ministry of Public Security’s goal of establishing a modern and secure network for use in counter-narcotics operations and other critical missions.

Additionally, two unmanned aerial systems, each with three long-endurance Puma drones, which will support the detection, tracking, and disruption of narcotics trafficking and other criminal smuggling activities, as well as border security missions.

A donation to the Air Vigilance Service will fund the purchase of essential parts, tools, software and services to support the maintenance and operational readiness of patrol aircrafts vital to the accomplishment of the organization’s mission.

This week, the security conference was co-hosted by the Ministry of Public Security with U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which sponsors the annual conference.

“There are many security challenges in our hemisphere that rightly demand our attention, so I am personally grateful that through your presence here today you have chosen to make CENTSEC a priority,” said Gen. Laura Richardson. “Your collective presence demonstrates the power of partnership! Our nations were born out of similar circumstances: a desire for self-government, a strong sense of sovereignty, and a yearning for democracy.”

Thirteen nations participated with security leaders and delegations from Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Royal Netherlands, and the United States in attendance.

They were joined by officials and subject matter experts from the Coordination Center for the Prevention of Disasters in Central America and the Dominican Republic (CEPREDENAC), the Conference of Central American Armed Forces (CFAC), Inter-American Defense Board, and the Inter-American Defense College.

The panels for this year’s CENTSEC included plenary sessions on critical infrastructure protection in the cyber domain, climate change and environmental security, and human rights.

In her opening remarks, Richardson referenced those topics and referred to malign nation-state actors such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea along with cyber-criminal groups as increasingly conducting global and regional operations below the threshold of armed conflict.

"They use gray zone techniques to establish access, steal sensitive data, and attempt to influence government and private industry, which violates your sovereign nations and highlights the vital role governments play in safeguarding its citizens and their data,” Richardson said.

SOUTHCOM sponsors CENTSEC to promote and facilitate dialogue and cooperation among regional security partners focused on challenges of mutual concern and shared goals. 

Costa Rica last hosted CENTSEC in 2016.

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