Costa Rica minister fired for unapproved meeting with Trump in US

Laura Fernandez dismissed the foreign minister over his attendance at “Shield of the Americas” meeting in New York.

Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez has fired Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar after he attended a US-led regional security summit with United States President Donald Trump without notifying her, an omission the government has said blocked her own participation and caused major strategic harm to the country’s interests.

Fernandez said that she should have been the one to attend the meeting of Trump’s anti-cartel “Shield of the Americas” alliance in New York. The coalition says its mission is to combat drug trafficking and organised crime across the region.

Tovar attended “without giving prior notice or informing” the president, a conservative Trump ally, of his participation, Costa Rica’s government said.

Several right-wing Latin American presidents also participated in the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Fifteen coalition members issued a joint statement declaring their intent to impose asset freezes and visa restrictions and seek criminal liability for members and supporters of 24 criminal organisations.

The gathering 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” organisations and ordered dozens of strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that US officials say were carrying narcotics bound for the US.

Costa Rica, a tourist haven that has long been seen as a beacon of stability in Latin America, is grappling with a surge in drug-related violence.

Tovar avoided commenting on his dismissal and simply thanked Fernandez, in power since last May, for including him in her cabinet.

Indiana Trejos, Costa Rica’s current Minister of Foreign Trade, has been named acting foreign minister and will assume the role upon returning from her mission at the UNGA.