President Solis orders report on US Army overflight of Costa Rica

A US Army CH-47 Chinook is seen flying over the Lake Arenal area (Amanda TC / FB / ICR News)

September 23^rd, 2015 (ICR News) President Solis requested that the Ministry of Public Security deliver by Wednesday a report on the landing and overflight of five United States military aircraft that occurred on Sunday, without prior approval of Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly, which some lawmakers claim is required under law.

Solis asked the Ministry on Tuesday to investigate whether the presence of the aircraft required the Assembly’s approval and if all legally required authorizations and approvals had been obtained prior to the aircraft entering the country, and if prior agreements or obligations exist in the case of emergency or necessity, saying that there seems to be conflicting information on the matter.

“I am looking very carefully at what happened, who made the decision and what the implications of that are,” President Solis told reporters.

Press Attaché for the US Embassy in San Jose, Alexis Sullivan told ICR News on Wednesday that “the helicopters were doing a routine refueling as part of a regional medical mission and had all the required permits as part of the bilateral agreement between the US and Costa Rica.”

Foreign Minister, Manuel Gonzalez stood by the decision to allow the aircraft into the country. “I do not know why this is receiving so much attention.  The United States informed the Foreign Ministry,” adding that the Chinook and Blackhawk aircraft were not outfitted with weapons.

On Sunday, five US Army aircraft consisting of two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and three UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters stopped to refuel in Liberia.

The aircraft had reportedly departed from a US military base in Soto Cano, Honduras and stopped in Liberia to refuel on their way to Panama.

The aircraft could be seen flying over northern Guanacaste, and it seems they may have even taken a bit of a sight-seeing tour over the Lake Arenal and Arenal Volcano area, where residents reported to ICR News that the aircraft could be seen flying in formation quite low over the area, in some cases just 300 or 400 feet in altitude, according to witnesses.

After heading east and crossing over the northern zone of Costa Rica, the aircraft continued south down the Caribbean coast towards Panama, alarming some Caribbean residents.

Juan Luis Vargas, acting director of the Air Surveillance Service, said that a request by the United States Department of Defense for the landings in Liberia was received by Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry on September 11^th, and that Civil Aviation later approved the request.

Vargas also told reporters that the aircraft were diverted over the country to the Caribbean due to bad weather in the Pacific.

However, some lawmakers said on Monday that as the result of ruling by the Constitutional Court in 2013, that the power to grant such permission rests solely with the Legislature.

“For me its very serious.  Costa Rica has chosen not to have military forces in the country.  The presence of foreign forces in the country [is regulated] in the Constitution,” Rep. Otton Solis (PAC) told La Nacion.

“They [the United States] are violating national sovereignty with military aircraft.  The Attorney General and the Constitutional Court have ruled and have demanded [that such activity] should only be allowed with the permission of the Legislative Assembly,” Rep. Frank Camacho (FA) said, adding that a similar incident occurred late last month when US Army aircraft landed in Palmar Sur.

For his part, Vargas said that Civil Aviation granted authorization under a bilateral maritime agreement with the United States.

The aircraft refueled in Liberia (Air Surveillance Service)

The aircraft refueled in Liberia (Air Surveillance Service)

The US Army helicopters could be seen flying over the Lake Arenal area (Amanda TC / FB / ICR News)

The US Army helicopters could be seen flying over the Lake Arenal area (Amanda TC / FB / ICR News)