The president of Costa Rica, Laura Fernández, ordered on Monday, June 23, 2026, to remove seven police directors from their positions of trust after they failed the polygraph test, in which they were asked questions about drug trafficking and whether they had received illicit benefits in the exercise of their positions.
The president indicated that she ordered the Minister of Security, Gerald Campos, to cease the appointments of trust and the Elite Force group created to confront organized crime to seven of a total of 33 directors who did not pass the polygraph test.
“The seven trusted directors were immediately removed from their positions and I additionally instructed a preliminary investigation that will be conducted from my office against each of them. They were asked questions about organized crime, drug trafficking and whether they have received illicit benefits in the exercise of their positions. Compatriots, I will be relentless in fighting corruption and cleaning up Costa Rica,” Fernández stated.
During the Administration of President Rodrigo Chaves (2022-2026), the Polygraph Law was approved, in which a new statute was established that allows the use of the polygraph in the police and national security forces, to combat corruption and determine whether candidates for these positions are competent.
Costa Rica, a country of 5.1 million inhabitants and which has not had an Army since 1948, entrusts security to the Public Force, which is made up of around 15,000 troops.
Drug trafficking and the violence associated with this phenomenon has become the main security problem in Costa Rica, a country that in recent years has recorded historic numbers of homicides linked, for the most part, to the fight by drug trafficking gangs.
According to data from the state-run Costa Rican Institute on Drugs (ICD), in 2025 authorities seized a total of 46.5 tons of cocaine, the second highest figure in the country’s history, only surpassed by the 47.1 tons in 2020.
In recent years, the country has intensified its ties with the United States in terms of security and the fight against this scourge, and last March it joined the regional initiative of US President Donald Trump, called “Shield of the Americas”, which aims to defeat drug cartels.
