New Mexico develops partnership with Costa Rica

By 1st Lt. Amanda Straub
New Mexico National Guard

The New Mexico National Guard recently hosted a delegation from their State Partnership Program country, Costa Rica. They included Janina de Vecchio Ugalde, Costa Rica’s minister of public safety, Marcela Chacon, the vice minister of public safety, and Col. Erick Lacayo, chief of the Costa Rican Police Force. (Photo courtesy of the New Mexico National Guard)
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Santa Fe, N.M., (1/23/09) - A diplomatic delegation from Costa Rica recently visited the New Mexico National Guard as part of the State Partnership Program.

In addition to touring National Guard facilities and discussing future training opportunities with the Guard, the delegation visited the New Mexico State Police Academy, the Youth ChalleNGe campus in Roswell, the state capital, and Washington Middle School in Albuquerque, N.M., where the National Guard’s Drug Demand Reduction program is going strong.

Maj. Gen. Kenny C. Montoya, the adjutant general for the New Mexico National Guard, said the visit was important to maintain local safety and security.

“It is, perhaps, even more important to develop friendships with our neighbors than with countries on the other side of the globe,” he said. “Making friends with the countries and people close to us is absolutely vital to regional security.”

The visiting delegation consisted of Janina de Vecchio Ugalde, Costa Rica’s minister of public safety, Marcela Chacon, the vice minister of public safety, and Col. Erick Lacayo, chief of the Costa Rican Police Force.

“This was really a successful trip,” Ugalde said. “It gave us the opportunity to be sure we can work closer together in more levels to be successful.”

The partnership between New Mexico and Costa Rica began in 2006 and continues to evolve as both partners find new ways to learn from and assist each other.

On this trip to the United States, delegates from Costa Rica were particularly interested in evaluating National Guard and state police recruiting and training programs as well as anti-drug programs for teenagers.

“The things we learned from your police are really important,” Ugalde said, “But your program here with teenagers is really a great example. We want to make life better for our teenagers, to show them that they can be a valuable part of society.”

The Costa Rican Department of Public Safety will work closely with the New Mexico National Guard as they develop anti-drug programs for youth in Costa Rica.

“Why reinvent the wheel when it is already rolling around on your streets?” Chacon asked. “There are many programs and projects we would like to take home, like your counterdrug program in the middle school, recruiting programs and the curriculum at the police academy.”

In April, the country of Costa Rica will host a company from the New Mexico National Guard’s 1-171st General Support Aviation Battalion, as part of an international, joint training exercise.
The exercise, called Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias, involves four Central American countries besides Costa Rica, servicemembers from all branches of U.S. Southern Command, and is the largest Central American exercise that New Mexico has participated in since forming the partnership with Costa Rica.

“I think there are many opportunities for both Costa Rica and New Mexico to work together on joint operations and humanitarian missions,” Chacon said.

The Costa Rican Department of Public Safety will also share information about its advanced seismic code with New Mexican emergency officials in order to assist the state in developing its own seismic code.

“This is truly an opportunity for both Costa Rica and New Mexico to benefit each other,” Ugalde said. “We have great professors and an excellent seismic code; at the same time we have experience with fighting drugs that can be very useful to you.”

The State Partnership Program is a national diplomatic program that links U.S. states with foreign nations to promote regional security and open trade markets as well as humanitarian, peacekeeping and counter-drug operations.

The New Mexico National Guard and the country of Costa Rica will continue to develop their partnership based on mutual respect, common heritage, and shared goals for the benefit of both partners.

“I was very touched by the spirit of service to the public that the police and National Guard have,” Lacayo said. “Your commitment to the community is something that the Costa Rican police and the National Guard have in common and it touched me deeply.”

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