Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday pledged U.S. support to bolster Costa Rica’s cybersecurity defenses, 5G telecommunications infrastructure, and its battle against narcotics.
Rubio made the statement at a joint press conference with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves, whose Central American nation faces more than 100 million cyberattacks annually.
“It’s very serious — 110 million cyberattacks a year for a country of this size — it’s extraordinary, and they have faced it very bravely,” Rubio told reporters in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital.
In late 2024, local media reported that Costa Rican officials, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, identified cyber intrusions by criminal groups in China targeting the country’s telecommunications and technology system, an allegation the Chinese Embassy in Costa Rica denied.
In August 2023, Chaves issued a decree regulating 5G mobile network development, limiting involvement to companies based in signatory-states to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime — an international treaty addressing cybercrime.
San Jose should be lauded for being “very firm,” Rubio said, against companies “backed by governments like the government of China that likes to threaten, that likes to sabotage, that likes to use economic coercion to punish you.”
VOA has reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment but has not yet received a response.
US aid waiver
Rubio also vowed that Washington wouldn’t “eliminate foreign aid” but prioritize assistance for trusted partners and allies. He pledged continued cooperation with Costa Rica, offering FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration support to investigate drug trafficking to the U.S.
“We issued a waiver today because Costa Rica” has used U.S. aid effectively to fix problems that also benefit the United States, Rubio said. “They’re stopping drugs, they’re stopping criminals, they’re identifying terrorists.”
The State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance has not responded to VOA’s inquiry for further details on the waiver.
Rubio’s five-nation tour across Central America and the Caribbean marks his first major diplomatic mission as secretary of state, with key priorities including curbing illegal immigration into the U.S. and combating drug trafficking.
On Tuesday afternoon, the secretary arrived in Guatemala following discussions with leaders from Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica. He is scheduled to travel to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
