LIMON – Teddy bears and medical supplies replaced ammunition and weapons onboard the USS Iwo Jima, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault vessel specially outfitted for a humanitarian aid mission. The ship has been docked in Costa Rica's Caribbean port city of Limón since last week.
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| Landing Pad: The USS Iwo Jima last week carried helicopters and equipment for refurbishing two Limón schools, as well as a medical contingent to attend to patients for minor surgeries and other treatment. |
Francesco Vicenzi | Tico Times |
During the 10-day visit, doctors, aid workers and engineers have worked to provide medical care to 1,000 people a day, renovate two schools, and collaborate with local police in disaster relief training.
Despite the visit's humanitarian mission and the local mayor's “open-arms welcome,” the reception wasn't all the ship's crew might have hoped for. On the day of its arrival, twenty people stood on shore, protesting the presence of a warship in a country that has been without armed forces since 1949.
The demonstration was the latest event in what has been an ongoing public relations headache for the U.S. Embassy here. In late July, a handful of legislators questioned the validity of the Joint Maritime Agreement; a 10-year-old pact that allows the United States to make use of Costa Rican territory to counter drug trafficking.
Under the agreement, the United States can bring military ships involved in operations to combat drug trafficking through Costa Rican waters and periodically use its ports to refuel and restock on supplies.
But what was supposed to be a routine vote to renew the agreement quickly ballooned into a high-profile controversy in Costa Rica, complete with exaggerated headlines in the local press and Internet sites, including “46 Warships to Invade Costa Rica” and “7,000 Marines Headed to Costa Rica.”
A group of Costa Rican legislators sent the agreement to the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, questioning the legality of the document and calling for a change in how the country responds to drug trafficking.
U.S. Helicopters in the Central Valley? |
The 5 o'clock flyover of three military helicopters last Sunday afternoon was a bit of surprise to people in the Central Valley, who are not accustomed to seeing military equipment in this army-less country.
The helicopters belong to the United States Navy's USS Iwo Jima, docked at the Caribbean port town of Limón on a 10-day humanitarian aid mission. According to the U.S. Embassy, the helicopters were training local agencies in disaster preparedness and were also transporting sailors and marines to the Juan Santamaría International Airport for emergency leave. |
Peace activists and left-wing organizations have joined the controversy as a means to voice their anti-military – and in some cases anti-U.S. – views, hoping to make it clear that the Marines and Navy aren't wanted here.
Last weekend, in the sweltering customs house of the Limón port, Costa Rica's Vice Minister of Security Mauricio Boraschi emphasized that the visit of the USS Iwo Jima was not connected with the controversial agreement.
“This visit is unrelated to the Joint Maritime Agreement,” he said. “This is a very different mission. It is a humanitarian mission.”
The visit was requested by former President Oscar Arias in 2009 in order to give residents of Costa Rica's impoverished Caribbean region the benefit of the aid and medical services offered by the U.S. The stop in Costa Rica is part of a larger campaign known as Continuing Promise 2010, which is also providing assistance in Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Suriname and Guyana.
At least 2,500 crew members, including 1,000 sailors, 500 marines, 150 medical providers and 100 volunteers from various nongovernmental organizations make up the mission. All are bunking aboard the 800-foot, 10-year-old warship.
During Iwo Jima's first day in port, Amparo Morales, 43, stood outside the school being used to interview and examine patients, hoping to get an operation for a hernia that's bothered her for three years.
“Although I'm not in pain, it does bother me,” she said. “I a m very happy that it could go away after this week.”
Dinora Méndez, 48, who was waiting in line next to Morales, was hoping to see someone about her vision, which she says hasn't been addressed effectively by the local public health clinics or the hospital. “We appreciate what they are doing here. It's good work,” she said, nodding toward the school and the medical tents.
Commander Cyrus Rad, a doctor of optometry and the site's medical leader, said he expects many visitors will be arriving to seek second or third opinions. Like Colombia (where the ship docked last), he said Costa Rica has one of the stronger health care systems in the region.
“We are aiming to do surgical procedures that are not too complicated, but not too easy either, in order to help the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time,” he said.
After a screening onshore, patients requiring surgery will spend a night or two onboard the Iwo Jima, where they will undergo the operation. While the ship's medical detail sees to patients, engineers and volunteers will visit the Westfalia and Hone Creek schools south of Limón to undertake a few improvements.
The USS Iwo Jima received special permission to dock from the Legislative Assembly while the existing maritime agreement is being reviewed by judges. Meanwhile, according to Boraschi, the controversy in San José hasn't suspended operations to control drug trafficking offshore.
“The agreement continues to be in effect,” he said. “We are continuing to apply it. The decision of the Constitutional Court is a very specific issue, but it is not, in anyway, affecting the exercise of the joint patrol (agreement).”
clong@ticotimes.net
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