STORY: Costa Rica's Laura Fernandez took the oath of office as president on Friday (May 8), with the right-wing politician vowing to wage a war on crime in the small Central American nation, long recognized as a bastion of peace and prosperity.

Fernandez, 39, promised sweeping reforms to the judiciary and existing security laws to bolster security.

Costa Rica, which abolished its military in 1948, has long been famed as one of the region's most peaceful nations even as its neighbors endured violent dictatorships, military interventions and civil wars.

However, its murder rates broke records during the four-year term of Fernandez's predecessor Rodrigo Chaves, which the U.S. attributed to Costa Rica becoming a key transit point for South American cocaine shipments destined for the U.S. and Europe

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA (MAY 8, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PRESIDENT-ELECT LAURA FERNANDEZ ARRIVING AT SWEARING-IN CEREMONY

2. FERNANDEZ BEING SWORN IN

3. PRESIDENTIAL SASH BEING REMOVED FROM OUTGOING PRESIDENT RODRIGO CHAVES AND PLACED ON FERNANDEZ

4. FERNANDEZ AND CHAVES HUGGING

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COSTA RICAN PRESIDENT, LAURA FERNANDEZ, SAYING:

"Dear fellow citizens, Costa Rica can't normalize the shame of seeing its institutions penetrated by crime. We can't accept drug trafficking finding cracks in our system. Costa Ricans—the reform we need runs deep, and we will push it forward."

6. ADDRESS IN PROGRESS

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COSTA RICAN PRESIDENT, LAURA FERNANDEZ, SAYING:

"Soon I will open a mega-prison and one of the most modern police surveillance centers in the world."

8. ATTENDEES

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COSTA RICAN PRESIDENT, LAURA FERNANDEZ, SAYING:

"I am an heir to the conviction summarized by a simple principle: do not slacken. But, fellow citizens, my promise is not only to administer this legacy; my goal is to multiply it and bring it to every corner of Costa Rica."

10. ADDRESS IN PROGRESS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COSTA RICAN PRESIDENT, LAURA FERNANDEZ, SAYING:

"We will strengthen alliances, we will open markets, we will support our producers and bring the best of us to the world: our stability, our talent, our values."

12. ATTENDEES CLAPPING, FERNANDEZ WAVING

13. ATTENDEES

14. VARIOUS OF GUESTS

15. GUATEMALAN PRESIDENT BERNARDO AREVALO WALKING

16. PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT JOSE RAUL MULINO WALKING

17. KING FELIPE VI OF SPAIN WALKING

18. GUESTS GREETING