Costa Rica was pulled into a U.S. political dustup after Kristi Noem named our country, along with El Salvador, as one of Washington’s closest allies in South America, apparently overlooking that both nations are in Central America.
The exchange came during a Newsmax interview with Greta Van Susteren in a segment posted June 11. Van Susteren asked Noem, “Who’s our best friend in South America at this point?” Noem answered by pointing first to El Salvador, citing migration cooperation and third-country agreements, before also naming Ecuador, Argentina and Costa Rica.
The answer quickly spread and the mistake turned what was meant to be a discussion of U.S. alliances into a geography backlash, especially because Noem was speaking in her new role tied to Washington’s regional security strategy.
Noem, the former U.S. homeland security secretary, is now serving as U.S. special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a Trump administration initiative focused on migration, organized crime and drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. In the interview, she framed the initiative as a way to build closer security cooperation with governments aligned with U.S. priorities.
The comment also put Costa Rica and El Salvador back in the spotlight because both our countries have become important pieces of the Trump administration’s Latin America policy.
In Costa Rica, Noem’s connection is tied to a March 2026 migration agreement signed during her transition from homeland security secretary into the Shield of the Americas envoy role. The agreement, signed by then-President Rodrigo Chaves and Noem, allows Costa Rica to receive up to 25 third-country nationals expelled from the United States each week.
Costa Rican officials said the arrangement does not require the country to accept every proposed transfer. Public Security Minister Mario Zamora said Costa Rica would process arrivals under national migration law and coordinate assistance with the International Organization for Migration.
The first group of 25 deportees arrived at Juan Santamaría International Airport in April. Costa Rican migration authorities said they included citizens of Albania, Cameroon, China, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kenya and Morocco. Under the agreement, migrants receive initial assistance, including food and lodging, while they decide whether to seek a legal path in Costa Rica or enter a voluntary return program.
El Salvador has been even more central to the U.S. deportation push. In March 2025, Noem visited El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT, where Venezuelans deported from the United States were being held. The visit became one of the most visible symbols of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policy and drew criticism from human rights groups overdue process and detention conditions.
Noem’s answer appeared intended to praise countries cooperating with Washington on migration and security. Instead, critics focused on the regional error. As of yet, Noem had not issued a public correction in the sources reviewed.
