Civil Guard (Costa Rica)
Encyclopedia
Civil Guard of Costa Rica
was a gendarmerie
type force responsible for both limited national defense and internal security missions.
The Guardia Civil was the largest branch of the Fuerza Pública (Public Force) and was responsible for the defense of the nation in addition to its law enforcement duties.
and coast guard
. As formed, it was intended to have a very limited military capacity but have a primary internal security function. Its strength was initially 1,200, which remained relatively stable until the mid-1970s when it increased to 2,000. With its increased size came a tendency to assume a more military role.
The Civil Guard was organised along military lines and was deployed in seven provincial companies. Roughly 40 percent of the Civil Guard was deployed in or near the capital of San José
. The units included the Presidential Guard
approximating battalion size, and a Security battalion which combined 1st and 2nd Companies. The 3rd Company, which functioned as a strategic reserve, a depot and a training unit, was also the size of a small battalion.
Other Civil Guard units included the Traffic Force, a nationwide highway patrol
, and the Investigationes, a detective force. Since 1963, all personnel have been trained at the National Police School with others undergoing training in the United States or at the School of the Americas in the Panama Canal Zone
.
The police functions of the Civil Guard were basically confined to the national and provincial capitals with the policing of rural towns and villages being the responsibility of the Rurales
(Rural Assistance Guard).
The only recent operations of the Civil Guard were during the Nicaraguan Civil War and during the Contra War.
In 1996, the Ministry of Public Security
was established controlling the Fuerza Pública or Public Force which was subsequently reorganized and eliminated the Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard, and Frontier Guards as separate entities; they are now under the Ministry and operate on a geographic command basis performing ground security, law enforcement, counter-narcotics, and border patrol functions.
s acquired in the mid-1970s — was obsolete or obsolescent.
Equipment known to be held includes M1 Garand
rifles, Browning Automatic Rifle
s, Browning M1919 machine guns, all in .30 inch and Thompson submachine gun
s. Costa Rica is not known to possess any mortars, artillery, or anti-tank weapons.
The Civil Guard Volunteer Reserve follows the strength of the regular force with equipment available for 10,000.
Caribbean
Pacific coast
, two Cessna 180
's and three Cessna U-17's. Three DHC-3 Otter
s were later acquired as were two Bell 47
helicopters.
During the 1960s and 1970s the Air Section mostly acquired helicopters; two Sikorsky S-58s, one FH-1100, two Hughes 269C's and two Bell UH-1B
s. By 1980 one Piper Seneca, two Piper Aztec
s and three Piper Cherokee
s were obtained. By the early 1980s the Air Section operated seven small fixed-wing aircraft and five helicopters.
and three battalions:
Plus:
There was also a 3,000 man National Reserve, the General Staff and enough equipment, mostly small arms, for 10,000 reservists.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
was a gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
type force responsible for both limited national defense and internal security missions.
The Guardia Civil was the largest branch of the Fuerza Pública (Public Force) and was responsible for the defense of the nation in addition to its law enforcement duties.
History
The Civil Guard was founded in 1949 and combined the functions of an army, air force, navy, national policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and coast guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
. As formed, it was intended to have a very limited military capacity but have a primary internal security function. Its strength was initially 1,200, which remained relatively stable until the mid-1970s when it increased to 2,000. With its increased size came a tendency to assume a more military role.
The Civil Guard was organised along military lines and was deployed in seven provincial companies. Roughly 40 percent of the Civil Guard was deployed in or near the capital of San José
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
. The units included the Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard may refer to:*Evzones, the Greek Presidential Guard, formerly the Royal Guard.*Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard Brigade...
approximating battalion size, and a Security battalion which combined 1st and 2nd Companies. The 3rd Company, which functioned as a strategic reserve, a depot and a training unit, was also the size of a small battalion.
Other Civil Guard units included the Traffic Force, a nationwide highway patrol
Highway patrol
A highway patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is primarily concerned with such duties.Duties of highway patrols or traffic...
, and the Investigationes, a detective force. Since 1963, all personnel have been trained at the National Police School with others undergoing training in the United States or at the School of the Americas in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
.
The police functions of the Civil Guard were basically confined to the national and provincial capitals with the policing of rural towns and villages being the responsibility of the Rurales
Rurales
Rurales was the name commonly used to designate the Mexican Guardia Rural : a force of mounted police or gendarmerie that existed between 1861 and 1914...
(Rural Assistance Guard).
The only recent operations of the Civil Guard were during the Nicaraguan Civil War and during the Contra War.
In 1996, the Ministry of Public Security
Ministry of Public Security
Ministry of Public Security can refer to:* Ministry of Public Security of Burundi* Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China* Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica* Ministry of Public Security of Israel...
was established controlling the Fuerza Pública or Public Force which was subsequently reorganized and eliminated the Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard, and Frontier Guards as separate entities; they are now under the Ministry and operate on a geographic command basis performing ground security, law enforcement, counter-narcotics, and border patrol functions.
Equipment
The attempted invasion of Costa Rica from Nicaragua in 1955 demonstrated the need of maintaining a self-defence ability so the Civil Guard has maintained a quantity of light infantry weapons and support weapons. Despite its official abolition of its military, between 1950 and 1970 Costa Rica accepted 1.8 million USD in military aid and 113,000 USD in surplus equipment from the United States. However, in 1981, the Costa Rican government stated that all military equipment on hand — including a small number of M113 armored personnel carrierM113 armored personnel carrier
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
s acquired in the mid-1970s — was obsolete or obsolescent.
Equipment known to be held includes M1 Garand
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
rifles, Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...
s, Browning M1919 machine guns, all in .30 inch and Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
s. Costa Rica is not known to possess any mortars, artillery, or anti-tank weapons.
The Civil Guard Volunteer Reserve follows the strength of the regular force with equipment available for 10,000.
Coast Guard
The Civil Guard Coast Guard was established in 1949 and initially consisted of a 90 foot launch on each coast and a rescue tug on the Caribbean, and three small boats were later added in the mid-1950s. by 1980 six launches were added to the force, one 100 ton and five of 36 tons. By the mid 1980s the Coast Guard was as follows:Caribbean
- 1 large patrol boat
- 5 small patrol boats
- 1 rescue Tug
Pacific coast
- 3 small patrol launches
Air Section
An air section was initially added during the 1955 invasion but most if not all of its aircraft were written off shortly after the closing of hostilities. No further combat were acquired. Other aircraft included one Beech C-45, one Cessna 170Cessna 170
|-See also:-External links:* *...
, two Cessna 180
Cessna 180
The Cessna 180 is a four- or six-seat, fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which was produced between 1953 and 1981. Though the design is no longer in production, many of these aircraft are still in use as personal aircraft and in utility roles such as bush...
's and three Cessna U-17's. Three DHC-3 Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger aircraft.-Design and...
s were later acquired as were two Bell 47
Bell 47
The Bell 47 is a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Based on the third Model 30 prototype, Bell's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young, the Bell 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946...
helicopters.
During the 1960s and 1970s the Air Section mostly acquired helicopters; two Sikorsky S-58s, one FH-1100, two Hughes 269C's and two Bell UH-1B
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
s. By 1980 one Piper Seneca, two Piper Aztec
Piper Aztec
-Accidents and incidents:*On 18 April 1974, Aztec G-AYDE was involved in a ground collision with BAC One-Eleven G-AXMJ at London Luton Airport after the pilot of the Aztec entered the active runway without clearance. He was killed and his passenger was injured...
s and three Piper Cherokee
Piper Cherokee
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of light aircraft designed for flight training, air taxi, and personal use. It is built by Piper Aircraft....
s were obtained. By the early 1980s the Air Section operated seven small fixed-wing aircraft and five helicopters.
Regional organization
The Civil Guard was an all volunteer force commanded by a Colonel as Director. The Civil Guard acted as an municipal police and a military force. There were over 6,000 men in the Civil Guard and they were organized into seven small battalion-sized companies, one per province, They were:- AlajuelaAlajuelaAlajuela is the second largest city in Costa Rica after the capital, San José. It is also the capital of the namesake province. Because of its location in the Costa Rican Central Valley, Alajuela is nowadays englobed in the conurbation of Great Metropolitan Area...
- CartagoCartagoCartago is the name of at least three different places:* Cartago Province, Costa Rica* Cartago, Costa Rica, capital of the province of Cartago* Cartago, Valle del Cauca, Colombia* Cartago, California, United States-See also:*Special:Allpages/Cartago...
- GuanacasteGuanacaste ProvinceGuanacaste is a province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern part of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. To the north it borders Nicaragua. To the east is the Alajuela Province, and to the southeast is the Puntarenas Province. It is the most sparsely populated of all the...
- HerediaHeredia ProvinceHeredia is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country. As a result, the province covers areas as diverse as the agriculture rich Northern plains of San Carlos as well as the more metropolitan areas like the city of Heredia located in the Central Valley...
- LimónLimónPuerto Limón, commonly known as Limón , is the capital city and main hub of Limón province, as well as of the cantón of Limón in Costa Rica. It has a population of about 60,000 , and is home to a thriving Afro-Caribbean community...
- PuntarenasPuntarenasPuntarenas is the capital and largest city in the province Puntarenas, Costa Rica, at the Pacific coast. The eponymous and oddly shaped province has its largest section in the South, far from the capital.Some 100,000 live in the city and close towns...
- San JoséSan José, Costa RicaSan José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
and three battalions:
- Presidential GuardPresidential GuardPresidential Guard may refer to:*Evzones, the Greek Presidential Guard, formerly the Royal Guard.*Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard Brigade...
- Northern Border Security Battalion aka Border Patrol (Patrulla Fronteriza)- 750 men operational on the Nicaraguan border, formed in May 1985 by combining 1st and 2nd companies.
- COINCOINCOIN can refer to:* Climate Outreach and Information Network*Collaborative Innovation Networks*Counterinsurgency*Coin...
or Counterinsurgency Battalion
Plus:
- Special Intervention Unit (Unidad de Intervenciones Especiales) (UIE). Established in the mid-1980s and is between 60 and 80 men strong. Tasked with hostage rescue, VIP protection and conducting high-risk criminal raids and arrests. The unit makes use of 11-man assault teams, each divided into subteams of 3-4 men each. In addition, they have a small sniper element used for observation and fire support. The UIE is located in the 1st Civil Guard facilities in San José. They have received a great deal of training from a wide variety of sources, including Israel, Panama, USA, Argentina, and Spain.
- Coastguard of 250 with several patrol boats
- Air Unit with a dozen light aircraft and helicopters
There was also a 3,000 man National Reserve, the General Staff and enough equipment, mostly small arms, for 10,000 reservists.
External links
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública.
- El Espíritu del 48: Abolición del Ejército A brief history of the abolition of the military in Costa Rica.
- http://www.fas.org/asmp/campaigns/smallarms/lainven.html