By Wendy Anders

Yesterday morning, Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security Gustavo Mata Vega together with Costa Rican police officials welcomed a humanitarian mission at the Limón International Airport on the country’s Atlantic coast.

Helicopters from the US Southern Command based in Panama arrived with a 16-person medical team comprised of doctors, nurses, dentists, and other volunteers that will provide free care to residents of the indigenous Piedra Mesa, Telire region of Talamanca, Limón.

Preventive health services, dentistry, pediatrics, ophthalmology, and gynecology will be offered during the weeklong mission, reported the Public Security Ministry. Thirty Costa Rican doctors and nurses will join the mission.

This is the fifth time that such assistance has been organized in Costa Rica by the U.S. Embassy.  The mission, named “Operation Pura Vida,” was set-up at the request of the Costa Rican government, and aims to provide humanitarian and civic assistance, while also promoting diplomatic relations.

Gustavo Mata said that, “for us, humanitarian work, apart from the security work we perform, is essential, for safety must be viewed holistically, and the support from this mission will help generate a healthy and secure environment for the indigenous population.”

Costa Rica’s Air Surveillance Service (SVA) and the Drug Control Police (PCD) have a special relationship with the indigenous population, since their work has allowed them to learn about their needs, and they have brought humanitarian aid to these remote areas for decades, said the Security Ministry.

The ministry is also thankful for the help received each year on a voluntary basis by Dr. Luis Blanco, and his daughter, a dentist, who spend their vacation each year hiking hours through the forest to bring free medical care to some of these remote areas, said the ministry’s press office.