CISTE counter-terrorism commission is repealed and its coordination is transferred to the Security Council

The Executive Branch repealed the decree that created the Inter-institutional Commission on Terrorism (CISTE) and transferred its coordination to the National Public Security Council. The decision was formalized through Executive Decree No. 45912-MP-RE-MSP-H-JP-MOPT, published in La Gaceta No. 174 on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, page 2.

The regulation, signed by the President of the Republic, Laura Fernández Delgado, and the ministers of the Presidency, Foreign Affairs, Public Security, Finance, Justice and Peace, and Public Works and Transport, repeals in its entirety Executive Decree No. 31659-MP-RE-SP-H-J-MOPT of February 10, 2004, which had created CISTE.

An entity superseded by the new architecture

The decree argues that CISTE was created in 2004 under a historical and operational context different from the current one, and that contemporary dynamics of terrorism, organized crime, money laundering, cybercrime, drug trafficking, and illicit financing demand broader, more technical, and specialized coordination mechanisms.

The Organic Regulation of the Executive Branch, Executive Decree No. 45804-MP-PLAN of May 8, 2026, had already established the National Public Security Council as a high-level political body for the strengthening of citizen security. Therefore, the Executive considers it unnecessary to maintain an additional coordination body that overlaps with the current organization.

Legal basis and signatories

The repeal is based on articles 140 paragraphs 3) and 18) and 146 of the Political Constitution, as well as the General Law of Public Administration (No. 6227) and the General Police Law (No. 7410). The decree was signed by:

• Laura Fernández Delgado, President of the Republic.
• Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Minister of the Presidency and Finance.
• Alexander Peñaranda Zárate, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship.
• Gerald Campos Valverde, Minister of Public Security and of Government and Police.
• Gabriel Aguilar Vargas, Minister of Justice and Peace.
• Efraim Zeledón Leiva, Minister of Public Works and Transport.

The document was issued at the Presidency of the Republic, in San José, on June 23, 2026, and takes effect from its publication in the Official Gazette.

Toward a single security coordination

With this reform, the coordination of the fight against terrorism and organized crime will be concentrated in the National Public Security Council, whose composition is defined in articles 11 and 12 of the General Police Law (No. 7410), expanded with the participation of institutions linked to security, intelligence, migration, the fight against drugs, and the State’s external action.

The Executive justifies the change based on the principles of efficacy, efficiency, coordination, and administrative rationality, seeking to avoid the overlap of agencies and promote an articulated management of security policies.

Impact

The measure reorganizes the institutional architecture of Costa Rican national security by eliminating a body created more than two decades ago and concentrating the response to threats in a single high-level instance. For citizens, it implies a commitment to a more technical and specialized coordination against terrorism, drug trafficking, and transnational organized crime.

Source: La Gaceta — Official Gazette, No. 174, Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Executive Branch, p. 2 (official reference: Executive Decree No. 45912-MP-RE-MSP-H-JP-MOPT, D45912-IN202601120447).