Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil) 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.
The number of initial troops was between 15,000 and 10,000 Civil Guards. At the beginning of the 90s, the Civil Guard had more than 27,000 active troops