QCOSTARICA – The Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea (SVA) – Costa Rica’s Air Surveillance Service -has mechanics, pilots, and policemen training in the Aviation Program that the United States Government provides, through the INL, to the SVA of Costa Rica.

Yuriana Arnesto, the first certified female UH-1ST helicopter pilot in Costa Rica

The Government of the United States is an undoubted ally of Costa Rica, thanks to this the SVA has the Aviation Program, which is taught through the Office for Anti-Narcotics Affairs, Security Citizenship and Justice (INL) of the U.S. Embassy.

This alliance has achieved that Costa Rica has the first certified female UH-1ST helicopter pilot, Yuriana Arnesto Segura, since she is an official of the SVA.

Arnesto, 32, joined the SVA in 2011, performing various police functions in air surveillance.

The UH-1ST helicopters arrived in Costa Rica in 2019 aboard a Globemaster C-17 from the United States, while the Aviation Program started that same year. This is how Arnesto became the first female aviation captain of the UH-1ST helicopters.

This Costa Rican showed her pride in serving Costa Rica and indicated that: “It fills me with great emotion and pride, it is a great effort of many years of training and making an effort to achieve this great step that I took as a professional in the Air Surveillance Service. This was a goal, a dream that I wanted with all my heart. I thank God, my family and the Government of the United States because thanks to them I have been able to train myself and serve my country”.

The INL Aviation Program from 2019 to date has been training SVA mechanics, pilots, technicians and police officers.

INL director, Mr. Robert Alter, commented that: “We at the US Embassy, under the leadership of Ambassador Telles, are all dedicated to building a world in which there are more and better opportunities for women and girls. We are very proud to be partners with the Air Surveillance Service and the Ministry of Public Security in this effort. And we are particularly proud of Captain Arnesto’s achievement in becoming pilot in command, the first female pilot in command for the SVA (in the UH-1ST helicopters), we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the SVA and many more successes.”

Source: United States Embassy, San José, Costa Rica