Public Forces of Costa Rica education and culture. Costa Rica maintains Police Guard forces. The museum "Museo Nacional de Costa Rica" was placed in the "Cuartel Bellavista" as a symbol of commitment to culture. In 1986, President Oscar Arias Sánchez declared December 1 as the "Día de la Abolición del Ejército" (Military abolition day) with Law #8115. Unlike its neighbors, Costa Rica has not endured a civil war since 1948. Costa Rica maintains small forces capable of law enforcement, but has no permanent standing army. In 1996, the Ministry of Public Security established the "Fuerza Pública" or Public Force, a gendarmarie which reorganized and eliminated
Foreign relations of Costa Rica Peace Agreement and Arias was awarded the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Arias also promoted change in the USSR-backed Nicaraguan government of the era. Costa Rica also hosted several rounds of negotiations between the Salvadoran Government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), aiding El Salvador's efforts to emerge from civil war and culminating in that country's 1994 free and fair elections. Costa Rica has been a strong proponent of regional arms-limitation agreements. Former President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez recently proposed the abolition of all Central American militaries and the creation of a regional counternarcotics police force in