Former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has announced that his United States visa has been revoked, coming just weeks after he publicly criticised President Donald Trump.
Speaking at a news conference in San José on Wednesday, the 84-year-old statesman said he received a “terse email of a few lines” from the US government informing him of the decision but providing no explanation for the action.
“I have no idea what the reason for the cancellation was,” Arias told reporters. He speculated that the decision likely came from the State Department rather than directly from President Trump.
Arias, who served as president from 2006 to 2010, suggested the revocation might be related to his diplomatic decisions during his presidency. “I established diplomatic relations with China. That, of course, is known throughout the world,” he said, referring to his 2007 decision to cut ties with Taiwan in favour of recognising China.
The timing of the visa revocation has raised questions, as it follows Arias’ social media post in February criticising the US-Costa Rica relationship. In that post, Arias wrote that “it has never been easy for a small country to disagree with the US government, less so when its president behaves like a Roman emperor, telling the rest of the world what to do.” He added that “during my governments, Costa Rica never received orders from Washington as if we were a banana republic.”
The Trump administration has taken a firm stance against China’s growing influence in Central America and has praised current Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves for excluding Chinese firms from the country’s 5G development.
Arias is not alone in facing such measures. Three members of Costa Rica’s national assembly who opposed President Chaves’s decree on Chinese 5G exclusion have also reportedly had their US visas cancelled.
Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts in negotiating peace agreements to end armed conflicts throughout Central America.
Featured image: Reuters/Mayela Lopez
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