Oscar Arias, the ex-leader of Costa Rica and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, mentioned that his U.S. visa was rescinded without any clarification provided, just a few weeks following his criticism of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
This week, Arias received an email from the US State Department stating, “New information has emerged suggesting that you might not qualify for your visa.”
The message stated that Arias would need to submit a new visa application if he planned to visit the United States.
The individual, who is 84 years old, stated on Wednesday that he was unaware of the reasons behind the revocation of his visa. However, he admitted that Washington might not have been pleased with his remarks regarding Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine, the trade disputes between the United States and China, or Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Arias, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his work in ending civil conflicts in Central America, recently drew parallels between Trump’s behavior and that of a Roman emperor.
“Smaller nations have always found it challenging to oppose the U.S. government, particularly when their leader acts akin to a Roman emperor, dictating directives to the global community,” Arias stated in a social media posting back in February.
Following the U.S.’s decision to revoke the visas of three Costa Rican legislators who were against President Rodrigo Chaves’s decree excluding Chinese companies from participating in the nation’s 5G network—a step urged by Washington—he made remarks on social media.
This week, yet another political opponent from the Central American country experienced the revocation of their US visa.
On Wednesday, following Trump’s announcement of a series of tariffs targeting numerous trading partners, which included a 10% tax on goods coming from Costa Rica, Arias spoke out against this move and stated that it was illogical.
“History bears witness,” stated Arias, who served as the President of Costa Rica twice, first from 1986 to 1990 and then again from 2006 to 2010.
Empirically speaking, you can observe that nations with more open economies and greater freedom of trade are the ones that have experienced higher growth and managed to enhance their conditions relatively quickly.
The ex-president of Costa Rica mentioned that he wasn’t troubled at all by the choice made by Washington to take away his visa.
He mentioned, ‘The United States has already bestowed upon me 93 honorary degrees.’
“They won’t be offering me anything else. My primary motivation for visiting the United States was to receive those doctoral degrees. I would have preferred if this hadn’t occurred since I hold great admiration for that country and its people,” Arias stated additionally.