San Jose, Costa Rica — The United States has revoked the visas of several board officials in La Nación, including one of costa rica Major media outlets have made new allegations that the US – in collusion with the ally Costa Rican government – is stripping visas to punish critics and political opponents.
In a statement published on the front page of the newspaper on Sunday, the board of directors said the affected members first learned from pro-government media reports that they had been stripped of their visas to enter the US.
La Nación has long been a thorn in the side of outgoing people costa rican president Rodrigo Chaves, a close associate US President Donald Trump Which has agreed to accept 100 third country deportees a month As part of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase deportations.
The newspaper, which Chaves has drawn condemnation from since publishing sexual assault allegations during his 2022 presidential campaign, said the US did not provide any reason for revoking the visas.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We fully believe that the United States, like any sovereign state, has the power to determine the conditions of entry into its territory,” La Nación said. “However, the cancellation of visas from board members of a general-interest and independent newspaper is unprecedented in the recent history of Costa Rica.”
The move appears to mark the latest example of the Trump administration deployment immigration restrictions punish it political enemyAnd there was sharp criticism from the political opposition and press freedom organizations in Costa Rica, which demanded that Costa Rican and US officials provide an explanation for what happened.
“If this decision is based on his critical stance towards this government, it would be another troubling sign for our democratic system,” the organizations said in a statement. He said failing to provide transparent information would be “an unacceptable form of consent.”
Mauricio Herrera, a journalist and former Costa Rican communications minister from 2015 to 2018, went a step further, saying, “There is no doubt that the cancellation of visas for its board of directors is in response to a request by the Costa Rican government.”
“This sanction seeks to intimidate those who dare to dissent and exercise their freedom of expression,” Herrera told The Associated Press.
In Costa Rica, where there are aggressive people, visas of many high-profile individuals have been canceled governance style Conservative President Chávez has been criticized for destroying democratic norms.
Last year, U.S. Visa canceled Nobel laureate and former President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias, a vocal critic of President Trump, as well as his brother, then-Legislator President Rodrigo Arias, who said he believed the US decision was made at Chavez’s request.
Oppose MPs — like Francisco Nicolás of the centrist National Liberation Party and independent Cynthia Córdoba, both known for their outspoken criticism of Chávez — also had their U.S. visas canceled in recent months, as did Constitutional Court Judge Fernando Cruz, a migrant rights lawyer who last month found himself unable to travel to the U.S. to receive an award from Northwestern Law School.
Chaves, who has cooperated extensively with the Trump administration get exiled Will leave office on Friday to extradite more suspected drug smugglers from other countries to the US hand over power to his successor, Newly elected President Laura Fernandez.
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Associated Press writer Isabel Debré in Buenos Aires, Argentina contributed.
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