US Cancels Tourist Visas for La Nación Board Members
The US State Department has revoked tourist visas for more than half of the board members of Costa Rica’s leading national newspaper, La Nación. The newspaper has been a critical voice against the country’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, who is also an ally of former US President Donald Trump.
During Rodrigo Chaves’s 2022 presidential campaign, La Nación published several articles documenting allegations against him. The paper also reported on related controversies surrounding his political career.
Since assuming office, Chaves has been openly critical of La Nación, accusing the newspaper of being “despicable press” and “political assassins.” He has also targeted the newspaper financially by withdrawing a contract for an event space operated by the organisation’s parent company.
At the same time, Chaves has strengthened his ties with the US administration. Last month, the Costa Rican leader agreed to accept up to 25 deported migrants per week from the US. Chaves also participated in Trump’s Shield of the Americas initiative at the Costa Rican embassy in Havana.
Now, these close ties between the two governments appear to have resulted in La Nación’s board members being barred from entering the US.
“This is completely unprecedented,”said Pedro Abreu, the president of the board of La Nación, via email.
“We see it as an indirect attack on press freedom because of the effect it can have on an independent media outlet and on those who have the institutional responsibility to protect it.”
Abreu stated that five of the paper’s seven board members had their visas revoked, while the other two hold passports from countries that do not require a visa to enter the US.
Analysts warn that this move by Washington could have an immediate chilling effect on political discourse in Costa Rica.
“It’s extremely serious,”said Felipe Alpízar, the coordinator of the Observatory of American Politics at the University of Costa Rica.
“It’s the United States eroding the foundations of political discussion in Costa Rica, of freedom of expression, of freedom of the press.”
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The members of La Nación’s board are the latest in a series of Costa Ricans targeted by Washington.
“This didn’t happen in a vacuum; there’s a persistent pattern,”said Mauricio Herrera, a former Costa Rican communications minister.
“There’ve been a number of individuals whose visas have been revoked because they are political opponents or critics of the government.”
Washington has also banned Rodrigo Arias, the president of the Legislative Assembly and a supreme court justice, who is the brother of former president Luis Guillermo Solís.
The visa restrictions began shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Costa Rica last year and praised Chaves for a decree that effectively barred Chinese companies from participating in Costa Rica’s 5G network rollout.
Rubio told Chaves:
“We’re going to try to work in cooperation with you, to impose costs on those within the country who use their positions of authority to undermine the interests of the people of Costa Rica.”
Weeks later, opposition members who had criticised Chaves’s decree found their US visas revoked.
Chaves will step down later this week and be replaced by his handpicked successor and mentee, Laura Fernández.
Analysts fear that attacks against the opposition will intensify under Fernández’s presidency.
Herrera expressed concern:
“My fear is that in the near future they will revoke visas of opposition members of parliament and the rectors of public universities. I would like to think that this is going to stop, but nothing indicates that it will.”
