US Revokes Visas for Costa Rican Newspaper Board Members

The United States Department of State revoked tourist visas for five of the seven board members of La Nación, Costa Rica's leading national newspaper. The affected individuals include board chairman Pedro Abreu Jiménez, Vice Chairman Luis Javier Castro Lachner, and directors Carmen Montero Luthmer, Luis Carlos Chaves Fonseca, and Daniel Lacayo Abreu. The U.S. government cited confidentiality laws and provided no prior formal notice or detailed explanation for the decision.

La Nación described the move as an attempt to pressure the outlet due to its critical reporting on President Rodrigo Chaves, specifically investigations into sexual harassment allegations and illegal campaign financing. Press freedom organizations, including the Inter American Press Association and the Costa Rican Journalists Association, condemned the action as a threat to editorial independence and democratic norms.

The revocations follow a pattern of U.S. visa cancellations targeting critics of the Chaves and Trump administrations, including former President Óscar Arias and legislative president Rodrigo Arias. These restrictions accelerated after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Costa Rica and pledged cooperation with Chaves, who has aligned his government with Donald Trump by accepting third-country deportees and closing the Costa Rican embassy in Havana. President Chaves was scheduled to hand over power to President-elect Laura Fernández on Friday, May 8.