U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica raises pride flag

The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica has raised a rainbow flag in commemoration of Pride Month.

“The diversity in our experiences, perspectives and contributions makes our local community stronger,” said Chargé d’Affaires Gloria Berbena. “This diversity also makes our institutions, including this Embassy, stronger.”

The Embassy said the flag “underscores the Department of State’s commitment to expanding US engagement on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex human rights issues abroad.”

In the United States, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City.

Costa Rica typically hosts a pride parade on the last Sunday of June. In 2019, at the country’s 10th annual Pride Parade, President Carlos Alvarado joined tens of thousands of Ticos in a march through San José.

The 2020 and 2021 diversity marches were canceled due to Covid-19.

The pride flag at the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica comes at the authorization of the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. He reversed a Trump administration policy that rejected Embassies that asked to raise the flag, according to The New York Times.

The U.S. State Department says Embassies can now “determine [if] such a display is appropriate in light of local conditions.”

The flag at the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica will be flying for the rest of the month.