Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Laureate Óscar Arias held a press conference to address the revocation of his U.S. visa. Arias stated that he had no knowledge of the reasons behind the decision. The ex-president acknowledged receiving a “brief” email from the current U.S. administration informing him of the revocation without further explanation.
Speaking from his home, accompanied by his wife, Suzanne Fischel, Arias expressed surprise at the decision. He stated that while he did not know the reasons, he respected the U.S. State Department’s decision. “What I can say is that this was a surprise to me because I don’t know why the State Department made this decision,” he said.
Arias speculated that if the revocation was a response to his criticism of the U.S. government and Donald Trump’s administration, it would not deter him from speaking out. “I don’t know if this is an act of retaliation because I say what I think and write what I say. But if someone is trying to silence me, they will not succeed. The only consequence is that I can no longer travel to the United States,” he added.
Arias also dismissed the possibility that the Costa Rican government played any role in the U.S. decision. “I do not believe the Costa Rican government had anything to do with the visa revocation. I think this was solely a decision by the U.S. government and I respect it. Having a different opinion won’t change their stance. I don’t think any government, especially Costa Rica’s, was involved in this decision,” he said.
Throughout the conference, Arias reiterated that he would not speculate on further reasons for the revocation and would simply respect the decision. “I don’t know if at some point the U.S. government will tell me why they made this decision,” he remarked.
Arias also noted that his experiences with the United States had been overwhelmingly positive, particularly through tributes and awards from universities. He added that he had no immediate plans to visit the country and would not reapply for a visa.
