The United States revoked the visas of multiple board executives at La Nación, Costa Rica’s leading independent newspaper, the publication disclosed on Sunday, triggering fresh accusations that the Trump administration and its allied Costa Rican government are using immigration restrictions to punish critics and political opponents.
In a front‑page statement, La Nación’s board of directors said the affected members learned they had been stripped of their U.S. visas only from reports in pro‑government media. The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the revocations. “We fully recognize that the United States, like any sovereign state, has the power to determine the terms of entry into its territory,” the newspaper said. “However, it is unprecedented in Costa Rica’s recent history for visas to be revoked from members of the board of a general‑interest and independent newspaper.”
La Nación has long been a thorn in the side of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, a conservative leader who has cooperated extensively with the Trump administration, agreeing to accept up to 100 third‑country deportees a month and facilitating the extradition of suspected drug traffickers. Chaves, who will hand over power to his successor on Friday, has repeatedly berated the newspaper since it published allegations of sexual harassment during his 2022 presidential campaign.
The visa revocations prompted swift condemnation from press freedom organizations and opposition figures in Costa Rica. “If this decision is based on their critical stance toward this government, it would be yet another troubling signal for our democratic system,” the groups said in a joint statement, adding that failing to provide transparent information would “constitute an unacceptable form of complicity.”
Mauricio Herrera, a journalist and former Costa Rican communications minister, went further, telling the Associated Press that “there is no doubt that the cancellation of visas for its board of directors is in response to a request from the Costa Rican government.” He said the sanction “seeks to intimidate those who dare to dissent and exercise their freedom of expression.”
The episode is the latest in a string of high‑profile visa cancellations. Last year, the U.S. revoked the visa of Nobel laureate and former President Óscar Arias, an outspoken critic of Trump, and that of his brother, then‑legislative president Rodrigo Arias, who said he believed the decision was made at Chaves’s request. Opposition lawmakers Francisco Nicolás and Cynthia Córdoba, both vocal critics of Chaves, also had their U.S. visas canceled in recent months, as did Constitutional Court Judge Fernando Cruz, an advocate for migrant rights who was unable to travel to the U.S. to receive an award from Northwestern Law School.
Chaves, whose aggressive governing style has drawn criticism for eroding democratic norms, leaves office on Friday, handing power to President‑elect Laura Fernández. The State Department has not commented on any of the visa cancellations.