U.S. Cancels Visa of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Oscar Arias

Former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias says the United States has revoked his visa. Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said he was notified of the revocation shortly after publicly criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump—comparing Trump’s conduct to that of a Roman emperor, Vanessa Buschschlüter reported for BBC News.

Arias reportedly received what he described as a "terse" email from U.S. authorities notifying him of the revocation. I Photo: Oscar Arias Sánchez

The 84-year-old, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending conflicts in Central America, said the U.S. government gave no explanation for the decision. However, he hinted that it might be related to his diplomatic outreach to China during his presidency from 2006 to 2010.

Speaking at a press conference in San José, Arias said he had “no idea” what prompted the cancellation.

He received what he described as a "terse" email from U.S. authorities notifying him of the revocation.

While he believes the decision may not have come directly from Trump, he suspects the U.S. State Department was involved. “I established diplomatic relations with China,” Arias said.

“That, of course, is known throughout the world.”

In a social media post from February, he added: “It has never been easy for a small country to disagree with the U.S. government—less so when its president behaves like a Roman emperor, telling the rest of the world what to do.” He continued: “During my time in government, Costa Rica never received orders from Washington as if we were a banana republic.”