Overview
- Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco said the break is operational, with Costa Rica shutting its embassy in Havana and requiring Cuban diplomatic staff to depart San José by the end of March except for consular officers.
- Costa Rica will route services for its nationals in Cuba through its embassy in Panama, while Havana may keep consular staff to serve roughly 10,000 Cuban residents in Costa Rica.
- Chaves framed the decision on human rights and ideology, stating Costa Rica does not recognize the Cuban government’s legitimacy and declaring the need to “clean the hemisphere of communists.”
- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the decision as an unfriendly act taken under U.S. pressure and said it lacked justification, echoing a statement from Cuba’s Foreign Ministry.
- The move follows Ecuador’s expulsion of Cuba’s ambassador earlier this month and comes as the United States increases pressure on Havana, with President Trump suggesting he may “take” Cuba and policies described as an oil blockade contributing to island-wide blackouts reported this week.