International

Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister, Arnoldo André, considers running to lead the OAS

The Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, Arnoldo André, is considering running for secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) because he does not detect that neither of the two current candidates, from Suriname and Paraguay, has reached an “excited majority” in his favor.

This was stated in an interview with EFE by the Costa Rican diplomat, who attended the Permanent Council of the OAS in Washington on Monday, where the Surinamese Foreign Minister, Albert Ramdin, and the Paraguayan, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, presented their candidacies.

“We feel, from what other countries have also told us, that neither of the two candidacies has reached an excited majority today that favors them with the necessary 18 votes,” he said.

“Costa Rica has said that if there is a need for a third consensus candidate, we can be willing to occupy that responsibility if the others want it,” he added.

According to André, several member states of the OAS have consulted him “with interest” whether he will take that step, but the chancellor said that there is still time left until the March 10 election.

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Regarding the situation in Venezuela, he said that the Government of Costa Rica has been very clear in recognizing “the electoral victory” of the opponent Edmundo González Urrutia and “the defeat of Nicolás Maduro at the polls.”

André recalled that the OAS “is based on a system of democratic government” and remarked that “it is appropriate to insist that all the peoples of the Americas, not only Venezuela, conform to the inter-American system of respect for human rights.”

At the same time, he opined that “dialogue should never be eliminated” with Venezuela and pointed out that “at this time, even if it is not democratic and can be called a de facto government,” the power is held by Nicolás Maduro.

“It is necessary to reopen dialogue and it is necessary for Venezuela to accept the return of its citizens; there are more than seven million Venezuelan citizens who have left their homeland and wish to return,” he said.

The foreign minister concludes his trip to Washington this Wednesday, where he met with officials and congressmen, a few days after Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the new Donald Trump Administration, visited Costa Rica during his tour of Central America in search of migration cooperation.

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“Costa Rica is an ally of the United States,” remarked André, who revealed that Rubio said during his visit that the Costa Rican government has “an adequate migration policy.”

Costa Rica has 5.2 million inhabitants, of which one million are migrants, largely Nicaraguans who left their country, and it is also a land of passage for people heading north.

According to André, his government has been “conversing” for some time with the United States about the possibility of introducing flights to repatriate migrants who are in Costa Rica, as Panama does.

“We have not implemented repatriation flights but we do not rule out that they can be introduced,” said the chancellor, who pointed out that these would be “mainly voluntary” and would never be returned to “politically persecuted.”

Regarding China’s influence in the region, another concern of the Trump Administration, the foreign minister pointed out that Costa Rica has “good and fluid” relations with the Asian giant.

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But he also admitted that there is “a big point of discord” about the deployment of the 5G network, since Costa Rica decreed that the suppliers must be from signatory countries of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, which excludes the Chinese Huawei.

The foreign minister stated that Costa Rica sees “with prudence and patience” Trump’s controversial statements about recovering the Panama Canal or annexing Canada and Greenland to the United States.

According to André, they are “spontaneous manifestations” that are part of the Republican’s “transactional style” to negotiate.

“Hapily, in the case of Costa Rica, in none of the issues we discussed with the Secretary of State there was no discord, so they did not raise any explicit request or complaint,” he said.

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International

Maduro urges UN to intervene for venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador

Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in for a third term in January following his controversial re-election, urged United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to intervene on behalf of Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador after being deported from the United States.

During a broadcast on the state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Maduro claimed these Venezuelans were “kidnapped”, forcibly disappeared, and held in “concentration camps.”

He also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for failing to release the list of migrants deported on March 16, who were allegedly accused of belonging to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, which originated in a Venezuelan prison.

“Reports say there are 238 Venezuelans kidnapped in prisons, in concentration camps, in El Salvador. A week after they were taken and thrown into these camps, neither the U.S. government nor Nayib Bukele have published the list of those they have kidnapped in El Salvador,” Maduro stated, calling it a “forced disappearance.”

International

Canada updates U.S. travel advisory amid immigration policy changes

In a coordinated action with several European allies, Canada has updated its travel advisory for citizens visiting the United States, citing changes in immigration policies and law enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland have issued similar warnings, highlighting stricter border screenings, tighter visa restrictions, and new federal guidelines that particularly affect transgender and non-binary travelers.

These advisories reflect growing diplomatic concerns over how the recent U.S. policy shifts are impacting foreign visitors, especially tourists and long-term travelers. Additionally, this marks a rare instance in which multiple NATO allies publicly warn their citizens about travel to the United States.

International

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to meet with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on friday

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum next Friday.

According to statements made to Fox News, the Trump administration official will travel this week to El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico.

On Wednesday, Noem is scheduled to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, with whom she will tour the mega-prison built to detain gang members in the country.

On Thursday, she will visit Colombia, where she will hold talks with President Gustavo Petro and top law enforcement officials.

On Friday, Noem will be in Mexico, where she is expected to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum and Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente.