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

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

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The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

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The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.