The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs learned today, September 18, through press reports, of the surprising statement made by Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister, Manuel Tovar Rivera, to the Miami Herald, that “a break in diplomatic relations” with Cuba has occurred, something that has never been formally notified by the authorities of that country to the Cuban government.
As was duly reported, on March 17, 2026, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship informed our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by means of a Diplomatic Note and without providing any explanation, of its unilateral decision to close that country’s Embassy in Cuba. In addition, it requested that Cuba, without any justification and invoking an alleged and unfounded reciprocity, withdraw the diplomatic personnel from its Embassy in San José and retain only consular and administrative staff.
On that occasion, the then Costa Rican Foreign Minister, Arnoldo André Tinoco, informed the Cuban Foreign Ministry that those decisions “did not signify a break in diplomatic relations.”
Likewise, Institutional Communication 076-2026, published by the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry on March 18, 2026, under the title “Closure of the Embassy of Costa Rica in Cuba and Withdrawal of Cuban Diplomatic Personnel from Costa Rica,” makes no mention whatsoever of a formal break in diplomatic relations with Cuba.
The fact that Costa Rica’s current Foreign Minister chose to share with a media outlet in South Florida information concerning an alleged break in relations of which the Cuban government is completely unaware suggests that we are witnessing another act of subordination by the Costa Rican government to the policy of the United States against Cuba.
Havana, September 18, 2026