SAN JOSE, March 18 (Reuters) – Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves said on Wednesday his administration did not recognize Cuba’s government as legitimate and would close the Cuban embassy in its capital San Jose.
“Costa Rica does not recognize the legitimacy of Cuba’s Communist regime, given the mistreatment, repression, and undignified conditions endured by the inhabitants of that beautiful island,” Chaves said at an event attended by the U.S. ambassador.
“We must cleanse the hemisphere of Communists,” Chaves added.
U.S. President Trump signaled this week he expected to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba in some form.”
His administration has imposed an oil blockade on the Caribbean’s largest island, contributing to widespread blackouts that have knocked out power across homes, hospitals and businesses.
The shortages have also battered transport, including Havana’s trash collection system, and pushed some residents to turn to solar panels for power.
Ecuador earlier this month also closed its Cuban embassy, after declaring Cuban Ambassador Basilio Gutierrez and his diplomatic staff “persona non grata.”
Ecuador and Costa Rica’s presidents were among a raft of right-wing-aligned Latin American presidents to attend an anti-crime summit Trump hosted in Florida this month, known as “Shield of the Americas”.
(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo, Editing by Daina Beth Solomon)
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