The confrontations between China and the United States are also taking place in other parts of the world, and this time it’s Central America’s turn According to the State Department’s announcement on Thursday, visas will be withdrawn for people who have worked for Chinese interests in the region. Furthermore, the measure will also cover family members.
“The United States is committed to countering China’s corrupt influence in Central America and halting its attempts to subvert the rule of law,” said Washington’s diplomatic agency.
The visa restriction will restrict US visas for Central American citizens who “intentionally act on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), knowingly direct, authorize, finance, provide significant support, or carry out activities that undermine the rule of law in Central America.” According to the Washington statement, the measure also includes Central American citizens who have previously participated in such activities.
But since when did Central America become so strategic within the conflict between the United States and China?
A distant conflict reflected in Central America. Analyst Constantino Urcuyo puts two variables on the table to understand the new approach. On the one hand, he argues that any region of the world could have been included in this US interpretation. But there are two fundamental variables to consider.
The first is political influence, because in less than two decades, China has managed to get the entire region—except for Guatemala—to turn its back on Taiwan. “Central America is a key area for them right now. The People’s Republic of China has made significant progress in establishing relations,” he explains.
The other explanation is more geopolitical, as an alternative measure to a potential conflict. “The strategic vision is that if there is a conflict in the Western Pacific, they want to have their backs secured. And their backs secured is the Eastern Pacific, which is us,” he points out.
Wave of visa cancellations has been going on for months
The withdrawal of visas has been in the news in Costa Rica this year. Since the first measures against representatives Johanna Obando and Cynthia Córdoba were announced last February, the diplomatic office in San José has insisted that these are internal decisions, details of which are not provided.
However, in his final message as the United States representative in Costa Rica, the then-outgoing head of the Embassy, Michael Flores, alluded to these decisions for the first time in August.
Upon completing Flores’ appointment, a farewell video was released in which various security issues were discussed. Among them, the issue of visa revocations was mentioned. “We revoke visas for those who pose a threat to the national security or public safety of the United States,” the official said in the video.
It is worth remembering that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously expressed this same stance during his visit to the country. During the February meeting, Washington’s top diplomat had been particularly emphatic regarding possible relationships between officials and technology companies.
“We will strive to work collaboratively with you to identify these individuals who are taking advantage of their positions in the government to undermine the interests of the Costa Rican people and in favor of malicious actors,” he said at the time. These statements were made in the context of the national discussion about the 5G network and the government’s decision to exclude companies from China.
In recent months, Washington has withdrawn this immigration benefit from a group of former presidents, legislators, judges, and political leaders, without offering public explanations for the reasons.
The measure, although discretionary, has generated an immediate political impact. Representatives Obando and Córdoba were the first officials to report the revocation of their visas. Their case became public on February 19.
Those Left Without Visas
Among the most notable cases are those of former president of the Republic and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1987), Óscar Arias Sánchez, who publicly acknowledged the loss of his visa. He was joined by his brother and current president of the Legislative Assembly, Rodrigo Arias Sánchez.
The measure also affected members of Congress, including Vanesa Castro, the current vice president of Congress, and the Liberation Party member Francisco Nicolás. In the judicial sphere, constitutional judges Paul Rueda and Jorge Araya.
Since then, the following have been added to the list of those sanctioned without visas:
Ana Sofía Machuca, ICE auditor
Carlos Mecutchen, former ICE telecommunications manager
Jaime Palermo, former ICE telecommunications manager
Douglas Quesada, former head of network development at ICE
Luis Diego Abarca, ICE telecommunications manager Yang Peng, Huawei representative in Costa Rica
