Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Laureate Óscar Arias Says U.S. Visa Revoked

Óscar Arias, former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has revealed that his visa to enter the United States has been revoked. The 84-year-old statesman announced the news at a press conference on Tuesday, expressing both surprise and acceptance of the decision.

Arias said he was notified of the revocation via email, a detail confirmed by Miguel Guillén, secretary general of Arias’ National Liberation Party. “I don’t know if the revoking of my visa is the product of some sort of retaliation, because I say what I think and write what I say,” Arias told reporters.

The former president stated that he was unaware of the specific reasons behind the U.S. government’s action but acknowledged that the United States has the sovereign right to grant or deny entry to any individual. “If someone wants to use a reprisal to silence me, well obviously they’re not going to silence me,” Arias added.

In recent weeks, Arias has been openly critical of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration on social media. In one post, he likened Trump to “a Roman emperor” who dictates terms to other nations. In another, he accused Trump and Vice President JD Vance of insulting and threatening Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a contentious White House meeting in February.

Arias’ outspoken remarks have sparked speculation that his criticisms may have played a role in the visa revocation, though no official explanation has been provided. CNN has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment, but no response has been issued as of yet.

Óscar Arias served as President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2010. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his pivotal role in negotiating an end to the violent conflicts that plagued Central America during the 1980s.

Despite the setback, Arias remains resolute in his commitment to speak his mind. “They’re not going to silence me,” he said, reaffirming his dedication to freedom of expression and democratic values.

Transgender athletes open up about suing Trump administration over bans from girls sports

‘We don’t go to sleep in the day and go out at night and drink people’s blood,’ one athlete said

Democratic lawmaker likens trans sports bans to racial segregation
Washington Democratic state Rep. Kristine Reeves compared legislation banning trans athletes from women’s sports to racial segregation during a state House Education Committee session.

Two teenage transgender athletes who are suing President Donald Trump’s administration told The Associated Press about their motivation for the lawsuit.

The two New Hampshire teens, 16-year-old Parker Tirrell and 15-year-old Iris Turmelle, are biological males who have played on girls sports teams for their respective high schools. They and their families originally filed a lawsuit last year to challenge a New Hampshire law prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in girls sports.

In February, after Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from girls sports nationwide, a federal judge granted a request to add the Trump administration to the list of defendants.

Tirrell played girls soccer at Plymouth Regional High School in the fall.

“I just feel like I’m being singled out right now by lawmakers and Trump and just the whole legislative system for something that I can’t control,” Tirrell said. “It just doesn’t feel great. It’s not great. It feels like they just don’t want me to exist. But I’m not going to stop existing just because they don’t want me to.”

MAINE UNIVERSITIES AGREE TO KEEP TRANSGENDER ATHLETES OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS AFTER TRUMP ADMIN PAUSES FUNDING

Turmelle, who attends Pembroke Academy, is interested in joining that school’s girls tennis and track teams, according to court filings.

“We don’t go to sleep in the day and go out at night and drink people’s blood. We don’t hate sunlight. We’re human, just like you,” Turmelle said.

Turmelle spoke about not making the school’s softball team.

“To the argument that it’s not fair, I’d just like to point out that I did not get on the softball team,” Turmelle said. “If that wasn’t fair, then I don’t know what you want from me.”

New Hampshire federal Judge Landya McCafferty, who was appointed to her seat by former President Barack Obama in 2013, granted a preliminary injunction Sept. 10, allowing Tirrell to play for Plymouth Regional and bypass the state law to keep trans athletes out of girls sports.

New Hampshire was already one of 25 states with a law in place to enforce similar bans on trans inclusion before Trump’s executive order went into effect.

Tirrell and Turmelle’s lawyers argue Trump’s executive order, along with parts of a Jan. 20 executive order that forbids federal money from being used to “promote gender ideology,” subjects the teens and all transgender people to discrimination in violation of federal equal protection guarantees and their rights under Title IX.

“The systematic targeting of transgender people across American institutions is chilling, but targeting young people in schools, denying them support and essential opportunities during their most vulnerable years, is especially cruel,” Chris Erchull, a GLAD attorney, said.

The situation involving the two trans athletes has also prompted a second lawsuit after parents wore wristbands that said “XX” in reference to the biological female chromosomes and were allegedly banned from school grounds for wearing them.

Plaintiffs Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote sued the Bow School District after being banned from school grounds for wearing the wristbands at their daughters’ soccer game in September.

In the lawsuit filed by Fellers and Foote, they allege they were told by school officials to remove the armbands, or they would have to leave the game.

Both of the fathers say the intention of the armband was not to protest Tirrell, but to support their own daughters in a game that featured a biological male.