Costa Rica Stands by Its Break With Cuba as Havana Says It Was Never Told
Key Facts
Costa Rica says it has cut diplomatic ties with Cuba, while Havana says it was never told. The Costa Rican foreign minister has now restated the break.
Cuba’s foreign ministry, known as MINREX, said on 18 September that Costa Rica never formally notified it of a rupture. On 19 September, Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar replied on X that Costa Rica is “firm and clear” in breaking relations.
Why This Matters
On 17 September, Tovar said the embassy closure amounted to a full rupture, as The Rio Times reported. His reaffirmation was covered alongside new US sanctions on Cuba, but Havana’s objection is new.
The dispute turns on whether a rupture announced in interviews counts without a formal diplomatic note. Until it is settled, San José and Havana describe the state of their relations in opposite terms.
Costa Rica has tied any restoration of ties to freedom and transparent elections in Cuba, The Rio Times reported. The policy began under Rodrigo Chaves and continued after Laura Fernández took office as president on 8 May.
The quarrel comes as several governments in the region cut back their ties with Havana. Washington also announced fresh sanctions on Cuba in the same week as Tovar’s comments.
What Havana Says
MINREX said a rupture “has never been formally notified” and that it learned of Tovar’s remarks from the press, La Nación reported. It said then foreign minister Arnoldo André Tinoco told Havana in March that the measures did not mean a rupture.
According to CiberCuba, the March diplomatic note stated explicitly that the closure “did not signify a rupture of diplomatic relations”. Havana called the new Costa Rican position “surprising”, EFE reported.
MINREX also noted that Tovar chose a Florida newspaper rather than diplomatic channels for the announcement, CiberCuba reported. The ministry is headed by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, though the reports do not quote him directly.
CiberCuba reported that Tovar first described the break as a rupture to the Miami Herald. “We have broken diplomatic relations with the Cuban regime until freedom returns,” he told the Florida newspaper, according to CiberCuba.
MINREX called his remarks “another act of subordination” by Costa Rica’s government to US policy against Cuba. Tovar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on 16 September, according to La Nación.
“It is a sovereign decision,” Tovar said, adding that Costa Rica receives no instructions from any government, CiberCuba reported. Havana, for its part, said it had been “totally unaware” of any decision to break relations, Diario Extra reported.
What San José Says
Tovar said Costa Rica is not indifferent to “a vile tyranny” that has denied Cubans freedom for six decades. “We are firm and clear in our breaking of diplomatic relations with the Castroist regime,” he added, EFE reported.
Costa Rica’s embassy in Havana has had no diplomatic staff since 5 February, according to EFE. Cuba’s embassy in San José was asked to keep only consular and administrative personnel, the same report said.
In March, Costa Rica framed the step as a “firm signal of concern” over human rights, EFE recalled. The two countries broke relations in 1961 and restored them on 18 March 2009, under President Óscar Arias.
How the Relationship Unravelled
La Nación dates the announcement of the embassy closure to 17 March, when André Tinoco cited growing repression in Cuba. Costa Rica also ordered Cuban diplomats to leave San José by the end of that month, The Rio Times reported.
Relations were reduced to the consular level on 1 April, according to the same report. The Costa Rican embassy in Havana then stopped operating on 1 May, La Nación reported.
Until September, Havana treated the step as an embassy closure, citing André Tinoco’s March assurance. That changed only after Tovar’s visit to Washington and his interview with the Miami Herald in mid-September.
What International Law Says
The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations says ties between states are established “by mutual consent”. It also sets rules for when relations are broken, requiring the host state to protect the other’s embassy premises and archives.
The sending state may then entrust its embassy and its interests to a third country acceptable to the host. A separate 1963 convention states that breaking diplomatic ties does not by itself end consular relations.
That rule explains why Cuban consular staff can remain in San José despite Costa Rica’s declared rupture. It also means the practical difference between a closed embassy and a formal break is smaller than the rhetoric suggests.
Part of a Regional Pattern
Costa Rica is not the only country in the region to cut back its ties with Havana this year. Ecuador expelled Cuba’s entire diplomatic mission in March, and the Dominican Republic gave nine Cuban diplomats an ultimatum in August, CiberCuba reported.
On 17 September, Rubio announced sanctions on 11 Cuban targets, including four state nickel companies and three military officers. Nickel is one of Cuba’s main sources of foreign currency, at a time of blackouts and shortages on the island.
The measures freeze assets under US jurisdiction and bar Americans from doing business with the targets. Rubio said they hit “a system that enriches the elite while hurting ordinary Cubans”.
The sanctions were issued under an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in May 2026, The Rio Times reported. The list also includes four military research firms, according to the same report.
What It Means If You Travel or Live Between the Two Countries
Cubans in Costa Rica can still use the consular staff who remain at their embassy in San José. Costa Ricans who need help in Cuba must turn to Costa Rica’s embassy in Panama, La Nación reported.
Travellers should carry valid documents, since neither country now has diplomats in the other’s capital. Businesses dealing with Cuba should check the new US sanctions list, which bars Americans from dealing with the targets.
What Is Not Yet Known
San José has not said whether it will now send Havana a formal note declaring the rupture. It is also unclear whether Cuba will withdraw its remaining consular staff from San José.
Neither government has published the full text of the March diplomatic note. MINREX has not said whether it will respond with measures of its own.
It is not known whether President Fernández has commented on the dispute in public. Nor is it clear whether a third country will formally represent either side’s interests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the dispute over notification matter?
It decides whether Costa Rica and Cuba still have diplomatic relations. San José says ties are broken, while Havana says it only closed an embassy.
Has Costa Rica cut diplomatic relations with Cuba?
Costa Rica’s foreign minister says it has. Cuba says it was never formally notified and describes the March step as an embassy closure.
Can Cubans still get consular services in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica asked Cuba in March to keep only consular and administrative staff in San José, EFE reported. Reports do not say whether that has changed.
Where can Costa Ricans in Cuba get help?
Costa Rica’s embassy in Havana no longer operates. La Nación reported that consular services are provided from Costa Rica’s embassy in Panama.
Sources: La Nación, Cuba says Costa Rica did not notify the rupture, Infobae/EFE, Costa Rica calls Cuba a vile tyranny and reaffirms the break, CiberCuba, MINREX says Costa Rica did not formally notify, Diario Extra, Tovar reaffirms the break, The Rio Times, Costa Rica confirms the break on 17 September, The Rio Times, US sanctions on Cuba and Tovar’s statement, United Nations, Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), United Nations, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963)
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