The Cuban Foreign Ministry described Manuel Tovar’s statement as “surprising” and upheld that the rupture was never formally notified by Costa Rican authorities.

For its part, Havana states it learned of San Jose’s new position through press reports rather than through standard diplomatic channels.

Tovar had stated in an interview with the US-based *Miami Herald* that Costa Rica had severed relations with Cuba and that the decision—adopted last March—went beyond the mere closing of embassies or the withdrawal of diplomatic staff.

The Costa Rican Foreign Ministry confirmed that it considers ties to have been severed long before.

On September 16, Tovar met in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio—a meeting Cuba links to San Jose’s subservience to the Trump administration’s policy toward the island.

Costa Rica had previously severed relations with the Caribbean nation in 1961; they were re-established on March 18, 2009, under then-President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias, lasting until the new rift that occurred in 2026.

jdt/ro/lld