Rubio Says Costa Rica to Receive US Aid Freeze Waiver

The Secretary of State said the Central American nation is a trusted partner in the war on drugs and the countering of illegal immigration.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Feb. 4, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Feb. 4 that Costa Rica will be exempted from the United States’ 90-day freeze on foreign aid, citing its history of cooperating in countering drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Rubio has justified the broad freeze, saying that foreign aid is sometimes misused, but this was not the case with this Central American nation.