Court Appeal Proposes To Declare Fidel Castro Unwelcome in Costa Rica
José Eduardo Vargas Rivera has made a recurso de amparo (an appeal) before the Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) or Sala IV as it is also referred to, against the Cuban embassy in Costa Rica, asking the Court to declare Cuba's Fidel Castro "persona non grata", for the comments made by the Cuban Foreign ministry, calling Costa Rican president, Óscar Arias Sánchez, a "vulgar mercenary of the United States".

Rivera says in his claim that the Cuban embassy violated Costa Rican democracy, basing his arguments that Costa Rican is a democratic state and an example to the world. "We have the honour to have freedom of the press, we have the liberty of expression and to vote", said Rivera in his claim to the Sala IV.

Rivera cites that Costa Rica has a Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (elections tribunal) and the freedom to transit and commerce, something all Costa Rican are proud of and the honour of choosing its leaders. "Don Óscar Arias Sánchez, is an example for Costa Rica and the democracy we enjoy, and the president was proudly elected by Costa Ricans by the power of the vote", said Rivera in his recurso de amparo.

The document presented to the Constitutional Court declares...

"Fidel Castro, the dictator, the Saddam Hussein in Cuba says that the Costa Rican president is a mercenary. No sir, Costa Rica has a president who is a free man, who was elected by a free country where the vote counts and not by pressure of dictatorship and armed forces, like it is in Cuba...".

The statement in the document calls Castro a dictator and murderer that enjoys all that the people cannot and that Castro is the reincarnation of Saddam Hussein in Cuba.

Vargas Rivera is asking the Constitutional Court to accept his arguments and declare Castro, the oppressing dictator of Cuba, as a persona non grata in Costa Rica.

Persona non grata (Latin, plural: personae non gratae), literally means "an unwelcome person," a term used in diplomacy with a specialized and legally defined meaning. In non-diplomatic usage, calling someone persona non grata is to say that he or she is ostracized from a person or group, so as to be figuratively nonexistent.

Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations Article 9, a receiving State may "at any time and without having to explain its decision" declare any member of a diplomatic staff persona non grata.