[Global Times Special Correspondent Wen Jian] After the visas of Colombian President and former Costa Rican President were revoked by the United States, Panamanian President Mulino accused an official of the US Embassy of threatening to revoke the visas of officials of that country on the 16th. Mulino's accusation comes at a time when the United States is putting pressure on Panama to limit its relations with China.

According to the report, Mulino said in response to a question at the weekly press conference that an official of the US Embassy "threatened to revoke the visa". He did not name the official, but added that such behavior is "inconsistent with the good relationship I aspire to maintain with the United States".

The U.S. State Department announced in September this year that the U.S. is committed to curbing China¡¯s influence in Central America and will restrict visas for those who maintain relations with China or ¡°destroy democracy in the region¡± for China. U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Marino Cabrera cited this policy in a statement Thursday, claiming that ¡°Visa is a privilege, not a right.¡±

In April, former Costa Rica president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias said the United States had revoked his visa. In July, Costa Rica¡¯s Deputy Speaker of Congress, Vanessa Castro, said the U.S. Embassy had informed her that her visa had been revoked on grounds of alleged ties to China.

In addition, Colombian President Petro was withdrawn from the U.S. State Department's visa in September for participating in a demonstration in support of Palestine outside the UN headquarters in New York.

The United States can freely issue visas to anyone they want, but should not threaten others ¡°to withdraw visas if they don¡¯t take action.¡± he noted that the fundamental issue behind this is the US-China conflict, ¡°not related to Panama.¡±