Shunned a few years back by Costa Rica’s Preidenta Laura chinchilla, Steven Seagal, is the new face of the Russian weapons industry, according to a report by Global Post.
The decision by the action star raises many questions, among them: why is he doing this? Who is the real Steven Seagal?
For starters he’s a big star in Russia. So, it’s clear why they would want him. A plethora of his B-grade action flicks from the ’90s were dubbed into Russian and became very popular there.
But it’s less obvious why he’s agreed to appear in ads marketing Russian weapons in the United States.
It doesn’t seem to jibe with his religious views (Buddhist) or many of his activist endeavors.
During the administration of Oscar Arias (2006-2010), Seagal made numerous visits to Costa Rica, received by the president and media. His visits to the Casa Presidencial and the Arias private home in Rohrmoser made headlines.
However, in June 2010, a month after Chinchilla took office, Seagal found that the Presidenta was too busy to see him and had to make due with then Minister of Security, José María Tijerino and the director of the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ), Jorge Rojas.
Segall’s visit was to solve Costa Rica’s crime problem, a plausible plan given his film image as a tough guy, enhanced by the title of Reserve Deputy Chief in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. In 2011, he was sworn in as deputy sheriff in Hudspeth County, Texas.
It was not state secret that Seagal felt slighted in by Presidenta Cinchilla. The situation became especially ugly on the allegations of human trafficking in a lawsuit, some have characterizing Seagal’s visit as coming under a cloud of suspicion.
“He leaves the country very hurt,” Seagal’s lawyer told media. “He said that he doesn’t need Costa Rica and there are many other countries where he can invest.”
Maybe one of those countries is Russia. That would explain a lot.
With files from Global Post, US Expat Costa Rica
