Maven build - java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: The argument does not represent an annotation type

When you run a Maven build and get this error

[ERROR] Failed to execute goal org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-compiler-plugin:3.
0:compile (default-compile) on project celebrity-cda-web: Fatal error compiling:
 java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: The argument does not represent an annotati
on type: XStreamImplicit -> [Help 1]
[ERROR]

In this case Maven cannot find the class XStreamImplicit

The problem is that a <dependency> which was earlier defined in the pom.xml has now been deleted or the Maven repository is not defined correctly for that dependency.