Perez Zeledon (also known as San Isidro de El General) is the agricultural epicenter of the southern zone: coffee, pineapples, sugar cane, bananas, and every imaginable vegetable abounds in this fertile valley of El General. No one, however, associates Perez with art – until the emergence of Melissa Matamoros, owner, curator and director of the newest art gallery in Costa Rica, La Terraza del Arti...

Costa Rican Immigration Police (Policia Profesional de Migracion) reported the death of an American by the last name of Hall, on Saturday, allegedly by suicide, while in custody for being out of status with his documents to legally be in Costa Rica. Hall was found deceased in his cell early Saturday morning, in the immigration prison located in Los Lagos de Heredia. He had been picked up in Jaco t...

Sloths. We love them in Costa Rica. They are the spokes-animals for many tourist campaigns, and their adorable faces adorn t-shirts, mugs, change purses, and other souvenir/tourist objects visitors to Costa Rica take home with them after their vacations. Now, they have been made famous by two biologists from University of Wisconsin: Jonathan N. Pauli and M. Zachariah Peery, whose study of sloths h...

Yesterday the body of American online sportsbook maker William Sean Creighton, founder of 5 Dimes, was discovered in a cemetery in Quepos, Costa Rica. The Star had reported his abduction and murder one year ago, a story picked up by the international press, but hotly contested by the family’s lawyer and by 5 Dimes management. The Star never retracted the story. Now, in a modest cemetery with a ...

The OIJ (Organismo de Investigacion) reports that murders are again on the rise in Costa Rica – and that has law enforcement officials worried. There have been 42 homicides in fifteen days, an alarming spike in the murder rate. At a recent press conference, OIJ’s director Walter Espinoza declared about the rise, “The situation shows no possibility of finishing soon.” This follows a slight drop in ...

A renowned Costa Rican narco-trafficker, Juan Carlos Arias Leiva, was captured-- at last -- on Wednesday, in Paso Canoas, Panama, by Panamanian authorities and Interpol International Police. Arias is better known by his narco nickname, “El Pellejo”. The name in English means skin, or sometimes the leather container in which liquids are carried. He is wanted in Texas for conspiracy to traffic drugs...

What would possess an American war veteran to spend all night alone on a Costa Rican beach, looking for turtle nests? Turtle Rescue! And it’s urgent. Mike Hughes seems to be an unlikely volunteer conservationist. But that’s exactly who he is, and he has probably saved thousands and thousands of turtle eggs from illegal turtle egg poachers who have now become well organized, and in many cases af...

Bananas are probably the most important fruit crop in the world, and in 2015 Costa Rica grew and supplied one out of ten bananas consumed globally. The banana industry of Costa Rica provides at least 100,000 jobs for Ticos. Will climate change negatively impact Costa Rican banana cultivation? A recent study conducted by the University of Exeter UK, indicates that ten countries (including Costa ...

On August 20th, Cristel Yariella Gomez Espinoza, a.k.a, "La Reina del Sur"(Queen of the South), was arrested after having been on the run for nine months, wanted for being a drug capo of a cartel supplying massive quantities of drugs to the Southern Zone of Costa Rica. She is only 24 years old. She was arrested while shopping for new pants, dressed in a pink satin romper with an open back displ...

Cristel Yariela Gomez Espinoza, known by her gang name “La Reina del Sur”, was picked up at 10AM on Tuesday in Palmar Norte, Puntarenas, in the Southern Zone. She was wanted by Interpol, as well as the OIJ of Costa Rica, who had an order for capture for her since 2018. The arrest took place in a commercial center, where the OIJ and Fuerza Publica had been staking out another wanted felon, when the...

The Jaguar Program of Universidad Nacional released amazing video of a mama jaguar and her two cubs, just in time for Mother’s Day. The video was taken by nocturnal cameras in the Dry Forest of Guanacaste. “What better way to celebrate this day (Mother’s Day), than to see a Mama Jaguar and her two cubs in the Dry Forest of the Parque Nacional Santa Rosa!” Researchers have been following this...

The famous M1, Jose Efrain Lopez Mendoza, Boss Man of the most powerful drug cartel in Costa Rica, Movimiento Revolucionario de Crimen Organizado (MORECO), was captured on Tuesday, August 13, in Escazu. Lopez is on the Most Wanted Lists of both the FBI and DEA, wanted for sending massive shipments of drugs from Costa Rica to the United States. He was wanted by Interpol for his association with the...

In recent months there have been several revelations of religious figures sexually abusing minors and members of their congregations, for instance the recent head of the Luz del Mundo Church, Naason Joaquin Garcia, currently being held without bond in Los Angeles. But now, rather than someone preying upon uneducated country folk and children, the “Pastor of the Rich” has been arrested on five coun...

Director of the Professional Migration Police, Stephen Madden, announced on July 31st the capture and detention of “Mama Africa”, an accused notorious human trafficker, allegedly responsible for smuggling 249 people this year alone through Costa Rica, en route to the USA. She was in possession of 14 passports belonging to citizens of Cameroon, Ghana and other African nations. She was also holding ...

The year 2017 saw the second highest global tree cover loss recorded in the history of this planet, according to the World Economic Forum. Researchers at the University of Maryland (USA) found an area of tree loss equal to the size of Bangladesh. That equates to losing 40 soccer fields covered in trees every minute for a year. But guess what, Costa Rica took the fight in the other direction, decla...

Venezuelan-American tourist Carla Stefaniak disappeared from the Escazu Airbnb where she was staying on her last night in Costa Rica – November 28, 2018. It was also her last night alive. On December 3rd, a gardener on the property found her partially-buried body 100 meters from her guest room. She had been bludgeoned and stabbed repeatedly in her neck and chest area; her neck had been broken. ...

On June 22, the SSCA HF Radio Service confirmed having received an SOS from a ship’s Personal Locator Beacon (PLB1). Then there was silence. The Radio Service confirmed that the message came from the TRANAVIS, a trimaran sailing between St. Martin, French Antilles, to Barranquilla, Colombia. Aboard the TRANAVIS was Rocco Acocella Roverndom, a well known Eco-Friendly Tour Guide, on his way to Ecuad...

University of Costa Rica’s Bernal Rodriguez Herrera, has won the prestigious Aldo Leopold award for his work in the field of conservation of bats and their habitats – the first time a Costa Rican has won this honor in any scientific pursuit. Rodriguez is the Founder and Co-ordinator of the Latin American Bat Conservation Network, and has done much of his vital research at the Biological Reserve Tr...

Here’s a relatively new business in Costa Rica, and a very lucrative one: Loan Sharking.(Loan Sharks) You don’t need an office, storefront, staff, personal assistant or merchandise. It has the added cachet of being an industry imported mostly via foreign criminal groups, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just follow their tried and true methods. And loan sharking in Costa Rica is HOT now. C...

Scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor spent three weeks in February, 2019, exploring the depths of the ocean surrounding Isla del Coco National Park. They found good news and bad news. They discovered at least four new species of deep-sea coral – one probably 1,000 years old – and six yet undiscovered ocean animals. They also found on one of their deepest of dives,...

Mexican-American pastor of La Luz del Mundo (The Light of The World) who calls himself “Apostle” was surprised at LAX airport a little over ten days ago when he was arrested on 26 felonies for sexual abuse of children and child pornography. Naason Joaquin Garcia had his own surprise up his sleeve, it seems. The church has bought 25 – 100 hectares of land in Quepos to create a religious complex, si...

Have you seen a stone sphere since you’ve been in Costa Rica? They can be seen used as lawn ornaments in the yards of important people, or in front of some government office buildings, or at the National Museum in San Jose -- but in 2014 UNESCO declared the “Pre-Columbian Chiefdom Settlements with stone spheres of the Diquis” a World Heritage Site – and that’s a huge deal. A museum was established...

A Mexican with strong ties to Costa Rica and a 20-million dollar bounty on his head, Rafael Caro Quintero, is now #10 on the FBI’s Most Wanted List – and may well be hiding in Costa Rica where he has strong connections and many cartel friends. Quintero is wanted for the murder of Drug Enforcement Agent (DEA) Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, in July of 1985, as well as charges of drug trafficking, kidnappi...

Naason Joaquin Garcia, the 50-year old “Apostle” of the Luz del Mundo (Light of the World) Church, got quite a surprise when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport and deplaned from his private charter airplane – officials were waiting for him, and arrested him for human trafficking, production of child pornography, forcible rape of a minor, and several other felonies committed between 20...

Seven Americans have been charged on a 39-count indictment for various crimes including money laundering, gambling promotion, conspiracy, and enterprise corruption. One of them – Robert Brieger – was operating out of Costa Rica and is waiting to be extradited back to the US. The seven people stand accused of taking bets on sporting events through wire rooms in both Astoria, Queens and Costa Rica. ...

After recent warnings to foreigners visiting Costa Rica about an increase in both petty and serious crime, comes an announcement to be applauded. On Tuesday Michael Soto, Minister of Public Security (Public Police Force), announced that between May 2018 and May 2019, his security forces have succeeded in the following arrests and seizures of goods: ~ 2,160 people arrested, up 16% ~ 233 firear...

Internationally renowned historian and reverend Yamil Jimenez Tabash gave a lecture to a standing-room-only audience in Perez Zeledon last Friday on an un-sanitized version of the history of Costa Rica – the true history – according to this Perez Zeledonian historian and scholar. Jimenez did not pull any punches, detailing both the locally accepted version of Tico history, and the more probably ac...

Last year NBC News named cigarette butts as the single greatest source of ocean pollution – far surpassing the recently demonized plastic straws or single use plastic bags. The momentum of banning plastic straws continues to grow with major corporations taking up the fight and gradually phasing out straws completely. However, many experts believe that the focus of ocean pollution and litter should...

May 28, 2019 – The Canadian Government has issued a security warning for Canadian citizens wishing to visit Costa Rica, urging citizens to exercise a high degree of caution when visiting Costa Rica, especially for female visitors. The reasons cited for this warning are: Crime: The rate of drug-related violent crimes, including homicides is on the rise. Drug trafficking is common. Local drug use,...

Here’s something brilliant that Costa Rica has achieved in the last thirty years: They have doubled their forest cover. Half of Costa Rica’s land surface is now covered with trees. Those trees can absorb a massive amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – and we can all breathe easier for it. Bravo! No one would have predicted this outcome back in 1983 when a meager 26% of Costa Rica had f...

In September of 2017, an agricultural worker working on a farm in Desemparados de Pejibaye de Perez Zeledon, detected a foul odor about 500 meters from the main farm house. He then discovered human remains, apparently of a female, partially buried in a shallow grave. The worker reported his gruesome discovery to the OIJ, who removed a corpse in advanced state of decomposition, and took it directly...

Scientists from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) have announced the reappearance of the Heredia Robber Frog (Craugastor escoces), an amphibian thought to be already extinct. She was rediscovered in Juan Castro Blanco National Park in Alajuela. The frog is brown, with a red belly and striped lips. This amphibian was declared extinct in 2004 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (I...

On May 14, three people fled – or were chased – away from a narco submarine in Playa Llorona in Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica’s Corcovado Park. They left behind their ominous-looking gray homemade boat. The Fuerza Publica, Border Police and Coast Guard seized more than two tons of cocaine neatly stored aboard the otherwise messy boat’s interior. There have been several such boats found ...

Alejandro “Alex” Castillo is on the lamb from the US after being accused of sexual misconduct with minors – something for which he already served one year in prison in 2012 – yet the church welcomed him back, even promoting him to Diocese’s Director of Department of Faith Formation and Evangelization for Oakland, California. He has now been placed on administrative leave while he skips around, one...

Jaco is still reeling from the apparent suicide of one of their favorite local residents and businessmen, Marc Pontbriant. Marc radiated energy and a love for life, and his girlfriend and friends are having difficulty accepting the tragic fact that he is gone. He died on May 3, in his bed in Esterillios, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He left his passport, wallet and contact list a...

Marc Pontbriant, a pillar of the Jaco nightclub, entertainment and real estate scene has passed away, much to the surprise of the many friends and family members who knew and loved him. His death is being considered a suicide unofficially; the American Embassy and the OIJ are withholding confirmation until his family has been notified. Pontbriant’s business associates and close friends are stunned...

Saturday was World Tapir Day, a day to celebrate this odd jungle animal, and draw attention to its status as an endangered animal in 2019. Tapirs are the largest mammals in Central America, with four species of “mountain cows”, with Baird’s Tapir being the one found mostly in Central and South America. These tapirs are found in several Costa Rican national parks, but sadly their numbers are dwi...

The owners of the Escazu AirBnB, Villa le Mas, where Carla Stefaniak spent her last night alive, have come forward through their lawyer to explain that they were in fact on the premises on the night of Stefaniak’s murder, but in a villa on the other side of the property. The property in question is quite large, comprised of individual villas set apart from each other, not like a traditional hotel ...

Jose Efrain Lopez Mendoza, aka “Dante” or M1, is wanted for drug smuggling by the FBI, DEA, and Costa Rica’s OIJ. He is the head of a highly sophisticated gang of drug smugglers known as Movimiento Revolucionario de Crimen Organizado (Moreco), who pattern their gang style after the violent and lethal Mexican gang known as the Zetas. They operate throughout Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and even i...

Among Costa Rica’s fun accomplishments such as Inventors of the Zipline Tour, Discoverers of a lizard who breathes underwater, Creators of the catchy salutation “Pura Vida”, Owners of the title of “Happiest Country on the Planet” – comes a truly serious and remarkable achievement. Costa Rica ranks tenth in Press Freedom, as ranked by the prestigious Reporters Without Borders, a French nonprofit or...