Costa Rican authorities carried out 40 searches this Tuesday morning in different areas of the country in relation to an international human smuggling case, an investigation that was carried out for over 2 years and involved the different entities of the Ministry of Security, the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ), the General Directorate of Migration and the Public Ministry as well as Panamania...

Labor Unions in Costa Rica are calling for to a general strike next Monday, September 10; President Carlos Alvarado asked them to resume the dialogue with the government to find a way to avoid “worsening of the financial crisis” the country is facing; Labor Unions are putting their foot down and put conditions to establishing dialogue. Leaders of the Labor Unions in the country held a meeting t...

Every year many American Citizens choose Costa Rica as their new home, and even though the country is known for being very welcoming, moving to a different country is never easy, this is why the United States Embassy in Costa Rica decided to offer expats some tips on life in Costa Rica and what their role is in helping American citizens in the country. American Citizen Services (ACS) Chief Ben ...

The first massive “arribada” (arrival) of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) of the season started this past weekend and will extend through September 4th.According to the Ostional Development Association the number of sea turtles that arrived during this past weekend exceeded one million. The months of September, October and November are the months when higher number of sea turtl...

Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) in Costa Rica, arrested a man of last names Pereira Lopez suspected of the alleged rape of an Argentinian tourist. OIJ received the report last Saturday, the victim is a 41-year-old woman that is vacationing at Samara Beach in Guanacaste; no further details were revealed by the authorities. The suspect is currently serving three months of preventive custo...

The Costa Rican Emergency Commission (CNE) has begun its work of coordination to prepare for the impacts that El Niño phenomenon could bring to the country starting in November. CNE held meetings with representatives of different state institutions that have a part in the understanding of this phenomenon in areas such as water, agriculture, environment, tourism, among others. “The first meet...

The Migratory (Immigration) Police carried out operations with the collaboration of the Public Police Force in different areas of the country to detect the presence of immigrants who remain in the country illegally. According to the General Directorate of Migration another operation was carried out last Friday in 21 locations within the country. The areas of importance were communities with a h...

Like it or not, Costa Rica is experiencing a mini crime wave, and it will surely affect the tourist trade, including hotels, restaurants, tours, taxis, B & B’s, etc. Even Bloomberg Business News took note of the crime uptick, publishing an article this week on the upward trending Costa Rican crime statistics. This is worrisome to both Ticos and expats, and here’s why. Tourism is Costa Rica’s m...

The Poas Volcano National Park opened its doors to the public again this past Friday, after several months of worked that involved fixing the areas that had suffered damages as a result of the eruptions and building new shelters for the security of the visitors. As it had been announced in the past months the Park now has controlled access, with only 50 people being able to enter at a time; tic...

According to the estimations of the National Institute of Census and Statistics (Spanish acronym: INEC) Costa Rica will receive its 5th million citizen at around 9:27 p.m. The Social Security Service (C.C.S.S.) is ready to inform of all births registered in the country’s hospitals between 9:20 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The calculations of INEC are based solely on births and deaths in the country, i...

Starting today, September 1st, all taxpayers, individuals and corporations, with ID ending on 1,2 or 3 must implement the electronic invoices. Treasury in Costa Rica began the process in January this year with the obligation for all members of the health service and continued with the inclusion of professionals in different areas; these next three months will conclude the process, making it an ...

The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica, (Sala IV) accepted a constitutional appeal that was presented by the shrimpers and granted the Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca) six months to carry out scientific studies to determine if it is possible to diminish the effects of trawling in the marine fauna. Back in 2013 the Constitutional Chamber had forbidden the r...

In a recent interview with news daily of El Salvador EL Economista, Marco Quinteros, general manager of Marriott Fairfield in El Salvador confirmed that the hotel chain plans to continue its expansion in Central America with Costa Rica as one of the main markets. According to Quinteros Marriott plants to bring the Fairfield Inn brand to Costa Rica’s metropolitan area in the short term, a simil...

President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, stated during a public act that he would be formally asking Costa Rica “for a list of those requesting refuge or asylum in Costa Rica” so that he could go through and identify all those that are related to crimes in Nicaragua. “We will tell them, ‘from this list these are the ones that are accused of crimes, because they tortured, because they killed, beca...

Labor Unions in Costa Rica are calling once again a general strike for Monday, September 10 to protest the fiscal plan. According to the union labor leaders, this would be a movement that will begin September 10 at 6 a.m. with the intent of “paralyzing the country” and they do not discard it could extend for several days. “We will initiate a patriotic battle, in defense of the working class ...

The group responsible for a shipment of 133 kilos of cocaine hidden in Costa Rican pineapples have been identified as the Kinahan Cartel. The cocaine was discovered in pineapples specially outfitted with waxy, yellow tubes in which the cocaine was hidden. The cocaine was discovered on August 14, aboard a Spanish boat registered as carrying bananas, on its way to Cork, Ireland. The boat was interce...

The Ministry of Public Security through the National Coast Guard Service and the Drug Control Police seized 407 kilograms of cocaine and detained three suspects 90 nautical miles of Flamingo, Guanacaste. The United States Coast Guard service raised the alert of the presence of the suspicious ship, the national Coast Guard Service immediately mobilized aboard the patrol ship 3818 and intercepted...

So far in 2018, 293 people have died in Costa Rica because of road accidents, a number that concerns the transit authorities that have seen three months that have exceeded 40 deaths and August could be the fourth. The month of June registered the most deaths with 45; while the month of August through this past Monday, accounted for 37 deaths. According to transit authorities most of the acci...

A group of tourists taking part of a tour by the company Iguana Tours Costa Rica in Marina Pez Vela, Quepos, caught the exact moment that a humpback whale jumped out of the water near another tour boat impressing and scaring everyone. The season to enjoy sightings of humpback whales began in the South Pacific a few weeks ago and will extend through September. Whale and dolphin watching tours ar...

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake was felt in most of the Costa Rican territory this Wednesday at 3:33 p.m. but it was felt with more intensity in the provinces of Puntarenas, Heredia and Alajuela; the epicenter according to the National Seismology Network was 7 kilometers south of Golfito in Puntarenas. The movement was also felt in different areas of the Central Valley, the South Caribbean and even ...

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will extend the technical and financial cooperation it gives to the General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica with the objective of strengthening the attention to the public in response to the increase in the number of asylum requests. Raquel Vargas, Director of Migration, explained that this donation is the result of efforts made by the Co...

Fishermen in Costa Rica protested yesterday in Puntarenas and blocked roads, for several hours demanding to speak to representatives of the Government; the Ministry of the Presidency, Rodolfo Piza, agreed to meet with representatives of the sector with the condition that they lifted the roadblocks that left many drivers stuck for hours, specifically in the road to Barranca; leaders of the fisherme...

After more than 16 months there is finally a date for the reopening of the Poas Volcano National Park in Costa Rica, President Carlos Alvarado will be at the park this Wednesday, August 29 in an official ceremony and on Friday, August 31st the park will open doors to national and foreign tourists. The Technical Assessment Committee (CAT) of Volcanology and Seismology of the National Emergency C...

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized this past week 45 kilograms of cocaine at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, hidden in a shipment of Costa Rican pineapple destined to Clifton, NJ, USA. “Part of CBP’s mission is to prevent illicit narcotics from entering the U.S. utilizing all the resources at our disposal – technology, K9s, CBP officers, and our law enforcement partners,” said Case...

The Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) confirmed today the arrest of a 24-year-old of Asian origin but nationalized Ecuadorian who is in Costa Rica as a tourist and is suspected of money-laundering. “The investigation began several weeks ago, when the authorities detected several foreigners entering the country through the Juan Santamaria Airport with large sums of cash; we were able to deter...

Costa Rica has grown in the past decades in many areas, foreign investment being one of them, tourism being another; it has strong human development indicators which makes it one of the most stable countries in the region, it is also considered one of the happiest countries in the world. Yet, in addition to the complicated fiscal crisis it is currently facing, inequality is also one of the most...

Spanish authorities seized 67 kilograms of cocaine that were hidden in a pineapple cargo that originated from Costa Rica. It was this past Sunday that Spain’s National Police informed of the discovery which was made in a market in the city of Madrid, as part of the operation the police arrested suspects in Madrid and Barcelona. Apparently, the pineapples were hollow and stuffed with cylinder...

Drug Control Police Officers of the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica detained a US citizen who is suspected of drug trafficking using courier services. The arrest took place at the Juan Santamaria International Airport when the 41-year-old man of last name Sharp intended to leave the country with destination to Denver, U.S.A. According to information provided by the Ministry of Publ...

In 24 raids that took place this Monday, the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) in Costa Rica arrested that same number of people as suspects of forging documents in the country. The raids took place in different areas of San José, Alajuela, Puntarenas and Cartago. The suspects arrested are 22 males, 1 female and 1 minor. According to Emilio Segura, Chief of the transit specialized unit of OI...

The seventh edition of the Lionfish Capture Tournament in Gandoca, Manzanillo, Limon, will take place September 29 and 30th and registrations are now open. This event is organized by the Association of Artisanal Fishermen of the South Caribbean through the Area of Conservation Amistad Caribe (ACLAC) and other institutions. The purpose of the activity is to help control the invasive species, a ...

Violence and abandonment are the reality that hundreds of senior citizens face in Costa Rica. Many of the cases of abandonment occur in the public hospitals, situation that complicates even more the crowded system that already suffers with the number of beds available. Last year a total 127 senior citizens were abandoned in hospitals according to the Social Security system (CCSS); the elderly i...

The Ministry of Environment and Energy announced that everything is now ready for the reopening of the Poas Volcano National Park to the public. There is still not a set date for the reopening since they are coordinating with the agenda of President Carlos Alvarado; however, it should be sometime this upcoming week and the doors will open to the public the day after the official act. The 5 s...

The already traditional International Book Fair “Feria del Libro” in Costa Rica kicked off this August 24 and will continue through September 2 at the Antigua Aduana building. This is the XIX edition of the event that honors this year three Costa Rican authors: Quince Duncan who is celebrating 50 years of literary activity; Fabián Dobles born in 1918 (a century ago) and who passed away in 1997;...

Scientists are now predicting that due to global warming and disease, chocolate may be virtually unavailable by the year 2050. Costa Rica could be one of the lone holdouts in the cultivation of cacao, the source of chocolate worldwide. Sweet! Cacao trees only like a particular temperature range. They will not grow outside of a very narrow geographic band, 20 degrees North and South of the equat...

The National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models of the University of Costa Rica (LanammeUCR) presented a report warning that the materials being used for the construction of national route 606 to Monteverde “do not comply with the technical specifications established in the contract”. LanammeUCR completed a series of studies and laboratory tests that detected the breach in the agreem...

Hundreds of people marched today in San Jose, Costa Rica to express their rejection to xenophobia and the violent acts that took place a week ago when a group of protesters yelled offenses against Nicaraguans and took to physical aggression. The activity began at 10 a.m., a group began their walk from the University of Costa Rica and another one from La Merced Park, they then met and walked tog...

During the Second Annual Forensic Science Symposium carried out in Mexico, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division gave a special recognition to the progress being done by the forensics lab in Costa Rica to get accreditation and elevate the level of their work. “I give special recognition to Costa Rica, which has accredited the fo...

The Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Environment are working together to protect wildlife in all the protected areas of Costa Rica. One of the most challenging areas in the country when it comes to the protection of wildlife is Corcovado National Park, its remote distance, difficult access and big extension complicates surveillance. Corcovado is among the top 10 best National Pa...

The Judiciary Investigative Agency (OIJ) raided a house in La Florida, Tibas and a hotel in Sabana Norte, San Jose, and arrested two foreigners and two Costa Ricans suspected of fraud. Apparently the criminal group, formed by a South African man of last name Jacobs and 48 years-old, a Honduran woman identified with surnames Morales Leiva, age 32; and a Costa Rican couple, the man of last name P...

When the Roger Waters’ concert was announced in Costa Rica in April, fans were beyond excited; when the tickets went on sale on April 30, in just the first day 25,000 tickets were sold, and in a matter of 10 days the entire concert, scheduled to take place November 24, was sold out. Many people were disappointed they were left without a ticket, but now they will have a second chance to see Pink...