Students of Rutgers University of New Jersey, USA, are in Costa Rica working on the project “Geoscience Research at the Cordillera Talamanca” (GREAT), in conjunction with technical and geoscientists of the National Seismology Network (RSN) and the University of Costa Rica's National Laboratory of Structural Materials and Models (Lanamme) and using the research facilities of Costa Rican Electricity...

Benito Martinez, better known by his stage name “Bad Bunny”, the Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer that has gained famed in the past couple of years, will offer a concert in Costa Rica, November 25. The singer of “Chambea” and “Soy Peor” is scheduled to present his show in El Tajo in the Parque de Diversiones (Costa Rica’s amusement park), production company Primo Entertainment is in...

Gustavo Him, Panama’s Minister of Tourism recently announced the Panamanian’s government interest in boosting the tourism sector through a $20 million international promotion fund, and is seeking an alliance with Costa Rica to create a multi-destination tourism zone that will be more attractive to tourists, specially those that travel long distances. "Panama has had a lack of vision due to diff...

President Carlos Alvarado presented today the Alliance for Bilingualism (ABi) as a national strategy to significantly increase the coverage of the English teaching in Costa Rica. This alliance will work as the action frame that will link together the plans of several public institutions such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecomm...

A Nicaraguan man of last names Castillo Chavez was arrested today by Officers of the Operational Support Group (GAO) of the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica, as suspect raping a German tourist in Tortuguero, Pococí, Limón. “On Sunday, August 12, the tourist took a tour and after the same the man invited her to go out on a boat ride in the area of San Francisco, that’s when the act took...

Walter Espinoza, Director of the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ), offered a press conference this Monday morning with regards to the progress made in the case of the murder of a Spanish tourist last August 4th in Tortuguero, Pococí, Limón. On August 5th, OIJ arrested a man of Nicaraguan nationality who is in the country illegally as the main suspect in this murder; the man identified as A...

The Life in Color Festival will be back in Cost Rica this September 22, 2018 and this year for the first time at Parque Viva, La Guacima, Alajuela. The Life in Color Festival is an electronic music event that takes place in different countries around the world, in this occasion headliners are Steve Aoki, American electro house musician and DJ who is ranked as number 9 in the “Top 100 DJ’s” list...

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) declared yellow alert for the county of Limon and green alert for the rest of the territory except for the North Pacific, this since the country is under the influence of a low-pressure system and a new tropical wave. Tropical wave number 26 will bring strong rainfall and instability in most of the territory. The North and South Caribbean as well as Ca...

Sylvania, opened the doors of Sylvania LAB, a 350m2 high-tech space that represents an investment of US $ 1 million, created for products’ development of high specification for different industries. "Sylvania LAB will support the Research and Development department, where Costa Rican engineers design luminaires that are exported to South America, Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico; as we...

A couple formed by a Colombian native of last name Caicedo and a Costa Rican woman of last name Centeno were arrested this Saturday in La Uruca as suspects of theft affecting two Canadian tourists. This couple had been arrested back in February 8, 2018 in Heredia, as suspects of participating in at least 20 thefts that took place between June 2017 and February 2018 and where tourists were the m...

The bridge over Drake River is being built through an alliance between the Rural Development Institute (INDER) and the OSA Municipality, and will allow the access to the Osa Peninsula, area that is home to 2.5% of the worlds’ biodiversity. “Osa Peninsula, with over 50% of Costa Rica’s biodiversity and its point of entry Drake Bay, is one of the most beautiful places in our country, visited by t...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain updated its website with several safety recommendations for citizens traveling to Costa Rica, this after the murder of a Spanish tourist August 4th in Tortuguero, Pococí, Limón. “It is recommended to travel with precaution. Since there have been some violent attacks against women tourists, it is recommended to take self-protection measures and avoid tran...

In the past three months the Ministry of Public Security, Border Police and Migration Police have rejected over one thousand Nicaraguan nationals that have attempted to enter Costa Rica illegally, while they have detected at least 20 cases of people smuggling. “The Government of Costa Rica is working persistently in coordinated actions to guarantee national security in reason of the crisis in ...

Members of the Border Police apprehended a U.S. citizen of last name Lewis who was carrying a fake DIMEX card (foreigner’s migratory identity card) in the area of Guaycará, Golfito (South Border). The DIMEX card is given to foreigners who are legally established in Costa Rica. According to the authorities, Lewis was carrying a DIMEX that had been awarded back in 2006 to the underage son of a sc...

The Minister of Tourism, Maria Amalia Revelo and the Vice-Minister of Public Security Eduardo Solano, held a press conference this Friday, August 10, to announce some of the measures that will be carried out in the topic of tourist safety and security. Yesterday, the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, informed that during his administration $1 million USD a year from the Costa Rican Tour...

The Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security broke up a drug trafficking organization that was operating in the provinces of Heredia and San Jose; in total 4 people were detained, among them a woman of last name Barrantes and 43 years of age who has a criminal record for aggravated robbery, sexual abuse, theft, illegal drug commerce, among others, this woman had be...

Costa Rica has always had a Justice system that can be linked to a maze of epic proportions where it was often easy to get lost or simply abandon the challenge of bringing a lawsuit to an end; many lawsuits take between five and ten years to be resolved. The reasons are multiple; a few are the lengthy and formalistic procedures, excess of appeals allowed, slow times to resolve by the Courts of App...

Two Spanish tourists and three Costa Rican tourists (including a minor) suffered an armed robbery while they were enjoying a walk in one of the trails of the Rincon de la Vieja National Park this Thursday, August 9th at around 11:30 a.m. The tourists were intercepted by men carrying knifes who took all their belongings, cell phones, binoculars, cash, backpacks, among other things. The Public...

Hundreds of people, locals and foreigners participated in the “Marcha de Blanco” (Protest in White), in Santa Teresa, Cobano, Puntarenas, an event organized to pay tribute to María Trinidad Matus, the Mexican tourist that was murdered last weekend at this touristic site in Costa Rica, the manifestation also had the purpose of raising awareness to battle insecurity and stop violence against women. ...

María Nazareth Mata Castillo, Valeria Saborío Barquero, Diego Hernández Montero, Maxwell Jornae Pita Nelson, Josué Ortega Ramírez and Antony Ramírez Montero, became the second generation of Costa Rican students in the public education system to earn scholarships to study in community colleges in the United States, this thanks to the progam “Scholarships for Specialized Technicians Dr. Ana Sittenfe...

Unemployment in Costa Rica during the second trimester of 2018 reached 8.7%; during this period women unemployment reached 1.4% according to the information published by the Employment Survey of the Census and Statistics Institute (INEC). The survey indicates that the number of people out of work reached approx 206,000 (109,000 women and 97,000 men). This number represents 8.7% of the active po...

At 11:30 p.m. this August 8th, 2018, the Constitutional Chamber in Costa Rica (Sala Constitucional or Sala IV as it is popularly known) pronounced itself on same sex marriage in the country and domestic partnership between same sex couples. Judge Fernando Castillo was in charge of explaining the decision of the Constitutional Chamber to the press: “These have been two very complex rulings, a...

In the past weeks several cases of Hepatitis A reported in four communities have raised the alert of the health authorities in Costa Rica. The cases were reported in the counties of Alajuelita, Los Yoses, Tibas and Goicoechea, all of them in San Jose. The Ministry of Public Health has stated that all cases are under control and the patients have made a satisfactory recovery so far, however, th...

The “Comprehensive Prevention Strategy for Public Security, Let’s Sow Security” decree was signed today; the initiative is declared of national and pubic interest and will start applying on September 1st in the 82 counties of Costa Rica. This plan has the support of the American Embassy in Costa Rica and Colombia’s National Police, a test trial was executed las year in 15 counties (Moravia, Tib...

Albin Díaz, the Nicaraguan man that was arrested in relation to the murder of Arantxa López, a Spanish tourist, in Tortuguero, Pococí, Limón, last Saturday, was released by the Criminal Court of Pococí to the custody of the General Directorate of Migration, due to lack of sufficient evidence. Díaz who is in the country illegally, was arrested on Sunday as the main suspect of killing Lopez. Walt...

Drug dealers and smugglers in Costa Rica are diversifying their drug portfolios to include Ketamine, Ketamina in Spanish, a club drug better known for its use in veterinary medicine as a horse tranquilizer. Dealers have discovered that “Special K”, or “El Gato” as it is known in Costa Rica, is very affordable, easy to transport, can be taken easily in pill or liquid form, and perhaps most appealin...

The investigation began early the day of September 21st, 2017 when the Costa Rican Police found a body inside the trunk of a car which was abandoned near the Juan Santamaria International Airport. The victim was identified as Rosemarie Bockhold, 80-years-old and a native of Germany who lived in Piedades, Santa Ana, San Jose. According to the investigation conducted by the judiciary investiga...

The Costa Rican National Commission for Tourist Safety (CONSETUR) held an extraordinary meeting following the murders of two vacationers this weekend, a Spanish woman in Tortuguero, Pococí, Limón and a Mexican woman in Santa Teresa, Cobano, Puntarenas. In this meeting, the Minister of Tourism, Maria Amalia Revelo, called on business leaders from the private tourism sector to work proactively a...

International Living is an online magazine that has the mission of helping readers discover different places around the world that are great options for retirement. In the recent article “5 Great Places for Golfing Retirement”, the publication gives Costa Rica a well-deserved spot. Earlier this year, the country was also listed as the best place to retire in the Global Retirement Index 2018 . “...

Walter Espinoza, Director of the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ), offered additional information today during a press conference regarding to the killing of a Spanish tourist in Tortuguero, Limon, Costa Rica this past Saturday. A man identified as Albin Diaz, 33-years-old and of Nicaraguan nationality was arrested yesterday as a suspect of this crime. According to Espinoza, the autopsy ...

Mario Barrenechea, former General Manager of state bank Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) and one of the main defendants in the Cementazo Corruption Case, received the benefit of house arrest with the use of an ankle monitor, this Saturday, in a decision made by Treasury’s Criminal Court. Barrenechea had been granted house arrest back on May 30th of this year, however, 21 days later, he was ordered to ...

The train's in Costa Rica are constantly involved in different accidents, during the first semester of 2018,  7 people died because of accidents with the train, 3 of them as a result of collisions and 4 that were ran over, in general, the country registers close to 100 mishaps involving the train every year. The causes of the accidents are many, some are due to lack of proper signs and infrastr...

A coordinated action between police bodies of the Ministry of Public Security allowed the arrest of the suspect of murdering a Spanish tourist in the area of Barra del Tortuguero, Pococi, Limon. The operation began Saturday evening and concluded in the early hours of this Sunday after a joint action carried out by the Police Intelligence Department of the Public Police Force, the Direction of ...

A 25-year-old Mexican woman was murdered the morning of this Sunday, August 5th in Playa Carmen, Santa Teresa de Cobano, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. According to information given to Rodrigo Alfaro, regional sub-director of the Public Police Force by another woman native of England, her and her friend were sitting at the beach around 4:30 a.m. when they were intercepted by two men with the appare...

Early this July Costa Rica and El Salvador officially announce that both countries had everything ready for the Central American Ferry to begin its operations, establishing an urgent needed alternative route for exports and imports between the ports of La Union in El Salvador and Caldera in Costa Rica. The option of the Central American Ferry came as a solution for the commerce in the region s...

The Risk Prevention and National Emergency Attention Commission (CNE) is making an investment of over $5.6 million across different counties of the Zona Sur (South Zone) for the rehabilitation and reinforcement of dikes, construction of bridges, intervention of rivers and the purchase of materials, tools and equipment for farmers. In total there are 16 projects being developed, out of which hal...

A Spanish tourist was found dead in a trail close to the landing strip in Tortuguero, Limon, Costa Rica. The information was confirmed by the judiciary investigative police (OIJ), according to their report, the woman showed signs of strangulation, however, the forensic tests will have to determine the official cause of death. Apparently, the woman was staying in a hotel close to this area...

It has been over seven months since the Electric Transportation Bill was approved by the Legislative Assembly in Costa Rica and six months since it went officially in effect , yet, car agencies in Costa Rica are still having problems getting the tax exemptions applied and the vehicles out of customs. Back in February, Aduanas (customs) informed them they had to wait for the official regulations...

Epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica is one of the major forms of epidermolysis bullosa, an illness that causes fragile, blistering skin, that may appear in response to minor injury; these blisters also occur inside the body, the illness has no cure and patients with the condition usually don’t leave past 15-16 years of age. It’s an inherited condition. Costa Rican Diana Ojeda surpassed the life...

The XII edition of Valoarte will be held August 9th through August 31st in the fourth floor of the Texas Tech University building in Avenida Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica. The Valoarte Project is an art exhibit and art sale with the purpose of benefiting youth in social risk through the Hogar SIembra foundation. This year’s exhibit will showcase the work of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo (1899...