The Ministry of Public Security (MSP) reported bringing in two people for treatment for heart problems following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake this evening, Sunday, November 12 at 8:28 p.m. south of Jacó off the Costa Rican central Pacific coast. The individuals, who were from the Jacó vicinity, were rushed to the regional Puntarenas Hospital but were declared deceased shortly after being admitted...

This video taken by Esteban Saborío at the Herradura beach Marriott Los Sueños Resort, adjacent to Jacó on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast shows the strong impact of this evening's 6.9 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake was felt virtually throughout the entire country.  ...

Jacó, Parrita, Esterillos and Turrubares were the towns closest to the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that rattled much of the country this evening at 8:28 p.m. local time, according to the Costa Rican National Seismological Network (Red Sismologico Nacional). The intense shaking that lasted for at least 30 seconds, was accompanied by a roaring sound, as reported by many throughout the San José capit...

The number of deported foreigners considered “dangerous” has duplicated in the last year. According to data by the Costa Rican General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners, effective deportations increased by 60%, going from 393 cases to 620, this is a result of a higher number of operations, 150% more, confirmed Esteban Obando, sub-director of Migration, while the number of migratory rej...

The electronic passport for Costa Rican citizens is a country project that will soon be put up for open tender with the expectation of having it ready by 2020. With this technology migratory procedures will be done almost automatically through smart doors that will have systems to run fingerprints and facial recognition and will avoid having to spend time in long lines at the regular counters. ...

Alarma: Bomberos de Costa Rica (Alarm: Costa Rica Firefighters) is the first web series in Costa Rica that showcases the work of the country’s Fire Department. The web series will be aired starting Wednesday, December 6 at 7 p.m. through the webpage http://alarmacostarica.com/ and its corresponding You Tube channel; this first season involves a total of 8 episodes that have been on the works ...

Bogged down in a mobility crisis that is the bane of local residents, Costa Rica's capital is nevertheless pursuing its dream of transforming itself into a modern and "friendlier" city via civil, business and government initiatives. "Amid the mobility crisis that the greater metropolitan area is experiencing, San Jose is a city that is getting trendy, acquiring a very special dynamic, with its ...

Costa Ricans will have the responsibility of electing their president for the period  of 2018-2022 in the election that will take place February 4, 2018 with a total of 13 candidates. However, as it is usually the case, out of the 13 options only a handful have real possibilities of reaching the presidency, which is actually an improvement after many years of having only two big political parti...

The Costa Rica National Meteorological Institute (IMN)informed today that according to the most recent studies and the indicators of the atmosphere and the ocean, the current conditions correspond to the beginning phase of a new episode of La Niña phenomenon. The forecasts indicate that this event will not be of great magnitude and could extend through March of April of 2018. La Niña, the di...

The Costa Rican National Emergency Commission (CNE) estimates the damages caused by tropical storm Nate in approximately $365 million, according to a report created for the Inter-American Development Bank. The roads in several areas of the country were the ones that presented the most damage, approximately 72% of the county roads suffered some level of impact, while in the national rounds the i...

An outdoor, casual environment for lunch, dinner, and afternoon snacks invites diners in Curridabat to a newly opened food truck park in this eastern San José, Costa Rica suburb called "Food Truck Park Calle Vieja" With seven trucks, that include a minibar and an ice cream cart, the eateries are open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. Diners can sit in roofer corridors alongside...

The upscale Multiplaza Escazú shopping center was the scene of two armed robberies in the span of eight days. One occurred last Tuesday, Oct. 31, and the second on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. The thefts alarmed customers and provoked a response from the Public Security Ministry who was surprised at the occurrences. In response, the shopping mall said they will be hiring armed guards, and ar...

The World Meeting of Blue Zones will take place in Nicoya, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, from November 16 to the 18 and will have the presence of national and international guests that will be able to enjoy an agenda full of activities. Blue zones are geographic regions with an unusually high longevity. “A part of Costa Rica stands out worldwide as a "Blue Zone," which is characterized by the long...

Costa Rica has been hosting since November 8 the Latin American Congress for Equal Marriage, the event comes to an end today, it is the first event of its kind in the region. HDuarte-Lex, Igualitos Foundation, Citizen Asociation (ACCEDER) and the Costa Rican Association of International Law are the organizers of this event that was celebrated with the objective of opening a legal and constituti...

Dominican women in Costa Rica, victims of global sex and human trafficking, have reported being married to Costa Ricans to obtain Costa Rican citizenship before being taken to Europe or the United States for exploitation, according to representatives of the Rahab Foundation, a Costa Rican non-profit dedicated to ending human trafficking and aided its victims. Networks dedicated to human traffic...

The efforts done by the Costa Rica Tourism Board with the objective of increasing the visits of tourists from Europe to the country have paid off, especially when it comes to tourists visiting the country from the United Kingdom. The number of tourists from the UK to Costa Rica has grown by 9.1% in comparison to the previous year; this 2017 the country has received in the period from January to...

The name Juan Carlos Bolaños has been appearing in all media outlets throughout Costa Rica almost daily for the past six months; he is the main character in the corruption scandal known as “Cementazo”, but who is this man? And, why, all of a sudden has he become one of Costa Rica’s most polemic characters. Juan Carlos Bolaños was born in San José, Costa Rica in June,1979 and he was raised by hi...

This Saturday, November 11 at 8 p.m. at the downtown San José, Costa Rica National Theater, U.S. and Costa Rican musicians join together for a delightful and inspiring concert dedicated to friendship between the two countries. Award-winning U.S.-based Medical Musical Group's chorale and symphony will perform together with Costa Rica's Coro Voces de Libertad, directed by Carol Guzmán, and the Un...

Over the past three years, Costa Rica's police force has gone from having 3 percent of female officers to 17 percent as the agency has incorporated a gender perspective into their polices, said Deputy Minister of Public Security, Commissioner Juan José Andrade A forum was held last week at the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly on gender initiatives within the public safety sector that included l...

Banks and credit unions in Costa Rica started receiving payments of the annual end-of-the-year vehicle registration fee, called the marchamo, on November 1. Vehicle owners have until December 31 to pay the 2018 marchamo fee to the National Insurance Institute. This year, banks have diversified their offers to attract customers to pay at their site. Some 1.4 million vehicles in Costa Rica wil...

Foodie Tours invites gastronomy lovers to experience a sensory experience in different parts of Costa Rica. Whether you are a gourmet or not, these tours will be sure to educate and entertain through visits to restaurants and interactions between chefs and participants to learn about the foods used, their history, and the traditions surrounding the dishes. "We want attendees to learn about and...

A document apparently found by the district attorney’s office in the office of the former general manager of Banco de Costa Rica Mario Barrenechea during the search that took place November 3, showed a graphic with a “strategic plan” to discredit and boycott Costa Rican newspaper Diario Extra. This information was released today by Diario Extra and according to them the information was confirme...

For those of you following the china cement corruption scandal "Cementazo" in Costa Rica, this week has brought even more interesting things to light, affecting people such as the President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solís. The President was put in the spotlight by congressman Víctor Hugo Morales Zapata who declared in front of the Commission investigating the ¨Cementazo¨ case that he always...

The Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE) will be auctioning a total of 267 used vehicles, among these: cars, motorcycles, and four-wheelers. In order to participate, those interested can go to the ICE in Rincón Grande de Pavas, between November 8 and November 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to take a look at the vehicles, each of which will have a complete description. A deposit must be made f...

Mexican low-cost airline, Viva Aerobus, will begin operations in Costa Rica starting December 1st with the route San José- Cancún. The route will have initially a frequency of two times a week, Tuesdays and Fridays and only during the high season, with rates starting as low as $150.00. This is part of the expansion plan of Viva Aerobus that is already offering services from Mexico to Los Angele...

The Costa Rican Constitutional Court, the country's highest chamber, ruled in support of restrictions on water permits for developments in some hilly areas of Heredia, a province adjacent to the San José metropolitan area, said the judiciary press office this week. The high court rejected an appeal filed by a citizen by the last name of Rodríguez against the Public Services Company of Heredia (...

Friday, November 10, the United States Embassy and Consulate in San José, Costa Rica will be closed in commemoration of the U.S. federal holiday, Veterans Day, In May 1938, this day was set as a commemoration of world peace and to celebrate what was known as Armistice Day, when it was customary to honor the veterans of World War I. "However, in 1954, after the Second World War, its name was ch...

The Costa Rican government and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are joining to combat carbon dioxide emissions, said the KLM press office. KLM is the only European airline operating intercontinental flights using biofuel. Over the coming months, the business will collaborate with the Costa Rican government in a first ever such alliance for the company to research the possibilities of flying betw...

If you've ever felt out of your element upon boarding an airplane, imagine how these marine creatures must have felt. A Costa Rican man arrived at the Juan Santamaría International Airport outside of San José, Costa Rica Saturday, November 4 with a dozen or so hermit crabs stashed into two Tupperware containers with holes poked in the top. A failed school science project? Who knows ... Costa...

Così, the Boston, Massachusetts-based fast-casual restaurant chain known for its homemade flatbread, opens its eighth eatery in Costa Rica this Friday, November 10. The new Così locale will be inaugurated in the northern San José suburb of Guadalupe, in the canton of Goicoechea, at the Distrito Uno shopping plaza. Situated next to Distrito Uno's new Auto Mercado grocery store, Così in Guadal...

A U.S. citizen by the last name of Krause, who is on the Interpol alert list for sexual abuse crimes in the United States, was turned back Monday, November 6, 2017 after arriving at the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) outside of San José, Costa Rica. Costa Rican immigration police stationed at the airport saw that Krause's name came up on an Interpol alert list when they did a routi...

The U.S. Embassy in San José, Costa Rica is pleased to announce upcoming outreach sessions in the southern towns of Dominical and Pérez Zeledón. Consular staff will be on hand next week to render routine services and hear inquiries. A special information session in Pérez Zeledón will be held on visas for non-U.S. citizens. To RSVP for passport renewals, notary services, and federal...

The marine research yacht, the Shark Water, will dock in the Pacific port of Puntarenas, Costa Rica at the tourist pier Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 10 a.m., and will be open to the public for viewing. The 40-meter yacht was refitted to facilitate biological research of highly migratory sharks and other marine fauna in the Eastern Pacific, and is owned by the Colorado, United States-based ...

From November 7-15 in the Mal Pais - Santa Teresa area on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, instructors from The Netherlands will offer a survival swim class for children aged two to 12. Private and semi-private lessons are available in 1, 3 or 7-lesson packages. The class instructors describe the activity as follows: "Baby survival is a special technique for very young children (under 2 year ...

The eagle logo on Costa Rica's national beer, Imperial, is now taking on new meaning, as the company sends out volunteers, called "Aguilas al Rescate" or "Eagles to the Rescue," on different community improvement projects. The company's first initiative is being carried out in conjunction with the Costas Verdes foundation, and involves planting native trees along the central Pacific coast of Co...

Keeping kids from dropping out of school has topped the Education Ministry's agenda for years in Costa Rica, and some advances have been made. However the past two years the percentage who drop out at some point during the school year has remained steady at 2 percent. That translated into 14,606 students who have dropped out so far this year, according to data from the ministry. The mid-year...

Over 13,000 teens in Costa Rica became mothers this year. Pregnancy in teens not only has increased health risks for young expectant women, but is a direct contributor to limited educational and economic opportunities for women throughout their lives. This and other data on the topic of teenage sexuality was recently presented at the National University (UNA) in Heredia. A new law that we...

The Ochomogo, Cartago-based paint company, Celco, has developed a unique product that may help in the battle against potentially fatal mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and zika. Costa Rican chemists, biochemists and pharmacists joined together to create a paint formula that repels insects and interferes with their reproduction including the Aedes Aegypti mosquito that can carry...

Costa Rican migration police at the Juan Santamaría International Airport detained a Mexican man who is one of the suspects of the robberies that occurred last Tuesday, October 31st in two jewelry stores in Escazú. Migration ad interim director, Esteban Obando, confirmed that the alert was given by the new digital system (Migración Visible) on Saturday night and the airport authorities immedia...

The Drug Control Police found 250 kilograms of cocaine hidden in two containers that arrived at Moín port in Limón, this Saturday. The investigations carried out by agents of the Drug Control Police (PCD) alerted them of a ship with a Panamanian flag that apparently was transporting several containers with drugs; the police therefore checked all the containers and found the cocaine hidden in th...