The disappearance of these fish would affect Costa Rica's US$599 million per year sport fishing industry, say experts. The Costa Rican Fisheries Federation (FECOP, its initials in Spanish) called for protecting marlin and sailfish from commercialization based on recent studies that show the large economic benefits reaped from maintaining healthy sea populations of these fish. “The data shows t...

Dozens of young men who are in the La Reforma prison in San Rafael de Alajuela don’t have shoes. After witnessing how the men often go around barefoot, the Ministry of Justice has started a donation campaign to collect footwear for the men who are aged 18 - 24. The ministry says at least 70 of the prison's young adult section’s 151 inmates have nothing but the government- issued sandals to wear...

Despite persistent areas of concern, Costa Rica has consistently improved on its human development indicators since 1990. Over the past 25 years, the average years of schooling have increased by 44 percent and its income has doubled, according to the most recent United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report (UNDP) released last week. Likewise, life expectancy in Costa Rica has i...

The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) have drafted a joint regulation to restrict the importation and sale of baby walkers in Costa Rica due to safety concerns, said the Health Ministry last week. Health Minister Fernando Llorca Castro said, “The initiative is driven by a large number of specialists at the National Children's Hospital … and is another ...

Costa Rica’s Electricity Institute (ICE) will inaugurate this Monday, March 27 their new building located in Sabana Norte, 200 meters north from where their headquarters are currently located. This new 6 floor building will represent a reduction in the expenses of the organization, eliminating ten rentals and associated services and involves the relocation of 600 employees, also allowing for th...

The Financial Control Police (PCF) of the Costa Rica Treasury (Ministerio de Hacienda) carried out an important operation today in which they seized over 20 million cigarettes valued in one million dollars, they also confiscated cash and weapons. This action had the support of the National Security and Intelligence Office and it is part of a joint investigation both offices had been working on for...

More than one-tenth of people residing in Costa Rica’s indigenous territories can not read or write, and almost 1/5 of people of African descent do not have access to social security, reports the UN. "It is fundamental to improve human development for women, Afro-descendants, indigenous people, people with disabilities, rural dwellers, among other groups," said the United Nations Develop...

AOC, the world leader in display technologies, announced the availability in Costa Rica of the G2460PQU, a super professional 24-inch monitor designed especially for gamers who want accurate colors, striking graphics, and a fluid gaming experience. The AOC G2460PQU provides a refresh rate of 144 Hz and a 1 ms response time that allows gamers to enjoy super fast action without distorted images w...

The recent trial of a Lebanese man by the last name of Anis led to him receiving a 12-year prison sentence for smuggling migrants, reported the judiciary press office today. His trial was held earlier this month in the Criminal Court of Corredores, Puntarenas province,in the southern border region with Panama. He was sentenced to “aggravated illicit trafficking of persons” for his activities...

A new campaign has been launched to draw attention to child disappearances in Costa Rica, reported the state Electrical and Telecommunications Institute (ICE) yesterday. In January and February of this year, the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) Alert Unit received 146 reports of missing minors throughout the country. Fortunately, in all but one of these cases, the minors were located. The...

Although Costa Rica has obtained a high level of human development, there is a notable gap experienced by women as far as economic benefits, ​​and women also lag behind in other areas, said the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) this week. For example, on the positive side, women in Costa Rica live on average five years longer than men and average a year more formal education than men, a...

Let’s begin by clarifying that opiates do not refer exclusively to the use of illegal drugs like opium and heroin, opiates actually include some legal drugs such as morphine, oxycodone fentanyl, and codeine, often prescribed to treat pain. In the United States, it is estimated that almost 2 million Americans use prescription opiates and more than half a million are addicted to heroin; this numb...

This morning at 5:20 a.m. police responded to a report of a man being shot in Sabana Sur, a residential neighborhood on the southern side of San José's La Sabana Metropolitan Park. The man, identified as Michael Chain Caspi (48) and of Israeli nationality, was here on one of his occasional visits to the country, said Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) in a press conference this morning. Acc...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security confirmed today the capture of a Somalian man suspected of international terrorism. Police arrested last night the African suspect at the Temporary Assistance Center for Migrants (CATEM) in El Cruce de Santa Cecilia, in the county of La Cruz, Guanacaste province, said the ministry. The Somalian is identified as 25-year-old Ibrahim Qoordheen. Police...

Costa Rica shows steady overall improvement in human development, with increasing educational opportunities and income rates, but with nagging concerns over gender equity and growing economic inequality. This was revealed in the latest Human Development Index (HDI) published this week by the United Nations Development Program. Costa Rica is currently situated in 9th place in human developmen...

Every year, Costa Rica's Blue Flag Program receives applications for their "Blue Flag" ecological recognition which rewards community efforts towards sustainable development. The program is a joint effort of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute and the Ecological Blue Flag National Commission, known in Costa Rica simply as the "Bandera Azul" program. The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) anno...

By Charles Austin Boll Sardinal Defeats San Juan de Abangares 5-4 to Win the Campeonato de Fútbol San Luis Every Sunday, this small town of 500 ticos will pause - for soccer. San Luis de Monteverde hosts club teams that travel from surrounding areas to participate in the Campeonato de Fútbol San Luis. This weekend brought together an unusually large crowd to enjoy the final match and cele...

Coast guard officials yesterday confiscated an estimated 30 kilos of marine life and arrested five Spaniards in connection with violating several fishing laws, reported the Public Security Ministry. The men were found in an overloaded fishing boat near the Gulf of Nicoya off the Pacific port town of Puntarenas, using prohibited fishing gear, among other irregularities, by officers of the Calder...

Companies and individuals engaged in legal, real estate, agricultural, commercial and advisory services and consultancies are among the first 120 to be investigated by the Costa Rican tax administration, said the treasury department today. The names were identified in a publicly searchable database released last April during the Panama Papers scandal by the International Consortium of Investiga...

21-year-old Canadian Kayla Reid has decided to return to Newfoundland to avoid causing any problems for Natureboy and his community in Costa Rica. She described being stunned at the immense amount of negative media coverage of her move to Costa Rica earlier this month which she says was to be closer to nature. The CBC quoted from the Facebook she posted today in which she explained her decis...

In light of the country’s growing deficit and difficulties in funding its public budget, Costa Rica’s treasury is working on a number of fronts to tighten up controls and increase accurate tax payments throughout the country. As part of this effort, they teamed up with the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry (MAG) to provide local governments with a tool that will allow them to enforce Law No. 9...

One of Costa Rica’s cornerstone programs for addressing hunger and poverty may not sound glitzy, but it does seem to get the job done. There’s no catchy slogan or matching corporate funder, but the country’s 616 Centers for Education, Nutrition and Comprehensive Child Care (CEN-CINAI) have been recognized by the region’s foremost nutrition agency for their work. The pioneering regional leade...

After clearing the constitutional court for any potential anomalies, Costa Rican legislators voted last week to approve the return of the annual corporate tax. Every year in July, those holding any type of S.A., limited liability corporation, including foreign companies, registered in the National Registry in Costa Rica must pay an annual fee for each corporation which ranges from about US$119 ...

Friday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) published an article on a 21-year-old woman from Corner Brook, Newfoundland who was declared missing by her family in early March. After the young woman, Kayla Jean Reid, had allegedly gone to a church retreat at the end of February and never returned home, her family contacted the Newfoundland police. As her family scoured the Internet for po...

Have you witnessed corruption in a court or judicial setting? Do you sense foul play and think you know who might be responsible? To aid the Costa Rican judiciary in fighting corruption within its ranks, there is now a free, confidential, 24-hour hotline where you can report your concerns. The resource is part of the Costa Rica Supreme Court of Justice's anti-corruption policy, said the judi...

Cities of the Future: Emerging Market Champions, a global research carried out by Euromonitor International placed the city of San José, the capital of Costa Rica among the 17 most developed cities in emerging markets alongside their business opportunities and challenges. The report was released this month and was carried out in August 2016; top emerging cities are located in underdeveloped reg...

Costa Rica's "México" Hospital announced this week they successful conducted a state-of-the art heart valve replacement therapy called "valve in valve." This is the first time the procedure has been conducted in the country, and the first in all of Central America, said the hospital's press office. The patient, referred to as "Elizabeth" felt immediate improvements when on Wednesday she beca...

Investigations carried out by Drug Control Police (PCD, its initials in Spanish) unit of the Ministry of Public Security led to the dismantling of 20 narco criminal structures operating in the country, said the ministry. These police actions took place from January 1 until March 15. Fifteen of these narco clans operated locally, of which 8 were family-run groups. The remaining five narco operat...

Who should cover women’s maternity leave? Private companies, the state, or both? In Costa Rica, maternity leave has traditionally been a shared responsibility, but has often been criticized as harming women’s employment prospects, as employers can be reluctant to take on the extra costs in the event a woman gets pregnant. And firing a pregnant woman in Costa Rica is against the law, precisely t...

The Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca) announced today they would limit granting permits for tuna fishing in 2017 as a provisional measure while they implement a new model to better regulate the activity. The Costa Rican Presidency announced that the management model for the tuna industry is being reformulated in order to achieve a better balan...

Since 1999 Costa Rica hasn’t built a new prison, but for this 2017, the country will have three new Comprehensive Care Units that will host 1,600 prisoners in spaces suitable for work and study. The new centers, which involve an investment of $66 million USD, will be located in San Rafael de Alajuela, Pococí de Limón and Pérez Zeledón,San José. The prisoners that will be allocated in these ...

Air France announced today that thanks to the successful operation of its existing Costa Rica-France route, the airline will be expanding to three flights a week for its 2017-2018 season starting at the end of October. Its 2016-2017 season surpassed 32,000 reservations for an average flight occupancy of over 80 percent. The Air France flights have increased French tourism to Costa Rica by an es...

During 2017, various companies plan to strengthen their relations with public institutions through public-private initiatives aimed at social and environmental problems. Since 2013, the Purdy Motor Group has teamed up with the Ministry of Public Education to develop a program called Purdy Cole, which aims to have employees of the company complete their studies. Purdy turns their meeting rooms i...

In the wake of the tragic killing of a Canadian teacher over a week ago in Puerto Viejo, Limón, police have upped their presence. Through a number of different patrols, as well as meetings and conversations with community members and visitors, police aim to create a peaceful and safe environment for residents and tourists alike. An operation involving several different police forces has been...

While crossing bridges around San José used to just be time-consuming - it may be getting quicker, even though potentially more tongue-tying. The newly inaugurated, widened bridge connecting San José’s La Uruca with Heredia via Pozuelo-Jardines de Recuerdo has been named after Costa Rican writer Yolanda Oreamuno (1916-1956). Better not try out the pronunciation while navigating traffic, ther...

Meet the most recent player on the Costa Rican taxi scene: Nova Transportes, a 100 percent locally owned business. The company is recruiting drivers, and also clients, on its Facebook page, and says it will accept car models from 2000 on. The newly formed Costa Rican company, Nova Transportes, is basing its model on Uber, and will begin operating in the second half of this year, said the com...

— The application is available for iOS and Android. Wondering when your local organic farmer's market is open, or want to visit an organic farm on an upcoming road trip in Costa Rica? A new App might help. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) announced earlier this month the launch of "Cr Organic", a free App that allows consumers to directly contact organic producers without intermedia...

According to the testimony of a victim, a taxi driver from San José thought he was an Uber driver and tried to attack him, the victim who turned out to be a bodyguard, took out his gun to defend himself. This situation occurred some days back, apparently the taxi driver started following him, the bodyguard noticed the situation and parked his car, at which point the cab driver got out of his c...

Costa Rica now has its first national policy on wastewater sanitation and a funding plan that includes $520 million in infrastructure to provide long-awaited, significant improvements to the country’s public and environmental health. This policy is the result of priorities established in the National Development Plan (PND) created under the current administration. These include strengthening in...

A week ago today, Canadian tourist Bruce McCallum was mugged and stabbed to death in Puerto Viejo, Limón, when he was taking photographs of the sunrise. 51-year-old McCallum was a math teacher who apparently was on a sabbatical from his job at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute; according to the Toronto Sun, McCallum loved traveling, nature and photography. Yesterday, close to 200 people f...