12 kilos of cocaine were found in the house where the kidnapped pilot was being held. (OIJ Photo) A Canadian man is amongst seven foreigners who were arrested in Costa Rica on Thursday on charges that they kidnapped a pilot in order to force the pilot to fly a shipment of cocaine out of the country. The other kidnappers include five Colombian nationals and a Romanian, according to officials...

Source: NOAA PTWC The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PWTC) of the United States National Weather Service has lifted an alert that extended from Ecuador to the Pacific coastlines of Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica following a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that destroyed buildings in Guayaquil and claimed more than 230 casualties. The Observatory of Seismology and Volcanology of Costa Ri...

The gunmen reportedly spent an incredible 25 minutes looting the store. (Image from Eurochronos web site) Four gunmen posing as customers on Friday conducted a brazen armed robbery during business hours of a jewelry store located in the Multiplaza shopping center in Escazu.   According to Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security (MSP), the four gunmen entered the Eurochronos store, ...

(ICR-CRS archive/stock) Cannabis has overtaken tobacco as one of the recreational substances of choice among high school students in Costa Rica. Such was the conclusion reached by the Institute on Liquor and Substance Abuse Research (Spanish acronym: IAFA) following its Fourth National Survey in secondary schools. The longitudinal survey, which was conducted in 2015, has been put through va...

The incident took place in Ciudad Quesada, San Carlos. (Archive/Wikimedia Commons) Authorities in Costa Rica are searching for a woman who sold her 10-month-old child - complete with birth certificate - for two US dollars to a stranger last week. The incident took place in Ciudad Quesada, San Carlos, according to authorities. Apparently, the mother – whose identity is known by authoritie...

(Photo courtesy of the MSP) Costa Rica’s Air Surveillance Service (SVA) said this week that it has managed to locate 33 clandestine airstrips along the country’s Pacific coast in just the last five months. Authorities say they believe the clandestine airstrips are the work of drug traffickers, mostly linked with Mexican drug cartels. The airstrips range from 500 meters to a kilometer in ...

Flickr Commons Getting deported from Costa Rica can be a terrifying experience, but it can be managed with skilled legal representation. Deportation is one of the most potentially worrisome situations for foreigners residing in Costa Rica. The forcible removal of a person from one nation to another is a very upsetting condition that leaves individuals completely powerless over their own liv...

(CRS Archive) Some 760 foreclosed homes, lots, and commercial properties will be up for grabs this weekend, April 15-17, at the inaugural “Interbank Expo,” where the State-owned banks, Banco de Costa Rica, Banco Nacional and Banco Popular will join forces to remove foreclosed real estate from their books. The expo will be held at the City Mall in Alajuela, and attendees will find houses beg...

(FILE/ICR-CRS Archive) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) boosted its outlook for Costa Rica’s economic growth this week, forecasting that the country’s economy will grow by 4.2 percent this year. The projection is an increase of 0.2 percent from the IMF’s last projection of Costa Rica’s 2016 economic growth, made in October of last year. The new projection by the IMF matches exactly the...

(MSP Photo) A small aircraft crashed into the sea just two kilometers off the coast of Puerto Jimenez in the southern zone of Costa Rica during the early morning hours Tuesday, according to Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security (MSP). The aircraft went down just two kilometers off Carate beach, while apparently coming in for a landing at a clandestine airstrip, according to authorities. ...

Nicaragua’s Supreme Court decided Monday that it will not extradite Michael Adrian Salmeron, the Nicaraguan man suspected of murdering 57-year-old U.S. expat, Dirk Beauchamp, his 38-year-old Costa Rican wife and three of their children in Costa Rica. (Photo: La Prensa/Nicaragua) Nicaragua’s Supreme Court decided Monday that it will not extradite Michael Adrian Salmeron, the Nicaraguan man susp...

Alejo Leiva Lachner (Facebook) Two more suspects wanted in relation to the mob killing of a 21-year-old Costa Rican man who was on vacation during the Holy Week holiday in Playas del Coco, a popular beach town in Costa Rica’s northwestern province of Guanacaste, are now in custody after turning themselves in Friday afternoon, according to the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ). The suspect...

Illustrative image. (Flickr) A 57-year-old German man suspected of killing his Costa Rican girlfriend reportedly committed suicide in a holding cell of Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) over the weekend, though authorities have yet to release an official statement on the matter as of early Monday morning. The man, identified originally as Karl Alwanmeyer though there is some ...

Universidad Latina in Heredia New York, NY (PRWEB) April 06, 2016 - Abroad101, producers of America's first and largest study abroad review website, released the fifth annual Study Abroad Rankings today highlighting the success of international education. The rankings recognize the study abroad programs and locations rated highest by American students who have studied abroad in the last year. ...

Source: York University York University News Release - Over the past three years, Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) Professor Felipe Montoya and his family have been waiting for a response from Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) on their application for permanent residency. However, the Montoya family was recently deemed inadmissible for permanent residency because 13-year-old ...

Illustrative image. (Flickr) Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) identified the German man stopped Thursday morning while driving with his deceased girlfriend in the passenger seat of his car as 57-year-old Karl Alwanmeyer, and confirmed that the man is being held on suspicion of homicide. During a brief press conference on Thursday, the OIJ also identified the victim as 51-yea...

Illustrative image. (Flickr) UPDATE: German man suspected of killing Costa Rican woman identified as more details emerge   Costa Rican police officers made a grisly discovery in the early morning hours Thursday after stopping a suspicious vehicle in the area of La Virgen, in Sarapiqui.   According to preliminary information, residents of the area alerted authorities to a ...

The aircraft burst into flames after crashing shortly after takeoff. (MSP Photo) A single-engine aircraft crashed and burned around 5 p.m. Thursday evening near Nosara, in Costa Rica’s northwestern Guanacaste province, killing both of the aircraft’s occupants, officials have confirmed. The aircraft is believed to have had trouble gaining altitude shortly after takeoff from a clandestine air...

At least 50 people were injured, many of them seriously, Friday morning in the Pavas suburb of Costa Rica’s capital city, San Jose when two commuter trains slammed into each other in a violent head-on collision.   At least 50 passengers were sent to area hospitals and trauma centers, according to the Red Cross, many suffering from broken bones and head trauma.   Meanwhile, at...

AquaticEdge.org Pay close attention to the picture accompanying this article. The beautiful woman flashing a radiant smile is Karlyn Pipes, swimming world champion and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, which puts her on a similar level with aquatic legends such as Mark Spitz, Janet Evans and Johnny Weissmuller. At one point in her life, Karlyn was a dental tourist in Costa ...

Nearly the entire length of the massive tuber, measured some 18 inches in length and more than 3 inches, was lodged inside the patient's anal cavity.  A 55-year-old Costa Rican man who had to have an 18-inch long yuca (also known as cassava root) removed from his anal cavity in an emergency surgery at Costa Rica’s public San Juan de Dios Hospital in the capital San Jose could potentially file ...

Source: Spanish National Police Spanish customs agents at the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas International Airport detained a man who had flown in from Costa Rica carrying 400 grams of cocaine hydrochloride in powdered form. The incident, which took place last Friday, made headlines in Europe due to the ill-chosen smuggling method. According to a news report filed by Fran Hurtado of online Sp...

(Pixabay Commons) Editor's note: This is a guest column by Patrick Goodness, CEO of The Goodness Company. I’m not one to air dirty laundry in public, but if you are a business owner in Costa Rica, this story is important enough to share.   About 6 months ago, our leadership team decided that our company was ready to invest for growth.  As an overworked CEO, I realized that we needed the ...

Source: Marie Curie Marie Curie Press Release – 5 April 2016 - London - A driving instructor has swapping her car for her walking boots for a trek to support the Marie Curie Hospice that cared for her late husband. Helene Cook is one of 28 adventurers trekking through Costa Rica to raise more than £100,000 to support the work of the Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff & the Vale, based in Pena...

Colombian airline, Avianca is offering steep discounts on airfare to and from Costa Rica but tickets must be purchased by April 14th, the airline along with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) announced on Monday. This year marks the fifth year for the airline’s “Discover Central America” promotion. While tickets must be purchased by April 14th, travel dates can be booked for anytime bet...

FILE/ARCHIVE image for illustrative purposes only. (MSP) Locals and tourists alike will soon be able to submit formal criminal complaints to Costa Rica’s Tourist Police rather than having to travel to the closest office of the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) in select coastal communities as part of an “experimental” pilot program that will begin next month.   Under the pilot pro...

(Wikimedia Commons) A 26-year-old Costa Rican woman is suing Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health, alleging she has been left partially paralyzed after receiving an injection of Gardasil, a vaccine which is intended to vaccinate against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus most responsible for cervical cancer in women, the daily La Nacion reports. According to the woman, Laura Navarro Calvo...

(Facebook / FP Garabito) A 38-year-old German tourist was killed in a violent head-on collision in the Quebrada Amarilla sector of Jaco, Puntarenas on Saturday, according to authorities.   The deceased was identified as Erick Eiseld, who had been in Costa Rica for several days on vacation, according to reports.   According to the initial investigation, Eiseld, for unknown...

ARCHIVE/FILE: Some 1,700 tons of cocaine is expected to pass through Costa Rican territory in 2016. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security) Two aircraft from Costa Rica’s Air Surveillance Service (SVA) were able to guide a Costa Rican Coast Guard vessel in recovering 607 kilos of cocaine that were spotted floating at sea, tied to a buoy, the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) said o...

Wikimedia Commons Cloudy vision in patients 50 years of age or older is often a symptom of cataracts, which happens to be one of leading causes of blindness. According to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the combined number of patients with macular degeneration and glaucoma do not come close to the number of patients with cataracts on a global level. In the United St...

UNEP News Release - Cartagena de Indias, 31 March 2016 – Latin American and Caribbean Ministers of Environment committed on Thursday to accelerate collective action on a set of priorities ranging from climate change and air quality to safe management of chemicals, ahead of the second UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-2), which will convene in Nairobi, Kenya, in May. The ministers and high-level rep...

Pixabay Commons During a February speaking engagement at United Nations Association of New York, renowned author Sasha Issenberg offered a glimpse at the current state of medical tourism:   Some countries have found economic opportunity in turning healthcare into a global business. with insurance can expect to pay $90,000 for a heart bypass in the U.S., but only $12,000 if he or she ...

East Stroudsburg University News Release - About 175 people attended a talk by Anthony Drago, Ed.D., in Costa Rica, where he discussed suicide prevention, disorders of trauma and crises intervention, mood disorders, and anxiety in children and adolescents. Dr. Drago, psychologist and professor and chair of the psychology department in the College of Arts and Sciences at ESU in Pennsylvania, hosted...

(Facebook/OIJ) Officers with Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigate Police (OIJ) along with SWAT officers from the Special Tactical Response Service (SERT) conducted a series of raids beginning shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday, making five arrests in the murder of a 21-year-old man who was attacked by a mob of at least 20 people outside the popular Lizard Lounge bar in Playas del Coco, Guanacaste on...

Illustrative image. (Wikimedia Commons) Costa Rica’s infant mortality rate continues to fall, and reached its lowest level ever in 2015, according to a recent announcement by the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). Infant mortality in the country last year was 7.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, the lowest level ever recorded, and down from 8.01 deaths per 1,000 live...

Some 1,700 tons of cocaine is expected to pass through Costa Rican territory in 2016. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security) Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security (MSP) and Drug Control Police (PCD) are expecting a record level of cocaine trafficking through the country and its territorial waters this year, due in large part to increases in production in the source countries of...

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Bacardi, the world’s largest privately held spirits company, announced on March 22, World Water Day, that it launched an in-house initiative to remove plastic straws and stirrers at company events, with the hope that this practice will extend to bars and restaurants around the world. Commented Mike Gibaldi of the environmental group Surfrider, “As a large corporate c...

(Photo courtesy of the Costa Rican Coast Guard) Costa Rican Coast Guard officials were able to recover a significant amount of cocaine that was thrown overboard during the chase. (Photo courtesy of the Costa Rican Coast Guard) Acting on information provided by Costa Rica’s intelligence service, the DIS, Costa Rica’s Coast Guard were able to seize 875 kilos of cocaine after intercepting a s...

FILE/ARCHIVE image for illustrative purposes only. (MSP) A body discovered on a beach just outside Costa Rica’s Santa Rosa National Park in Guanacaste is believed to be a German tourist who had been missing since entering the park with friends on Monday, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MSP). The remains, which had been partially scavenged by wildlife, are believed to be those ...

(Illustrative image. ICR-CRS Archive) Lawmakers in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed into law a reform that limits landlords’ ability to increase rent paid by tenants to that of the rate of inflation.  Until now, landlords who rent properties in colones were allowed to raise a tenant's rent by 15 percent each year. Under the reform, rent can only be increased during the...