All Things Panama

Costa Rica’s plastic pollution is not only an environmental issue; it is a quietly mounting economic one. The country markets itself on natural beauty, clean beaches, and biodiversity. Plastic undermines all three, and the financial consequences are beginning to be quantified in ways that are difficult to ignore. The most direct economic threat lies within …

Read more “How Plastic Pollution Is Hurting Costa Rica’s Economy”

The director general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Thibaut Bruttin, warned of the danger posed to journalism in Latin America by several presidents following Donald Trump’s playbook, which he described as hostile toward the press. In an interview with AFP during a visit to Guatemala that began Monday, Bruttin said he regretted that the Trump …

Read more “Trump Inspired Pressure on Journalists Alarms RSF in Latin America”

A Costa Rican environmental organization is calling for a halt to the government’s proposed new wildlife regulation, arguing that the draft weakens protections, lacks clear scientific support, and moves forward without new funding for the National System of Conservation Areas, known as SINAC. The group, APREFLOFAS, said the proposal from the Ministry of Environment and …

Read more “Costa Rica Wildlife Groups Push Back Against Proposed New Regulation”

There is a big difference between an escrow contract and a trust contract. In the escrow contract one party places certain funds in the hands of the escrow company for a variety of purposes, such as: a means to show good faith and real intent to purchase a property or some other important item. Those …

Read more “Costa Rica Real Estate Escrow Rules Explained for Foreign Buyers”

Applying the “Zucman tax,” a levy on large fortunes, in seven Latin American countries would make it possible to raise $24 billion a year by taxing only about 3,000 people, according to a study published Tuesday. The report on a minimum tax for high-net-worth individuals in Latin America proposes a way to tax extreme wealth, …

Read more “Is It Viable to Apply a Tax on the Ultra-Rich in Latin America?”

Costa Rican lawmakers moved forward Tuesday with a bill that would sharply limit minors’ access to social media, after the Legislative Assembly’s Youth, Children and Adolescents Committee unanimously approved bill 25,336 and sent it on to the full Assembly for debate and a vote. The proposal would ban children under 14 from creating or using …

Read more “Costa Rica Advances Bill to Ban Social Media for Children Under 14”

U.S. authorities have renewed their push to extradite Jonathan Álvarez Alfaro, the Costa Rican suspect known as “El Profe” or “Gato,” reviving a case that had already tested the limits of the country’s new extradition rules. Costa Rica’s Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the new request was received on April 7 and that Álvarez is …

Read more “DEA Renews Extradition Request for Alleged Drug Trafficker”

Outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves Robles stood before a crowd at the historic Antigua Aduana in San José, the venue for our country’s Hello Brete employment fair, and made an announcement that sent tens of thousands of Costa Ricans rushing to their phones and laptops. The government had officially launched a free, nationwide English-learning program called …

Read more “Costa Rica’s Hello Brete Program Promises Free English Training”

Colombia’s government authorized the euthanasia of up to 80 hippos Monday as part of a new plan to curb the invasive population that started with four animals imported by drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s. Acting Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres announced the measures at a press conference in the capital, saying decisive action …

Read more “Colombia to Euthanize Hippos to Control Pablo Escobar’s Invasive Herd”

Costa Rica has spent much of the past decade walking a monetary tightrope, and the results have been extraordinary in some sectors and quietly devastating in others. At the center of the story is the Banco Central de Costa Rica, or BCCR, and its inflation-targeting framework, whose stated goal is to keep consumer price growth …

Read more “How Costa Rica’s Strong Colón Became a Problem for the Economy”