All Things Panama

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”

A major shift is coming to sports television in Costa Rica and across Central America. Fox Corporation, the global media giant behind the Fox brand, has acquired the programming and production operations of Tigo Sports in six Central American countries: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama. The new Fox channel is set …

Read more “Costa Rica Sports TV Set for Major Shakeup”

Parish officials in Paraíso suspended the traditional pilgrimage to the Ujarrás Valley, after multiple beehives were found along the planned route and authorities warned of a risk to participants. The decision followed a recommendation from the Municipal Emergency Commission of Paraíso after recent bee-related incidents in the area and inspections that located several hives along …

Read more “Beehives Force Cancellation of Traditional Pilgrimage”

Costa Rica’s Ombudsman’s Office has given immigration authorities 24 hours to disclose where the first group of migrants deported from the United States is being housed, adding fresh pressure to a new bilateral arrangement that is already drawing scrutiny just days after it began. The group of 25 arrived on Saturday under a March agreement …

Read more “Costa Rica Pressured to Reveal Whereabouts of U.S.-Deported Migrants”