Lawyers for the 252 Venezuelan migrants deported by the U.S. government under Donald Trump and held for two months in El Salvador denounced on Friday that their clients are victims of “physical” and “moral” torture. A law firm hired by the Venezuelan government has been unable to visit the migrants in the mega-prison where they …
Read more “Venezuelan Migrants in El Salvador Gain Appeal Rights After SCOTUS Decision”
I’m going to come out and say it immediately, I’m not particularly knowledgeable about Costa Rica’s spiders. This little country boasts over 2,000 species that come in a dizzying variety of sizes, shapes, and colors and you would need to talk to a knowledgeable arachnologist (arachnid scientist) to get any information about the vast majority …
Read more “Living with Costa Rica’s Spiders: An Expat’s Wild Encounters”
After seven months of declining visitor numbers, Costa Rica welcomed a surge of international tourists in April 2025, signaling a potential recovery for our vital tourism sector. According to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), 231,678 foreign visitors arrived by air, a 4.6% increase over the 221,573 recorded in April 2024, adding 10,105 travelers to …
Read more “Costa Rica Sees Tourism Rebound in April 2025, Breaking Seven-Month Decline”
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern over attacks by the government against journalists. The entity confirmed that three direct attacks on journalists during visits to the Presidential House were documented. The report highlights a complaint filed by the Association of Journalists …
Read more “IACHR Warns of Attacks on Journalists in Costa Rica”
Hundreds of farmers protested on Friday on a river, aboard boats, to oppose the construction of a reservoir for the Panama Canal that would force many families to relocate. In about thirty motorized canoes, some 400 farmers traveled along the Indio River, whose waters would be dammed into an artificial lake to guarantee freshwater for …
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Costa Rica just made a decisive move to tackle organized crime. Yesterday, the Legislative Assembly voted 44-13 to amend Article 32 of the Constitution, allowing the extradition of Costa Rican citizens for international drug trafficking or terrorism. This reverses a decades-old ban, driven by a surge in narcotrafficking-related homicides and corruption cases, which jumped from …
Read more “Costa Rica’s Extradition Reform: Safer Streets or Legal Risks?”
In a move that has ignited heated debate, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) has intensified enforcement against residents living in protected ecological zones, particularly in coastal maritime-terrestrial zones (ZMT). Yesterday it was reported that MINAE imposed multimillion-colón fines and prison sentences on Costa Rican citizens for residing in these restricted areas, which …
Read more “Costa Rica’s Environmental Scandal: Locals Fined, Foreign Hotels Untouched”
Costa Rica’s fishing sector, vital to its economy and food security, faces mounting challenges from overexploitation, inadequate data, and weak governance, according to a new report urging sweeping reforms to ensure sustainability. The report, Key Elements for Sustainable Fishing, released following the Technical Meeting on Sustainable Fishing, exposes critical gaps in Costa Rica’s fisheries management. …
Read more “Costa Rica Urged to Overhaul Fishing Sector for Sustainable Future”
Conmebol president Alejandro Domínguez called on Thursday at FIFA’s Congress in Paraguay for “no one” to be “left out” of the 2030 World Cup, echoing his controversial proposal to expand the tournament to 64 teams. “A World Cup is the most popular party on planet Earth, and at that party no one should be left …
Read more “Conmebol Pushes 64-Team Expansion for 2030 World Cup at FIFA Congress”
Foreign direct investment (FDI), a cornerstone of Costa Rica’s economy, has taken a significant hit, according to a recent report by fDi Intelligence. Our country, long a magnet for high-quality investment, attracted only 43 FDI projects in 2024, a steep drop from 112 in 2023 and 147 in 2022, signaling a challenging year for its …
Read more “Costa Rica’s Foreign Investment Falls to Decade Low”