Month: July 2025

Another money laundering case has shaken Costa Rica. Following a series of raids that dismantled a laundering network operating through legal and illegal lottery sales, the Social Protection Board (Junta de Protección Social, JPS) confirmed that one of its officials is under investigation. The JPS also warned about connections between clandestine lotteries and organized crime. …

Read more “Costa Rican Lottery Official Investigated in Money Laundering Case”

The film The Laundromat, starring Meryl Streep, damaged Panama’s reputation by drawing inspiration from a real-life story: the global scandal that erupted a decade ago over offshore companies based in this Central American country used to launder money and evade taxes. Shaking off the stigma of the “Panama Papers” is no easy task, acknowledges the …

Read more “Panama Removed from EU High-Risk List, but Tax Haven Status Remains”

The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), through its Specialized Section Against Environmental Crimes, carried out an operation at a store in Vázquez de Coronado, San José, where several wild animal species allegedly offered for sale were discovered. During the raid, agents recovered two specimens of the Mexican salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum), a critically endangered amphibian according to …

Read more “Costa Rica Rescues Endangered Amphibians and Turtles in Store Bust”

Starbucks continues to strengthen its presence in Costa Rica with the opening of its second store in the province of Guanacaste, specifically in Tamarindo. This is the second of three planned openings in the Guanacaste region. On June 10, the brand opened its first store in the Solarium business park in Liberia. This expansion plan …

Read more “Starbucks Expands in Guanacaste with New Store Opening in Tamarindo”

The original Pan-American Highway heading south from San José once took a dramatic and daunting route. It passed through the old capital of Cartago and climbed the mountains before topping out at over 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) on the Cerro de la Muerte. From there, it plunged down toward San Isidro de El General and …

Read more “Dominical to Quepos: The Costa Rican Road That Took 30 Years to Finish”

Salvadorans deserve “something better” than living between “gangs or dictatorship,” said Noah Bullock, director of the influential NGO Cristosal, in an interview. On Thursday, the organization closed its office in El Salvador, denouncing “repression” from the government of Nayib Bukele. The team in the country went into exile amid an escalation of “persecution,” following the …

Read more “Exiled NGO Slams Bukele’s Rule as Repeat of Authoritarian Past”

Costa Rica is home to around 220 species of non-marine mammals. Roughly half of those species, 117 is the current number, are the type of mammal that many folks are worried will fly into their hair – bats. 117 is a lot of different kinds of bats and probably more than you would have guessed, …

Read more “Meet the Bats of Costa Rica from Tent Makers to Fish Hunters”

A noticeable change in watercolor has been reported across several zones of the Gulf of Nicoya and coastal areas adjacent to the Nicoya Peninsula. This alteration is the result of an algal bloom. Satellite imagery from July 5, provided by the Marine Phytoplankton Laboratory at the Marine Biology Station of the National University (UNA), shows …

Read more “Algal Bloom Detected in Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya”

Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the General Management Plan for the Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge is unconstitutional. The decision annuls both the plan and a 2023 directive from the Environment Ministry that allowed permits in protected areas, citing violations of the country’s constitution and international wetland protections. The court found that the plan …

Read more “Costa Rica Overturns Management Plan for Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge”

As climate change intensifies, rural communities across Costa Rica are taking concrete steps to reduce risks and adapt to increasing climate pressures. With support from the international program “Scaling Up Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Measures in Rural Latin America” (EbA LAC), Costa Rica is integrating ecosystem-based adaptation into local and national planning frameworks. Between 1980 and 2017, …

Read more “Rural Costa Rica Adopts Ecosystem-Based Approach to Climate Resilience”