Month: April 2026

Nicaragua denied Wednesday that it is prohibiting Holy Week celebrations, countering accusations from the United States and opposition voices that public processions have been banned. The government of spouses and co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo faces claims it is cracking down on the Catholic Church, which it accuses of backing 2018 anti-government protests. The …

Read more “Nicaragua Rejects United States Claims of Holy Week Celebration Ban”

Pura Vida may be the unofficial slogan of Costa Rica, but Vivir y Deja Vivir– Live and let live– would be equally fitting. Everywhere I have lived here, from urban San Jose barrio to remote rural areas accessible only by 4-wheel drive, my personal space has never been seriously invaded. What goes on inside my …

Read more “What It’s Like to Be Agnostic in Costa Rica”

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, remains one of the most important religious observances here in Costa Rica, especially in a country where Catholic traditions have shaped public life and family customs for generations. For many Costa Ricans, the week is still marked by processions, prayer, and church services. But alongside official religious practice, an older …

Read more “The superstitions and traditions that still mark Easter Week in Costa Rica”

Costa Rica took over the rotating chair of the Organization of American States Permanent Council today, placing Ambassador Alejandra Solano at the head of one of the body’s main political forums through June 30. The handover took place at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., as Costa Rica assumed the three-month post under the organization’s alphabetical …

Read more “Costa Rica Takes Over Leadership of the OAS Permanent Council”

Costa Rica has been folded into a new U.S. strategic concept that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls “Greater North America,” a label the Trump administration is using to describe what it sees as Washington’s immediate security perimeter. In a speech at the Americas Counter Cartel Conference in Doral, Florida, Hegseth said the map runs from …

Read more “Costa Rica Included in New U.S. Greater North America Security Strategy”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday urged El Salvador to review the life sentences approved for minors who commit murder, rape, or take part in “terrorism,” arguing that the measure violates children’s rights. El Salvador’s Congress, controlled by the ruling party, amended the juvenile criminal law to apply that punishment to …

Read more “UN Urges El Salvador to Review Life Sentences for Minors”

Three men and one woman are set to leave this Wednesday on the first crewed journey to the Moon since 1972, a historic odyssey intended to push the United States into a new era of space exploration. NASA’s Artemis II mission has been years in the making, with repeated setbacks along the way. But it …

Read more “The historic Artemis II mission to the Moon is ready for launch”