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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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 …
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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 …
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Camera traps have photographed a young male jaguar high in the Sierra del Merendón mountain range in northern Honduras. The images, captured on February 6, show the animal at an elevation of about 2,200 meters in high-altitude cloud forest. It marks the first confirmed detection of a jaguar in the range in 10 years. The …
Costa Rica enjoys one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America and is frequently cited as the only country in Central America that has effectively eradicated mass illiteracy. According to World Bank data, approximately 97 to 98 percent of adults over 15 can read and write, a figure that reflects decades of constitutionally mandated …
Read more “The Hidden Reality of Illiteracy in Costa Rica and How People Cope”
Costa Rica’s U-20 women’s national team returns to the field this afternoon for the first of two friendlies against Canada, using the matches as part of its buildup to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland later this year. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. local time at the FCRF-Plycem Sports Complex. The …
Read more “Costa Rica’s Women’s U-20 Side Faces Canada Today in World Cup Warmup”