Month: April 2026

Panama took custody Monday of the main suspect in the 1994 bombing of Alas Chiricanas Flight 901, the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history. Ali Zaki Hage Jalil, a 57-year-old Colombian-Venezuelan national of Lebanese descent, arrived at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City yesterday under heavy security. Police transferred him immediately to the headquarters …

Read more “Panama Takes Custody of Flight 901 Bombing Attack Suspect”

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump is suffering from a mental breakdown after launching, alongside Israel, the war in the Middle East. In his most recent public appearances, Ortega had kept a more measured tone about Trump following the war unleashed on February 28 by Israeli and U.S. attacks against …

Read more “Ortega says Trump has a mental breakdown over war in the Middle East”

Costa Rica will begin enforcing new fines on April 30 against people who enter national parks and other protected wild areas through illegal access points or take part in unauthorized activities inside them. The measure was published yesterday and takes effect 10 days later because the text does not include an immediate start clause. Illegal …

Read more “Costa Rica Cracks Down on Unauthorized Tours and Illegal Park Entry”

Costa Rica will release a new ₡25 coin on Wednesday that pays tribute to Arenal Volcano, putting one of Alajuela’s best-known landmarks into the hands of collectors and, eventually, everyday users of the colón. The coin is the sixth of seven designs in the Central Bank’s “Emblematic Sites of Our Provinces” series, which highlights one …

Read more “Costa Rica Releases New Collectible Coin Honoring Arenal Volcano”

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released $10.5 million to help communities in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador prepare for severe drought in the Central American Dry Corridor. The funding was given after early forecasts showed major rainfall shortfalls, targets around 145,000 vulnerable people. Officials say the money will support anticipatory measures …

Read more “UN Aid Targets Food and Water Crisis Across Central American Dry Corridor”

Costa Rican prosecutors are warning about a rise in reckless driving on some of our country’s busiest roads, saying the pattern is feeding more criminal cases tied to dangerous behavior behind the wheel. In Alajuela and Atenas, authorities say alcohol, extreme speed and illegal street racing continue to show up again and again in cases …

Read more “Costa Rica Sees Increase in Reckless Driving Cases on Major Highways”

Costa Rica is a country that tends to punch above its weight in health outcomes. With a life expectancy of more than 80 years and relatively low rates of smoking and alcohol consumption compared to much of the developed world, the country has long been held up as a model of efficient, effective public health. …

Read more “Costa Rica Could Face Sharp Rise in Chronic Disease Cases”

Costa Rican police detained 19 Nicaraguan nationals in irregular migratory status during operations in Crucitas de Cutris over the past week, in the latest sign that authorities are keeping up pressure on illegal gold mining along the northern border. Thirteen of those detained were found allegedly extracting gold in tunnels and other sites, while six …

Read more “Costa Rica Police Arrest 19 Nicaraguans in Crucitas Gold Mining Sweep”

Panama announced yesterday it will sanction a Chinese consortium for alleged breaches on a canal-related infrastructure project as detentions of Panamanian-flagged vessels in Chinese ports continue. The move comes after a sharp rise in inspections that began in March, when 93 Panamanian ships faced holds in China. Eleven of 20 vessels detained between April 1 …

Read more “Costa Rica Backs Panama in Escalating China Shipping Dispute”

Costa Rica is heading into a hot and mostly dry week, with the strongest heat expected in Guanacaste and only spotty afternoon rain in the usual mountain and Pacific areas. The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional’s outlook for this week says conditions should remain broadly typical for this point in the season, but drier than normal across …

Read more “Costa Rica Braces for Another Week of Heat with Spotty Afternoon Rain”