Costa Rica’s Wildlife Is Dying on the Roads That Drive Its Tourism

Costa Rica has built a global reputation as one of the planet’s great conservation success stories. A quarter of its territory is protected. It reforested aggressively when others were cutting down. It runs almost entirely on renewable energy. Millions of tourists fly in every year with one thing on their minds: the wildlife. The sloths, …

NGOs Warn World Cup Visitors About Travel to the U.S.

More than 120 human rights organizations issued a travel warning, saying visitors to the 2026 FIFA World Cup could face “serious rights violations” because of the immigration policies of the United States government. The coalition said fans, players, journalists and other travelers attending World Cup matches in the United States risk being affected by what …

Costa Rica Weather Calls For Rain and Storms Today, Drier Weather Ahead This Week

Costa Rica will see another round of afternoon downpours and isolated thunderstorms today before drier conditions settle in across most of the country, according to the latest regional forecast issued by the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN). Forecasters from there reported that moisture continues to feed into the Pacific slope and the Central Valley, although in …

Costa Rica Slashes Route 27 Expansion in Half

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) has reduced the planned expansion of Route 27 to roughly half its original scope, with works now focused on the highway’s most congested section between Escazú and Atenas rather than the full corridor to Caldera. MOPT Minister Efraím Zeledón confirmed the revised plan this week, saying initial …

Costa Rica Wildlife Draft Raises Alarm Over Illegal Captivity

The possibility of allowing the keeping of certain wild birds, such as macaws, has returned to public debate with the new draft of the Wildlife Regulations. This issue has resurfaced as one of the most controversial points in the proposal put forward by the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC). The new wording retains the …

Argentina’s Etcheverry Advances to Madrid Masters Round of 16

Tomás Martín Etcheverry advanced to the round of 16 at the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday by defeating Croatia’s Dino Prizmic 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. The Argentine No. 29 spent two hours and 10 minutes on the red clay at the Caja Mágica before closing out the three-set victory. He will face the winner of the …

Costa Rica’s Colón Won’t Weaken — Now Two BCCR Directors Want a Rate Cut

Costa Rica’s colón continues to defy gravity against the U.S. dollar, closing yet another week below the ¢460 mark and tightening the squeeze on tourism operators, exporters and dollar-earning expats that The Tico Times has been tracking for months. The story took a fresh turn over the weekend, when newly published minutes from the Banco …

Farmers Protest Panama Canal Reservoir Plan on Indio River

Hundreds of farmers marched on horseback and on foot through the rural community of Limón in Panama’s Chagres district Saturday to reject plans for a new reservoir on the Indio River. The demonstration ended at the banks of the Indio River, where the Panama Canal Authority plans to build a dam that would create a …

El Salvador Tourism Hits All-Time High in 2025

El Salvador recorded a historic 4.1 million international visitors in 2025, the highest annual figure the country has ever seen. Ministry of Tourism data released in January show the total topped the previous year’s 3.9 million by about 5 percent and beat official targets. Recent updates from Minister Morena Valdez indicate arrivals in the first …

Latin American elites see journalism as “subversive,” says Guatemalan journalist

Renowned Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora considered a “prisoner of conscience” by international organizations, said Friday that Latin America’s political and economic elites view journalism as a “subversive exercise” and impose severe punishments on those who practice it. Speaking virtually from Guatemala City, where he is under house arrest after spending nearly three years in …