Author: allthingspanama.net

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s party swept the board in parliamentary and regional elections that were boycotted by the opposition in protest over his disputed re-election last year. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela won 23 out of 24 state governor positions and scored 82.68 percent of the votes cast for lists of National Assembly members, the …

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The main journalists’ association in El Salvador denounced on Sunday the increase in “persecution” against media outlets and human rights defenders by the government of Nayib Bukele, accusing it of creating a climate of “fear” in the country. The complaint comes amid strong criticism from international organizations, which also accuse Bukele, an ally of U.S. …

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I remember when I was young, sometime around second grade, I was in the laundry room with my dad, and I had asked him about something that had happened to him and mom in the past. He answered whatever the question was and added “That’s before you were even a thought in our heads.” That …

Read more “Raising Kids in Costa Rica: An Expat Family Story”

China donated 100 buses to Nicaragua on Saturday, in a new installment of aid to the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, which faces U.S. and European sanctions for human rights violations. The public transport buses were delivered during a nighttime event in central Managua, led by the presidential couple and accompanied by music. …

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Keylor Navas, the 38-year-old goalkeeper, is set to rejoin the Costa Rican national team for the 2025 Gold Cup, marking his return after retiring from international duty in May 2024. Head coach Miguel Herrera confirmed Navas’ inclusion in a preliminary 60-player list for the tournament, which runs from June 14 to July 6 across the …

Read more “Keylor Navas Returns to Costa Rica for Gold Cup, Catalonia Friendly Uncertain”

Marriott International will bring its prestigious St. Regis brand to Costa Rica with the St. Regis Papagayo, set to open in early 2027 in the Gulf of Papagayo. Construction begins in July 2025, with the first phase, including residences, expected to complete by December 2026. Spanning 20 hectares with 634 linear yards of beachfront, the …

Read more “St. Regis Papagayo: Marriott’s Luxury Resort to Open in Costa Rica in 2027”

Thousands of people marched in Panama on Friday to protest the arrest of two trade-union leaders who have spearheaded demonstrations against the right-wing government of President José Raúl Mulino. Two officials from SUNTRACS—the country’s largest construction union—are being held on money-laundering charges, while the union’s left-wing chief, Saúl Méndez, has sought asylum in the Bolivian …

Read more “Panama Faces Strikes, Marches as Union Chiefs Detained”

Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves filed a criminal complaint against two Teletica journalists, Álvaro Sánchez Córdoba and Christian Montero Ulate, for publishing his personal phone number on their personal Facebook accounts. The Presidential Office labeled the act “condemnable and illegal,” sparking a heated controversy that led to the journalists’ dismissal from Teletica Canal 7. The …

Read more “Chaves’ Complaint Sparks Debate on Press Freedom in Costa Rica Media Clash”

Costa Rican police conducted a groundbreaking operation, seizing five capybaras—a non-native species—in the country’s first recorded case of capybara trafficking. The seizure occurred during a vehicle checkpoint on Route 34, Costanera Sur, in Orotina, Alajuela, along the Pacific coast. The incident began when a vehicle attempted to evade a police roadblock in the Mollejones sector. …

Read more “Costa Rica Seizes Capybaras in Historic Wildlife Trafficking”

The Panamanian subsidiary of U.S. banana giant Chiquita Brands announced a mass dismissal of workers on Thursday, nearly a month after a strike that has cost the company an estimated US $75 million. In a statement, Chiquita Panamá said it had “regrettably” fired all of its daily workers for “unjustified abandonment of duties.” Daily workers …

Read more “Chiquita Panama Fires Thousands Amid Illegal Banana Strike”