Category: Blog

Celso Gamboa, once Costa Rica’s Security Minister and a Supreme Court judge, now faces extradition to the U.S. for leading a major cocaine trafficking network. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) alleges Gamboa coordinated shipments across Central America, Colombia, and Mexico, and shockingly claimed government backing to pull it off. Arrested in San José yesterday, …

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Costa Rica’s bare-necked umbrellabird, a striking black bird with a red throat pouch and crest, is in trouble. A new study in Nature Ecology & Evolution warns it’s among 500 bird species worldwide that could vanish within a century, driven by human activities like deforestation and urban sprawl. Found only in Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, …

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If someone asked me to sum up why I live in Costa Rica in 5 words or less, my answer could well be: “It is my safe space.” All the world’s human-made problems– war, disease, famine, fanaticism, intolerance– seem far away when I am back in Ticolandia. Numerous cataclysmic events caused by man have unfolded …

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A court on Tuesday ordered Costa Rican authorities to release foreign migrants who had been detained in a shelter after being deported under an agreement between the Trump administration and the government of Rodrigo Chaves, according to a ruling issued on the eve of a visit by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Two hundred …

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Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil. The probe began after Roberto Samcam, a 66-year-old retired Nicaraguan army major and outspoken opponent of President Daniel Ortega, was gunned down in his San Vicente de Moravia apartment on June …

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Costa Rica’s Pride 2025 closing event, set for June 29 at San José’s Plaza de la Democracia, was thrown into controversy when the government banned anyone under 18 from attending. Just days before the celebration, the Ministry of Justice and Peace’s Commission for the Control and Qualification of Public Spectacles reclassified the event—previously approved for …

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Panama’s government has regained control of Bocas del Toro province after months of violent anti-government protests sparked by pension reforms, officials announced. The unrest, centered in the banana-producing region, left one person dead, over 300 arrested, and dozens injured, including 14 police officers, according to authorities. The protests began nearly two months ago when workers, …

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Costa Rica’s judicial police arrested Celso Gamboa, a former security minister and Supreme Court judge, on Monday, following a U.S. request for his extradition on drug trafficking charges. The 49-year-old was detained in San Jose, marking a significant moment for the country’s fight against organized crime. This arrest comes just weeks after Costa Rica passed …

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Costa Rica’s government is pushing a controversial bill that could open the entire Cutris district in San Carlos—848 square kilometers—to open-pit gold mining. The proposal, known as bill 24.717, has environmental groups up in arms over the potential damage to forests, rivers, and wildlife. Introduced last year by President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, the bill would …

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On Monday, Costa Rica’s Prosecutor’s Office formally accused President Rodrigo Chaves along with six high-ranking officials and pro-government legislators of allegedly engaging in illicit financing during the 2022 electoral campaign, according to an official statement. The accusation centers on claims that Chaves and his circle used “two parallel structures” to finance the campaign of the …

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