Costa Rica Marks Earth Day With a Reputation to Defend

As the world observes Earth Day today, Costa Rica finds itself in familiar territory: held up once again as a global example of what environmental ambition can look like in practice, while dealing with the real-world pressures that test that reputation year after year. The 2026 theme chosen by earthday.org — “Our Power, Our Planet” …

Costa Rica Developers Challenge Court Ruling Halting Tourism Project in Papagayo

The Association of Developers of the Papagayo Gulf Tourism Complex (Asopapagayo) is attempting to overturn the Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend logging and construction permits in the Bahía Papagayo development. The group issued a statement expressing “concern and alarm” following Judge Fernando Cruz’s ruling, which establishes a total moratorium on logging permits and the suspension …

El Salvador Opens Mass Trial Against Gang leaders

El Salvador’s justice system on Monday opened a trial against some 486 people accused of belonging to the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), including several founders and leaders, in the first mass trial against the command structure of a gang. Among thousands of crimes, according to the Attorney General’s Office, the group ordered the killing of 87 …

Honduran Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesting Students

Honduran riot police fired tear gas Monday at students protesting a proposed cut to the budget of the National Autonomous University of Honduras. About 300 students gathered outside the National Congress in Tegucigalpa to demand that lawmakers reject the reduction and honor the constitutional mandate that assigns 6 percent of the national budget to the …

Costa Rica Lands Two Spots on Travel + Leisure’s 2026 Best New Hotels List

Two Costa Rican properties have earned spots on Travel + Leisure magazine’s 2026 It List of the world’s 100 best new hotels. The publication considered nearly 250 properties across 40 countries scheduled to open or complete renovations between February 2025 and February 2026. The Costa Rican hotels selected were Hotel Fermata, in Santa Teresa, and …

Brazil’s Haddad Maia suffers brutal early exit at Madrid Open

For Latin American tennis fans looking for a strong clay-court push ahead of Roland Garros, Tuesday brought another setback. Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, the 2023 Roland Garros semifinalist and one of the region’s most recognizable names on the WTA Tour, was swept out of the Madrid Open in the first round by Spain’s Jessica Bouzas …

Air Transat to Start Direct Quebec City Flights to Costa Rica

Air Transat will add a new nonstop route between Quebec City and Costa Rica starting December 15, giving travelers a direct link from Jean Lesage International Airport to Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José. The route was announced as part of the airline’s winter 2026-2027 program, and published schedule data list the service as …

Panama Takes Custody of Flight 901 Bombing Attack Suspect

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 …

Ortega says Trump has a mental breakdown over war in the Middle East

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 …