El Salvador’s Congress, controlled by President Nayib Bukele, voted Friday to extend the detention of tens of thousands of alleged gang members until at least 2027, giving prosecutors time to prepare charges for around 600 planned mass trials. The measure is part of a reform to the Organized Crime Law, passed just ten days before …
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The Nicaraguan government on Thursday accused a retired general, once an ally of President Daniel Ortega, and his son of using shell companies to launder money through the operation of a geothermal plant. Retired military officer and former guerrilla Álvaro Baltodano Cantarero was once a key political and investment operator for the Sandinista government. However, …
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A 7-year-old boy was bitten by a dog Saturday evening while walking with his family inside the Multiplaza shopping center in Escazú. Witnesses said the dog was coming down an escalator when it bit the boy’s leg without warning, tearing the skin and exposing tissue. The boy’s mother, who later posted her account on Facebook, …
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Southwest Airlines has announced a new nonstop route connecting Nashville, Tennessee, to San Jose, Costa Rica. The service kicks off on March 7, 2026, and runs as a seasonal weekly flight on Saturdays. It starts with four weeks of operation, but the airline plans to extend it based on demand and passenger numbers. The flight …
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Families across our country gather today to honor mothers on this national holiday. Unlike many countries that observe the day in May, Costa Rica sets aside August 15 for the occasion, tying it to the Catholic Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The date creates a long weekend this year, falling on a …
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Former Costa Rican security minister and Supreme Court justice Celso Gamboa got a break when a court in Goicoechea acquitted him of influence peddling. The case stemmed from claims that he stepped in back in 2016 to scrub San José’s ex-mayor Johnny Araya from a criminal probe during an election push. Prosecutors flipped at the …
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) heard a petition this week to strengthen precautionary measures for Brörán indigenous leader Pablo Sibar. The request stems from a recent land invasion that put his life and safety at immediate risk. Sibar has held these protections, known as Precautionary Measure MC 321/12, since 2015. The latest incident …
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Costa Rica plans to break ground this year on a large maximum-security prison, taking cues from El Salvador’s approach to locking down serious offenders. The project aims to tackle rising organized crime and ease packed prisons across the country. Officials named the site the Center for High Containment of Organized Crime, or CACCO. It will …
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Plastic pollution hits hard in Costa Rica, with tiny particles showing up everywhere from sandy shores to marine life. The Costa Rican Association of Chemists raised alarms this week about sky-high levels of microplastics on beaches, in coastal waters, and inside ocean creatures. Their alert draws from fresh research by the Center for Research in …
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An investigation published by Mongabay revealed that Costa Rican authorities authorized the transit of 12.6 tons of shark fins from Nicaragua between 2023 and 2024. This resulted in the death of at least 15,000 sharks, as well as a violation of national laws and global efforts to conserve these species, as agreed upon by the …
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