The iconic cypress trees that adorned the streets of San Rafael de Heredia, particularly in the residential area of El Tirol, were cut down following a lawsuit filed by a foreign resident, Irina Mijaylovna Tkachenko. She claimed that the 65 cypress trees, located on public roads at the entrance of Residencial El Monte (known as …

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The neighbors of Cabuyal Beach won a battle to ensure that the maritime-terrestrial zone (ZMT) of that beach remains public. Costa Rica’s maritime-terrestrial zone is a 200-meter wide strip that extends along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. This zone includes land, rocks, islands, islets, and any natural formation that rises above sea level. It is …

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In 2024, almost 3 million tourists came to Costa Rica. Many who arrived participated in tours, both of the action/adrenaline variety (rafting, ziplining, etc) and those that showcase the country’s abundant nature and wildlife. Few tourists know that besides these well-publicized excursions, Costa Rica also offers a chance to see some unique Archaeological sites that …

Read more “4 Must-Visit Pre-Columbian Sites in Costa Rica”

The Costa Rican Police Force conducted a major operation in Barrio Escalante, San José, at a business advertising itself as a therapeutic massage center. The operation was part of an investigation into an alleged human trafficking network for sexual exploitation. Randall Zúñiga, director of the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), stated that agents from the Gender …

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San Gerardo de Rivas is a small, traditional Costa Rican town situated high in the valley of the Chirripó Pacífico River in the Talamanca Mountains of south-central Costa Rica. The area has traditionally been dedicated to agriculture, and the land has been owned by locals who have devoted their lives to this economic activity. However, …

Read more “Foreign Buyers Drive Costa Rican Mountain Town Land Prices Up”

I recently returned from a week-long trip to Costa Rica, where I had an incredible experience at Prisma Dental. I’m based in North Carolina, and this was my first time traveling abroad for dental work, so I wanted to share the details of my journey. The Decision to Go Abroad for Dental Care As someone …

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President Donald Trump’s freezing of development aid has quickly paralyzed numerous programs in Latin America that rely on US funds to combat drug trafficking, corruption, hunger and inequality, observers and NGOs say. They warn that millions of people will be affected in particular by the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), responsible for …

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Wetlands on the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica play a fundamental role in the conservation of biodiversity and the ecological balance in the region. Therefore, residents of Playa Negra, in the southern Caribbean of Costa Rica, raised the alarm about the filling of a wetland on a farm that already had a previous environmental …

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Media outlet Le Monde published an article indicating that Costa Rica has transformed from a tourist paradise to an epicenter of drug trafficking and violence. The piece, entitled “Costa Rica, Latin America’s Switzerland in the Grip of the Drug Storm,” notes that Costa Rica has become engulfed in cocaine trafficking, changing it from a transit …

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In a joint effort to strengthen migration management in the region, the ministers of Public Security of Panama and Costa Rica, Frank Alexis Abrego and Mario Zamora, held a meeting in Costa Rica to analyze and optimize migratory flows. During the meeting, which aimed to establish effective mechanisms to allow the safe, orderly, and humanitarian …

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