2018 Will close in Costa Rica with a record amount of cocaine seized, over 26 tons so far this year. The surveillance operations of the National Coast Guard Service resulted in the interception of a vessel 81 kilometers from Quepos, Puntarenas, carrying over 500 kilograms of cocaine. Authorities received an anonymous tip and immediately took action with the assistance of the US Coast Guard Serv...

A U.S. tourist who was aboard the sailboat Panache in front of Danta beach in Flamingo, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, received assistance from the Costa Rican National Coast Guard Service which answered an emergency call from the captain of the boat indicating that the tourist was suffering from a strong chest ache. The man, identified as Chandu Chandhari, 77 years old, was transferred to the Coast G...

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States will hold a special meeting on Thursday, December 27, at 10:00 EST (15:00 GMT) in Simón Bolívar Hall at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC to consider the situation in Nicaragua. ¨Our country will preside over the meeting of the OAS through its Permanent Representative, Ambassador, Montserrat Solano Carboni, and will raise its voice t...

Costa Rican authorities found an important amount of cocaine abandoned close to a boat that ran aground in the area of Playa Bejuco in Parrita, Puntarenas which only had aboard some containers with fuel. An alert was received by the Public Police Force in Parrita, informing of the abandoned boat and that apparently it was transporting drugs; officers of the National Coast Guard Service and the ...

An operation carried out in the area of Crucitas in Cutris, San Carlos, (North Zone) by different police bodies such as the Border Police and Migration Police, among others, concluded with the arrest of a group of 7 people. Four of the seven people detained were transferred to the Public Ministry under charges of illegal gold mining. At the site of the arrest, officers found several tools used ...

The last few days of 2018 are here and Costa Rica begins the celebration with the famous horse parade “tope” this Wednesday, December 26. The tope takes the streets of downtown San José, so if you use the bus service take this into consideration as the bus stops change this day, and, if you don’t want to get stuck in traffic or rerouted avoid going to San José. The tope begins at noon, but the ...

Students of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) created a natural sunblock that protects marine life, contrary to regular or commercial sunblock that cause whitening of the corals which causes their death and the alteration of the marine ecosystem. Five Pharmacy students, Mariana González, Mauricio Villegas, Catalina Ayón, Kimberly Barrantes and Andrés Solano, came up with a sunblock created ...

Volcanoes in Costa Rica have certainly made headlines this year, the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) offered its annual report on the country’s volcanic activity. “Turrialba Volcano has maintained an open system activity, generating passive emissions of ash as a result of the slow but almost constant raise of a small volume of magma. Out of the 336...

Since December 2014, a fissure on the Northern side of the Irazu Volcano started to buckle the land where 84 telecommunication towers for television, radio and private communication are set. Since 2015 the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) has been monitoring the situation and carrying out measurements of the sector through the use of GPS. “Between A...

The crew of a Royal Caribbean Cruise rescued two Costa Rican castaways in waters of the Caribbean. The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Empress of the Seas, found the two fishermen between Grand Cayman and Jamaica, they had apparently been adrift since December 1st. Chief Meteorologist for Royal Caribbean International, James Van Fleet shared some of the details and photos of this event. He expla...

In order to prevent shortage of blood during this end of the year, the Social Security Service in Costa Rica (CCSS) calls on donors to approach the Blood Bank in Zapote. According to their estimations, they need at least 423 donors to handle the demand. The Blood Bank will be operating normally December 26, 27 and 28 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. One donor can save as many as 4 lives; so far this y...

Costa Rica is the perfect place to escape from the cold winter of North America and Europe this time of the year. The high season has arrived in Costa Rica and will continue for the next four months, for as long as the perfect sunny days continue. The Juan Santamaria Airport expects close to 2.5 million travelers during this high season, 13 airlines increase their frequencies during these mont...

Authorities of the Government and the Costa Rica Red Cross presented the operative and preventive actions that will be in place in order to reinforce the security during this 2018 holiday season. The Public Police Force, Transit Police, Frontier Police, Aerial Surveillance, Coast Guard, Migration, National Emergency Commission, Firefighters, Park Rangers, 911 personnel and Red Cross complete th...

The Government of Costa Rica deplores the announcement of preventive imprisonment ordered today by a Nicaraguan court against Nicaraguan-Costa Rican journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau, of media channel "100% Noticias" of Nicaragua. Pineda was accused by the Nicaraguan government of terrorist acts and inciting hatred, among other charges, and she was put in preventive custody. Her first hearing was se...

After Moody’s recently downgraded Costa Rica’s financial ratings, now Standard & Poor’s followed suit and downgraded the country’ ratings of long- term debt in foreign and local currency which went from BB- to B+. This means the country went down one step as a debtor since a B rating is considered highly speculative, “An obligor rated B is more vulnerable that the obligors rated “BB”, but the ...

Three thieves pointed a firearm to a group of 23 tourists who were tourinr the Tortuguero River in Pococí, Limón, and stole their belongings. The foreign tourists left the sector of Pavona and were navigating the river the morning of this Saturday, December 22, when they were intercepted by three men that came out of the mountain area. The Public Police Force conducted a search, but this i...

Costa Rica’s Consulate in Managua, Nicaragua had to activate the mechanisms and protocols of protection of nationals in response to the arrest of the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau of 100% Noticias. The ad interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lorena Aguilar Revelo, gave instructions to the Consulate of Costa Rica in Nicaragua to begin the necessary procedures to request fro...

Civil Aviation in Costa Rica announced today the official reopening of the Quepos airstrip, which was supposed to be finished earlier this year. According to Captain Guillermo Hoppe, General Director of Civil Aviation, Quepos is the third airdrome in importance in terms of connectivity in the national network of airdromes. The plan to remodel this airstrip involves an investment of close to...

In an operation carried out by the Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security that had the support of the National Coastguard Service (SNG), three Colombians were captured with 743 kilograms of cocaine. The vessel was intercepted in waters of the Costa Rican Pacific after confidential information was received by the Drug Control Police, the vessel was taken to Quepos, Puntaren...

Day in, day out, a team of Costa Ricans are working to put Costa Rica once again on the global innovation map. This is happening at Establishment Labs, a company that works on research and development, design, manufacture and marketing of new products for minimally invasive and prophylactic breast reconstruction surgery. At present, the professional team at this company – the first Costa Rican ...

The Poas Volcano has been registering phreatic eruptions for the past two days as a result of the evaporation of the lake. ¨Since December 19, the Poas Volcano has been generating eruptions with a high content of water vapor¨, explains the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute ( OVSICORI). These activity is very typical of the Poas Volcano, and they occur as the la...

This week Costa Rica accumulated a total of 300 days of 100% renewable energy during  2018. The last time the country had to resort to the use of bunker or diesel was back in May 17 in response to the demand of electricity of the country, which means it has ran for more than seven consecutive months without the use of hydrocarbon fuels. Wind consolidated sa the second source in terms of the ...

The Ministry of Education in Costa Rica fired 19 employees for going on trips during the strike. These employees were fired without employer responsibility, which means they are not entitled to receive severance since they incurred a serious offense. According to the Direction of Human Resources of the Ministry of Education, there are a total of 232 employees being investigated for this same...

Costa Rican World Champion, Hanna Gabriels, will return to the ring January 26 to defend her WBA World Female Super Welterweight Title (154 lbs.) against Aussie fighter Sarah Dwyer. Gabriels last fight was back in June 22, 2018 against Claressa Shields, even though she lost the fight by unanimous decision, she managed to retain her title since the match was in a different weight category (160 ...

Around 20,000 people that work in the administration sector of the Ministry of Education received the order to return to work January 4 after the end of the year vacation, a month prior to their normal return date. The order caused the personnel to immediately complained through their respective labor unions. The Administration personnel was used to taking the same amount of vacation time as...

Travel & Leisure Magazine posted their list of 50 Best Places to Travel to in 2019 and included in the list is the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. ¨With its beach-meets-jungle coastline, splendid array of biodiversity, and climate as warm as the locals, it's no wonder Costa Rica's northwestern corner became an early paragon of ecotourism. That's a lot of paradise to protect. Now, Guanac...

During a press conference this Wednesday, December 19, Global Sportx Group confirmed that the traditional Tamarindo Beach Marathon will be moving to Flamingo this 2019. This sporting event that has been taking place for 12 years in Tamarindo, Guanacaste changed its site to the neighboring beach town due to the lack of support from different entities and companies and with the purpose of improvi...

The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) and the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) announced the generation of 12,691 new jobs for Costa Ricans in 2018. These were created through the 48 new investment projects developed during the year, including new multinational companies arriving in Costa Rica, in addition to the already established companies that reported growth in service, digital...

Courier services are commonly used by drug dealers to receive or send drugs or money, this is a very common crime in Costa Rica, and therefore, the Drug Control Police (PCD) the Ministry of Public Security, the Costa Rica Postal Service, and the National Customs Service of the Ministry of Treasury are carrying out operations to battle and prevent this type of trafficking. ¨We are aware that C...

At 4:26 p.m. Tuesday, December 18, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook Costa Rica. The movement, according to the National Seismology Network had the epicenter 13 kilometers North of Quepos, Puntarenas, and it was felt in several areas of the provinces of San José and Cartago. The origin of the earthquake was the subduction of the Cocos Plate. Earlier this Tuesday another earthquake was felt...

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) in Costa Rica inaugurated this Monday, December 18, new security devices in 23 railroad crossings in sectors of San Jose and Cartago. The safety barriers and traffic lights at the railroad crossways have the purpose of offering additional prevention and security for drivers, warning them in a more efficient manner of the presence of the tr...

Las Catalinas located in Playa Dante, Guanacaste will have a new hotel in February 2019, Santarena, part of the expansion plans of independent hotel brand Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Santarena is a “bohemian gem” that promises to offer guests “unparalleled world-class service” and “one-of-a-kind experiences”. "Costa Rica, with its fantastic year-round climate, lush landscape, secluded be...

Public Police Force in Costa Rica received the alert of an injured person the night of this Sunday, December 16, they found a Canadian man who had been shot on his right ankle and immediately requested the assistance of the Red Cross. The tourist apparently was intercepted by two men in front of a hotel in the area of Uvita, Ballena Bay, Puntarenas, that robbed him, taking his passport, docume...

Miss Costa Rica 2018, Natalia Carvajal, was able to make it among the top 10 in this year’s Miss Universe contest, which took place this Sunday, December 17 in Bangkok, Thailand. The last time that Costa Rica was able to make it among the Top 10, was in 2011 when the country was represented by Johanna Solano; before Solano, it was Nancy Soto in 2004 who managed to make the top 10. Carvajal is t...

As the new year quickly approaches, goals are set, if you are a triathlete the Ironman 70.3 in Costa Rica can be one of your goals for this 2019. Registrations are now open for this event that will take place June 23 as usual in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, this is the third edition of this event that has gathered thousands of athletes representing more than 40 countries during its past editions. ...

Nantipa Boutique Hotel, a Tico Beach Experience, is now ready for a soft opening this December 20 in Santa Teresa beach in the beautiful Nicoya Peninsula in Puntarenas. This new hotel is being developed with an investment of $6 million and its official inauguration is set for January 29, 2019; however, this December 20 it will be receiving its first few clients in a “soft opening” with limited ...

This Saturday, December 16, the first JetBlue Mint flight arrived at the Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia, Guanacase, from New York; even though this connection already existed, the modality of the new flights (Mint) is one of the novelties in arrivals to Liberia since its one of the most exclusive international services. Liberia became, the first city in Latin America to offer Mint, JetBlue is...

Boxer Francisco Fonseca took a unanimous decision loss at hands of Philadelphia native, Tevin Farmer, who successfully defended his IBF World Super Featherweight belt for a second time. Fonseca had the dream of becoming the first Costa Rican male world champion, unfortunately, his skills fell short to Farmer’s ring experience. The Costa Rican-Nicaraguan boxer certainly gave Farmer a very h...

This week the Minister ad interim of Environment and Energy, Celeste López, visited the region of Crucitas to follow up on the illegal mining activity taking place in this area. The objective of the visit was to carry out an inspection that contributes to evaluating the situation and the environmental impacts that the illegal extraction of gold has caused. Back on May 9, when Minister of E...

Did you know that water accidents are the second cause of accidental death in Costa Rica? This is why, authorities of the Costa Rica Tourism Board are working on installing new warning signs at 100 beaches, that were selected as the most visited by national and foreign tourists and that are known to have a high level of risk due the presence of rip currents. The works will continue through this...