The National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) announced the start of a trial run to implement an earthquake early warning system in Costa Rica. Marino Protti, seismologist of OVSICORI, explained that the system consists in the installation of sensors close to the sources of strong earthquakes, these will generate alerts when the movements begin. This same s...

The Costa Rican National Coast Guard Service has seized in a period of four months, March through June, 103 illegal fishing artifacts such as drift nets and fish traps in waters of the Central Pacific. The majority of the artifacts were found in the river mouths, specially Parrita (40%) and Savegre (25%) Rivers and surrounding areas, where it is illegal to place these types of instruments beca...

Walmart Mexico and Central America agreed to acquire the supermarkets of Gessa Corportate Group in Costa Rica, which include, Perimercardos, Super Compro and Saretto. Walmart presented the request for authorization of the purchase to the Commission for the Promotion of the Competition (COPROCOM) and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC). COPROCOM has 30 days to decide, altho...

Epsy Campbell, Vice-President of Costa Rica and Minister of Foreign Affairs announced today that Costa Rica has opened two shelters for the assistance of Nicaraguans that are fleeing this country as a result of the violence and social-economic crisis. One of the shelters is in the North Zone close to the Nicaraguan frontier and the other one is in the South Zone in Golfito, since according to C...

The Costa Rican company Establishment Labs Holdings began trading their common stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the trading symbol “ESTA” following its initial public offering. Establishment Labs is a global medical technology company that focuses on breast esthetics and reconstruction technologies, it was founded in 2004 by Juan José Chacón Quirós and currently it exports to 60 countrie...

(Press Release - US Embassy Managua) On Thursday, July 19, the celebration of the Sandinista Revolution will take place in Managua. The event is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m. at Plaza la Fe, although attendees will likely gather before noon. U.S. Government personnel have been advised to remain in their neighborhoods during the celebration. Road closures and traffic disruptions are expe...

Like every year hundreds of thousands of Costa Ricans are preparing for the annual pilgrimage to La Basilica de Los Angeles in Cartago to honor the country’s patron saint, La Virgen de los Angeles or “La Negrita” this August 2. “La Romeria” as it is known in Costa Rica, is an act of faith for Catholics, that make the long walk to honor a promise, ask for a miracle or a favor or give thanks for ...

The expansion of the bridge over the Virilla River which connects Belen in Heredia, with Lindora in Santa Ana will finally conclude early August, confirmed President Carlos Alvarado and the Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Rodolfo Mendez Mata, during an inspection done this Wednesday. This bridge is being expanded from two to four lanes and it’s the first step in the expansion of th...

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) presided by Ambassador of Costa Rica Rita Hernandez approved a resolution condemning the acts of violence in Nicaragua and called on all parties to participate “actively and in good faith” in the National Dialogue and urged the Government “to support an electoral calendar”. The resolution approved by the Permanent Council with 2...

The General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica announced that as of this Wednesday, June 18 it will make available the phone number 1311 to offer appointments for refugee applications. The call center service will be available from Monday through Sunday from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m. and to access it calls must be made through a Kolbi line at a cost of $3 per minute. The caller can make all ne...

Google announced the arrival of its Special Collections to Costa Rica. This option is part of Google Maps, collects 360-degree sights of geographic, touristic, historical or cultural sites throughout the country. In total 76 locations are part of Google’s Special Collections in Costa Rica. “Thanks to the support of the country brand Essential COSTA RICA and different organizations, such as the ...

The Costa Rica Coffee Institute (Icafe) emitted and early warning for the threat of coffee rust (Hemileia vastatrix) for four regions: Central Valley, Coto Brus, Turrialba and Zona Norte (North Zone), where the weather conditions for these months puts the production in high risk. “The current weather conditions favor the appearance of coffee rust. There will be important increases in the incid...

The tourism industry in Nicaragua is one of the most affected as a result of the crisis that goes now on three months and has left close to 350 people dead and thousands injured. During the month of June, Volaris Airlines had announced the suspension of its flights from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, and hotels such as Mukul Auberge Resorts Collection in Rivas, the Seminole Hotel and the Teodolinda M...

The National Meteorological Institute has informed about the possibility that Tropical Depression #17 will transit through the country as of the early hours of this Wednesday, July 18, which could intensify the rainfall in the Caribbean and North Zone. “It is important to consider that the floors are still saturated in the Caribbean, and for this reason precaution is recommended in the presence...

The NFL super star Tom Brady and his wife, former super model Gisele Bundchen are already common visitors of Costa Rica, where they own a beach house.  They shared some of their family pics on Instagram stories, displaying their love for each other, their family and the country. The famous couple was vacationing at their house in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, along with their kids, Jack, Benjamin a...

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, visited Costa Rica in the frame of the summit “Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development: Living no one behind”. “I am here mostly to honor Costa Rica for its cutting-edge character and for being a pioneer in the construction of sustainable development”, commented Guterres after praising the determination of the country to commit with...

National Emergency Commission (CNE) in Costa Rica declared the red alert for the counties of Sarapiqui, Turrialba, Matina and Talamanca due to the saturation of the floors in these regions. The counties of Guatuso and San Carlos are now under yellow alert. President Carlos Alvarado will be joining the meeting of the Emergency Operations Center (COE) this Tuesday and will then be doing an ae...

Police operations carried out in the area of Garabito, Puntarenas have allowed the seizure of important quantities of drugs; the Public Police Force with the support of the Operational Support Group (GAO) have been working in particular in the beach town of Jaco and the surrounding areas, where the large number of tourists attract drug dealers. During a road side control stop this Monday police...

Following the directives and decrees of the presidency regarding cost containment due to the fiscal crisis in Costa Rica, the Municipal Consulting and Development Institute (IFAM) will have savings estimated to be close to $293 thousand dollars for the remaining of this year. By implementing Directive 003-H, streamlining the use of public resources, the institution will save close to $228 thous...

After an extension of almost 300% in area this Monday, July 16 the duty-free store administered by the Joint Institute for Social Aid (IMAS, its Spanish acronym) reopened to receive travelers entering Costa Rica. The duty-free store was closed for close to four months for the remodeling works and it went from 100 square meters to 475 square meters. The total investment was of over $1.4 million....

“The Government of Costa Rica strongly condemns the use of violence in students and citizens on the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAM)”; the Costa Rican government made the statement this Sunday when ten people were killed and dozens more wounded in clashes in Nicaragua. “For decades Costa Rica has dedicated to promoting peace and liberty, democracy and development, for this rea...

The National Roads Authority (CONAVI) resumed since the early hours of Sunday the cleaning work o the national routes that were affected by the strong rains of Friday and Saturday. The works done in Route 32 which connects Limon to San Jose, allowed the mobility of vehicles and trucks in the area of Zurqui which remained trapped. Many drivers that were rescued yesterday had to return for their ca...

He is considered a pioneer of rafting, eco-lodges and eco-tourism in Costa Rica, Michael Kaye a native of New York, passed away in the country that welcomed him and became his home since 1978. Michael Kaye fell in love with Costa Rica 40 years ago, and since then he dedicated his life to promoting the natural wonders of this country. Him and his wife founded the company Costa Rica Expeditions, ...

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) in Costa Rica confirmed they provided attention to over 600 people in fourteen temporary shelters set up in three provinces, Limon, Heredia and Cartago. For the province of Limon a total of 6 shelters were set up, another 6 in Heredia and two in Cartago. Thousands of users also had interruptions of their electricity, telecommunications and water servic...

Costa Rica continues to position itself as one of the most important destinations for the establishment of Shared Services for foreign and local companies. With the implementation of Robotics Process Automation (RPA) a form of business process automation technology the country takes close to 40% of the Latin American market competing with Brazil, regional leader in this technology, Mexico, Colo...

At 6am this Saturday morning The Costa Rican Red Cross informed  that one of their Ground Rescue and Search Units had been sent to Route 32 to offer assistance and help to people that were isolated on this road due to landslides. According to their first report, there are approximately 50 cars and some 120 people stranded, there are no reports of injuries at this time. The high pressure syst...

The heavy rains this Friday which have mainly affected the areas of Cartago and Limon forced the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) to activate its emergency protocols at the hydroelectric plans of Cachi, Angostura and Reventazon. “As part of the actions, the three hydroelectric plants are undergoing a process of controlled spill to regulate the level of the reservoirs. We do not have any ...

A Costa Rican man of name Vicente Rappaccioli Navas who also held Nicaraguan nationality was confirmed dead by his family. The 60-year-old man had been reported missing since June 26 and was last seen as he was leaving his house in Diriamba, Carazo 60 km south of Managua, on his way to the city of San Marcos and aboard his Mitsubishi Montero truck. Family members posted his photo and informa...

Photo Credit: Radio Turrialba Heavy rains have affected several areas of Costa Rica because of trade winds that has caused damages in several different communities and roads. This Friday evening the National Emergency Commission (CNE) had already close to 80 reports on incidents in different parts of the country by 10pm. Landslides and floods have affected the communities of Jimenez, Turrial...

For a period of three weeks from May 16 through June 9, 2018, the US 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron conducted their first-ever mission to Costa Rica, a three-week building partnership capacity mission with the air vigilance service, (SVA – Servicio de Vigilancia Aereo). “This was our first mission to Costa Rica and my team executed and established the groundwork to build and strengthe...

Under the slogan, “Together we are a Volcano” (Juntos somos un volcán) thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets of Managua this Thursday, July 12 to demand the resignation of President Daniel Ortega. The march is the first of three days of scheduled protests against the Nicaraguan government, this Friday protesters call for a national strike and on Saturday a civic caravan. Ortega however, ref...

Uber has been operating in Costa Rica for almost three years, and according to information published by national newspaper El Financiero (https://bit.ly/2JaTm4t), it currently has a total of 21,000 registered drivers and 800,000 users; this makes Costa Rica the country with more market penetration in Latin America and one of the most important markets in the world. Andres Echandi, General Mana...

National and international experts will gather in Costa Rica to analyze the challenges and opportunities for the country and the rest of the region for wellness tourism. The event is directed to the sectors of tourism, health, medical, hotels, Spa, travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, etc. and will take place August 31 through September 2 in La Fortuna, San Carlos. Wellness tourism rep...

98.53% of the electricity generated in Costa Rica between June 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018 came from renewable sources. In total the National Electric System (SEN) in this period produces 44,300.53 gigabytes per hour, out of which 43,647.72 came from five clean energy sources: Hydroelectric (74%), Geothermal (11.92), Wind (11.08%), Biomass (0.73%) and Sun (0.03%). Bunker and diesel represented on...

The First Lady Claudia Dobles and the Minister of Tourism, Maria Amalia Revelo, announced the new tourism campaign “Jale al Puerto” (Let’s go to El Puerto – (‘El Puerto’ is how Costa Rican’s refer to Puntarenas) which will be officially launched in August. This is an initiative of the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) in coordination with the office of the First Lady and the participation of the C...

Costa Rica and El Salvador officially announced that both countries already have the necessary conditions for the beginning of the operations of the Central American Ferry, establishing a route for exports and imports between the ports of La Union in El Salvador and Caldera in Costa Rica. The initiative would connect the maritime commercial flow between the two nations, with the purpose of cons...

It was initially scheduled to re-open in December 2017 and then in May, but finally this July 10 the historic Gran Hotel Costa Rica in the center of San Jose, opened its doors now as a Curio Collection by Hilton. The hotel closed in June of 2016 to begin a complete renovation. Famously known as the hotel where John F. Kennedy stayed during his visit to the country in 1963, the Gran Hotel Cos...

International Living magazine has the mission of helping readers discover places around the world were it is cheaper, healthier and in general better to live, this year for instance Costa Rica was named by the magazine as the Best Place to Retire Abroad in its Annual Global Retirement Index and it was also included in the list of “5 Best Places to Retire on $30,000.00  a Year”. The magazine has li...

Officials of the Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security detained a foreigner in the Juan Santamaria Airport as he attempted to leave the country carrying drugs intracorporeally. The man, of Italian nationality, appeared nervous, behaviour which alerted the officers who intercepted the man and discovered he was carrying drugs in his body. The 43-year-old foreigner identi...

The Global Environmental Facility’s (GEF) Fund announced that it will destine a total of $12 million to promote the creation and implementation of green politics during the next four years of government. The raise in the collaboration amount is the result of the trip that President Carlos Alvarado and the Minister of Environment, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez did to Washington last June. The am...