President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, gave a press conference this Thursday afternoon after a long meeting with deans from the different Universities and where other members of the Government were also present. The President referred to the actions of the public police force that took place Wednesday evening and after which university students and the dean of the University of Costa Rica re...

At around 10:25 a.m. this morning the Independence Torch arrived in Costa Rica from Nicaragua through Peñas Blancas. The Independence Torch represents the liberty and independence of Costa Rica and the rest of the Central American countries. The tradition of the torch traveling through the different Central American countries began in 1964, the torch begins its journey in Guatemala and concl...

As promised last night by student federations of the different public universities, a large group gathered in San Pedro and is marching this Thursday morning towards the Presidential House in Zapote, members of the labor unions are taking advantage of the student movement and joining the demonstration. All academic activities were suspended today and are expected to resume at 1 p.m. at the Univ...

A group of students from different public universities were participating in a protest near the Outlet Mall in San Pedro. Apparently some of them were blocking the road and creating problems for drivers, the police intervened at which point the group threw rocks at them and took off running, in response, the police began a chase, and according to a journalist of Semanario Universidad, the officers...

The labor unions’ protest today in San Jose was very close to getting out of control, when a group of demonstrators took part in riots in front of the Legislative Assembly. The group tried removed the security barriers that were placed in the southeast of the Legislative Assembly building with the purpose of entering by force, in the process they also attacked two police officers with pepper sp...

As promised by members of the different labor unions, thousands of people from all areas of the country took La Sabana, Paseo Colon and other streets in San Jose starting at 9 a.m., the movement will extend today for as long as the weather permits. Since early hours this Wednesday, September 12, buses helped transport protesters from far away regions and they gathered at La Sabana, from this me...

The Costa Rican Government assured through a press release that the 10% of the homes with most income will be paying for 60% of the resources that would be collected with the fiscal plan, Project 20580 for the Strengthening of Public Finances, which is currently in discussion in the Legislative Assembly. This is an estimate of the Ministry of Treasury after revising the new adjustments that ha...

Labor unions in Costa Rica confirmed that the country wide strike will continue this Wednesday, September 12, when they expect to have the biggest march so far. According to information released by the labor unions the protesters will leave from different points in the country and will meet at 9 a.m. in La Sabana to walk towards the Legislative Assembly. Bus transportation will be offered by t...

The National Power and Light Company (CNFL) inaugurated the first fast charge station for electric vehicles in Costa Rica. This new station, located in the facilities of the CNFL in Escazu, is actually the first fast charge station in the Central American region, and it has the capacity to charge the battery of an electric vehicle up to an 80% in 30 minutes. According to the CNFL this is ju...

Photo Credit: La Nacion/Shirley Vásquez Even though this Tuesday public institutions in Costa Rica report having been less affected than yesterday by the general labor strike, and a very low percentage of employees that joined the movement, some areas and people were still affected throughout the day mainly due to protesters marching in the middle of the roads. One of roads affected was the ...

In the midst of general labor strike that had the goal of paralyzing the country, the second cruise ship of the season docked at the Limon port with no problems; the Carnival Miracle, arrived with 2,031 passengers aboard originating from Tampa, Florida. “We are supervising that the cruise activity carries out normally”, stated Marlon Clarke, Manager of the Atlantic Zone Development and Port Adm...

In the second day of the country wide strike organized by the labor unions in Costa Rica, the number of protesters in the streets are reportedly less that yesterday. Movements have mainly affected the areas of La Sabana, Avenue 10, La Merced Park, Uruca and San Pedro in San Jose; Barranca in Puntarenas and isolated groups in Cartago, Alajuela and Limon. The actions of the Government seem to...

The leader of ANEP labor union, Albino Vargas, considered the country wide movement that started this Monday as a “success” and stated in interview that the effects suffered in institutions such as public schools and public hospitals “are necessary”. The rain forced the protesters to conclude their movement at around 1:40 p.m. Vargas also confirmed that the protests will continue this Tuesda...

In the first 7 hours of the general strike called by the labor unions in Costa Rica, the most affected services are public education and public hospitals, according to information provided by the Government during a press conference this Monday. President Carlos Alvarado along Ministers and representatives of other public institutions stated that at this point 25 public institutions are operati...

The Costa Rican Social Security Service (CCSS) announced at 10:15 a.m. that some of the services at public hospitals have “unfortunately” been affected by the general strike “it’s variable, we cannot generalize”, stated Román Macaya, president of CCSS during the press conference today. “We have declared an institutional emergency, this will give us access to an emergency fund, that will facili...

At 9 a.m. this Monday, September 10, the first effects of the general strike called by the labor unions are already being felt in some areas of the country, but not as badly as expected, at least at this hour. Leaders of the labor unions called a country wide strike in protest of the fiscal plan that is currently being discussed at the Legislative Assembly, which includes going from a 13% sale...

Rafael Angel Fernández Piedra, best known as Rafa Fernández once dreamed of being a bullfighter or maybe a singer, but it was the artist in him that took over, Costa Ricans were lucky to enjoy his talent, the one captured in his paintings for many decades and until this Sunday, September 9, when he passed away at age 82. Costa Rica mourns the death of Fernández, one of the most renown artists the...

Following instructions given by President Carlos Alvarado, Costa Rica’s Public Security took control this Sunday evening of the ports of Limon and Moin of the Atlantic Zone Development and Port Administration Group (JAPDEVA), the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope) and the Juan Santamaria and Daniel Oduber international airports in Alajuela and Liberia respectively. “With these actions we are gua...

President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, described the “strike” called by members of the labor unions for this Monday, September 10th, “unjustified, improper and illegal”. Alvarado will be presenting the formal request to the court in hopes to declare the movement illegal, he stated that paralyzing the services and affecting millions of Costa Rican is not a solution, “this country must continu...

Irish bestselling author John Connolly will be visiting his fans in Costa Rica Thursday, September 20 at Librería Internacional bookstore at Multiplaza Escazú and on Saturday, September 22 at Multiplaza Curridabat Librería Internacional. Connelly published his first novel, Every Dead Thing, in 1999. In this book he introduced the character of policeman Charlie Parker, who was hunting the killer...

The company SGSV presented its proposal of a smart bike rental system for Costa Rica in the last Smart City Congress that was organized by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute; the system, that currently operates in more than 35 cities in the world, would take advantage of the existing bike lanes that exist in different parts of the country and would facilitate urban mobility by connecting with b...

Saturday September 8th a whale gave the scare of a lifetime to a group of 6 tourists and their 2 guides in Sierpe de Osa, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. According to tour guide César Moraga, the group of tourists were enjoying a whale watching tour in the area known as “El Paraiso”, they finished watching them and started their way back to Isla del Caño when all of a sudden about one mile from the isl...

The Municipality of San Jose, made an important investment in the adaptation of public spaces for dogs in the Bellavista Park in Rohrmoser and the Nacionalidad Costarricense Park in Mata Redonda (Sabana Sur). The areas offer a secure space and adequate infrastructure specially designed for dogs to play and socialize, while their owners also have opportunity to share with other neighbors and dog...

The Costa Rican-North American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) considers the call of labor unions an “irrational and irresponsible position”, considering the need that the country has on making decisions to recover the fiscal stability. “The Costa Rican-North American Chamber of Commerce condemns this action and asks the Government to take all the administrative and legal measures against people that...

The Costa Rican Government informed of an aggressive plan of investment on road infrastructure for a total of $4.6 billion that will cover urgent work and county road projects along the entire territory. The Government also announced the strengthening and expansion of the model of works by concession with an investment of over $8.5 million which includes the reinforcement of the National Conce...

The Ministry of Public Security through the Drug Control Police have been conducting investigations with the purpose of protecting the exports systems of the country that are being used for organized crime to send drugs from Costa Rica to European countries such as Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and England among others as well as the United States. Searches were conducted at two companie...

Despite the efforts of the Government to come to an agreement with leaders of the labor unions in Costa Rica to avoid a general strike, the “sindicatos” as they are called in the country or labor unions, confirmed today during a press conference the call to general strike beginning Monday, September 10 at 6 a.m. and for indefinite time. Public servants of several sectors: education, health, te...

The request under code sharing presented by the companies was approved by the Technical Council of Civil Aviation. A codeshare agreement between two airlines, allow these to share the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number, opening new destinations for travelers. Currently Emirates Airlines offers five flights a week from Dubai to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the same...

With the installation of “bunker style” shelters, the Poas Volcano National Park became the 8th active volcano in the world to have these types of structures in place for the protection of visitors, affirmed Guillermo Alvarado Induni, specialist at the Technical Assessment Committee of Volcanology and Seismology of the National Emergency Commission (CNE). The other volcanoes in the world that h...

The whale and dolphin watching season began in Costa Rica a couple of weeks ago, but it is this Friday, September 7 that the annual whale and dolphin festival kicks off at the Marino Ballena National Park in the South Pacific. This beautiful National Park known for its rock and sand formation in the shape of a whale’s tail, is organizing the tenth edition of the Festival that will extend from ...

Thursday September 6th a metal beam section of the bridge (referred to as "La platina" in Costa Rica) of the Juan Pablo II bridge on the General Cañas highway connecting San Jose and Alajuela, detached, leaving pins uncovered that caused more than 40 vehicles to end up with flat tires. The problem is on the road from San Jose to Alajuela, the Traffic Police are already in the area informing dri...

The Interpol in Costa Rica with aid of the Judiciary Investigative Police arrested the afternoon of this Wednesday a dangerous drug dealer that was required by the United States justice. Authorities had been keeping track of the suspect closely for the past two months, they were able to determine that the suspect was making arrangements to settle in the country, apparently building a luxurious...

The Minister of Public Security, Michael Soto, affirmed during a press conference today that Costa Rica has registered a decrease in the number of homicides, robberies and burglaries over the last four months. According to Soto, the homicide rates from May to August 2018 in comparison to the same period of 2017 went from 213 cases to 193, showing an evident decrease starting in the month of Jun...

The Government of Costa Rica presented a formal request that “urges” Uber and all other similar technological platforms that enable public transportation service in the country to “abandon its operation in the country until a revision or modernization of the existing legal frame that regulates the remunerated transportation of people is completed”. This was the response of the government to the...

The Costa Rican child that was found abandoned in Luckerville, Arizona in June this year, is now back with his mother thanks to the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the Children’s Welfare Agency and other national and international institutions. “Migration authorities of the United States delivered the child to his mother after spending two months in a shelte...

The Protection and Control authorities of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) in a joint operation with the Border Police, Public Security and Coast Guard Service in the Corcovado National Park and the Manuel Antonio National Park, detained 10 men this week in relation to environmental crimes. According to Enrique Obando from MINAE, three men were detained in the sector of Playa Rey...

The power struggle continues between the Costa Rican government and the labor unions. President Carlos Alvarado stated today in a letter to the Union leaders that he agrees to meet with them as they are requesting, as long as they call off the general strike scheduled for this upcoming Monday, September 10. The communication of the President comes after leaders of the Labor Unions responded...

Costa Rica Green Airways will begin operating domestic flights in the country in November 2018, joining the current market operators, Sansa and Aerobell. Green Airways, is being backed by CarmonAir Charter (operating in the Costa Rica since 2009) and will be offering flights to Tambor (Puntarenas), Nosara (Guanacaste) and Quepos (Puntarenas), leaving from the Juan Santamaria Airport. Initially...

Agents of the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) conducted 18 raids the morning Tuesday, September 4, and arrested 19 people suspected of being part of an organization that sold drugs in Batán, Limon. Many of the suspects are part of a same family and according to the investigations sold drugs in the communities nearby; some of them are also apparently related to homicides in the area. In ...

The Government of Costa Rica announced a plan geared towards promotion an economic reactivation. Part of this plan includes simplifying processes eliminating the excess of procedures that many times are an obstacle for the private sector. “We are presenting these actions, many of them we are already executing, that will allow us to be more competitive, thinking of a development that reaches ...