Wikimedia Commons By Ana Mengotti Miami, Mar 8 (EFE).- DeBary, Florida Mayor Clint Johnson wants to know what it's like to be a "rafter" and so he plans to fly to Cuba in April but then return on a raft he will build on the island. "Those people deserve to have their story told," he told EFE in a telephone interview from DeBary, a city of fewer than 20,000 located west of Daytona Beach. ...

Source: Flickr Commons Lima, Mar 8 (EFE).- Residents of an indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon are holding eight state employees hostage in order to pressure the government into including their village in the state of emergency declared following oil spills in the Loreto region. An air force helicopter carrying provisions and workers of state oil company Petroperu and the OEFA envir...

Wikimedia Commons By Britt Nelson   Sunday’s night Democratic debate held in water-scandal ridden Flint, Michigan between Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders had both candidates calling for the immediate resignation of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.   Lead poisoning in Flint’s water supply had been denied for 2 years, but tests showed children and others throughout the mo...

Former Brazilian President Lula with football star Ronaldinho. Wikimedia Commons Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Mar 5 (EFE).- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff visited her political mentor and predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at his apartment in this southeastern city a day after he was detained for questioning as part of the probe into a massive corruption scheme centered on state-con...

Washington, Mar 3 (EFE).- President Barack Obama on Thursday extended for one year an executive order declaring the situation in Venezuela a threat to U.S. national security, saying conditions there had not improved and that the country's leftist-led government was continuing to erode human rights guarantees. The Obama administration first issued the executive order against crisis-hit Venezuela...

Wikimedia Commons By Britt Nelson Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Attacks against billionaire Donald Trump mounted during Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate as fellow candidates Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio attempted to derail Trump’s momentum...

Mexico City, Mar 2 (EFE).- Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman has asked his legal team to speed up the extradition process from Mexico to the United States due to the harsh conditions at the prison where he is being held, one of the drug lord's attorneys said Wednesday. Attorney Jose Refugio Rodriguez told Radio Formula that he met on Tuesday with Guzman, who is "desperate...

Wikimedia Commons GMB UK Press Release - GMB is calling for Fyffes, the Irish multinational fruit company, to improve working conditions for Honduran and Costa Rican plantation and farm workers and to pay them a living wage. At an advisory meeting to the EU-Central America Association Agreement on March 1st, Bert Schouwenburg, one of 3 European trade union representatives, condemned Fyffes ...

(Archive image for illustrative purposes. Wikimedia Commons) By Britt Nelson Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Both former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and billionaire Republican real estate developer Donald J. Trump won Super Tuesday primary elections -- eac...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A report prepared by the Security and Vigilance Unit of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica indicates that the office of a controversial politician may have been used for sexual encounters by couples who volunteer as analysts.   The report was issued to the press on February 10th by Magaly Camacho, Chief of Security at the Assembly. The office in questio...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Feb 24 (EFE). - The presidents of the countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America met here Wednesday with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to move forward on the Alliance for Prosperity plan for the region, and they agreed on a new action framework for 2016. Biden met with Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales an...

Flickr Commons Washington, Feb 23 (EFE).- Fourteen activists were arrested Tuesday in front of the White House in a protest on behalf of the rights of Central American immigrants and against the deportation of the undocumented to countries with high rates of violence. More than 50 activists gathered with a large poster reading "President Obama, you have blood on your hands," a reference to ...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (rear) applauds his wife, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as they appear with their daughter Chelsea (R) at Mrs. Clinton's caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif By Britt Nelson Editor's note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertis...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Feb 22 (EFE). - The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) puts at risk the safety of thousands of Central American youngsters who cross the southern border into the U.S. while they wait for immigration court authorities to rule on their cases, according to an official study released Monday in Washington. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), which ...

David, Panama, Feb 21 (EFE).- More than 100 Cuban migrants from among the 1,300 stranded in Panama on Sunday received immigration permits that early next week will allow them to travel legally to Mexico, where they will be able to continue their land journey to the United States. The deputy commissioner of the Panamanian Immigration Service, David Rios Duran, told EFE that 145 people are being ...

Wikimedia Commons OAS Media Release - Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed an application with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 12.798, Gómez Murillo and others, with regard to Costa Rica. The case has to do with the violations of the rights to humane treatment, personal liberty, private and family life, to raise a family and to equa...

File photo Caracas, Feb 18 (EFE).- The former presidents of Costa Rica and Poland - Oscar Arias and Lech Walesa, respectively, both of whom are Nobel Peace Prize winners - are in Venezuela to support political prisoners and on Thursday participated in a special session of parliament at which they criticized the country's economic model and urged lawmakers to work together to get out of the cur...

FILE - Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are seen in the House of Representatives Chamber of the US Capitol after Pope Francis' address Sept. 24, 2015. (Reuters OMX) //TRW// (VOA) Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz slammed U.S. President Barack Obama for his reported plans to visit Cuba next month. Speaking at a town hall Thursday in South Carolina, th...

Washington, Feb 18 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he planned to visit Cuba in March, making him the first sitting U.S. head of state to visit the island in 88 years. EFE On Thursday morning, the White House Press Office confirmed President Obama's intention to make the historic visit. The visit to Cuba will be part of an of...

(Creative Commons) By Britt Nelson Editor's note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Fallout from the unforeseen death of U.S Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will have profound effects on this year’s campaign for president as the Republican controlled U.S. Senate vows to block any nomination to the...

YouTube/Google under Creative Commons 2.0 Bogota, Feb 16 (EFE).- Deputy Interior Minister Carlos Ferro resigned on Tuesday a few hours after he was linked with an alleged male prostitution network extending into Colombia's National Police, official sources told EFE. Ferro's resignation was seen as part of an internal restructuring of the Interior Ministry, the sources said. Earlier Tuesd...

San Jose, Feb 11 (Prensa Latina; additional context by The Costa Rica Star) Journalists, diplomats and representatives of alternative media and social movements in Costa Rica stressed here today the importance of the Latin American News Agency Prensa Latina (PL) for covering the international situation, especially in Latin America. The role of this agency was the focus of a meeting held at the ...

Source: Flickr Commons New York, NY (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- There are an estimated 7.6 million Americans living abroad and a survey by Greenback Expat Tax Services found that 58% voted in the last Presidential election. Called US expats, this block of voters could have an influential voice in the next Presidential election. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they don't feel well-represented by...

Source: Presidencia de Costa Rica Emirates News Agency Press Release - SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, 13th February, 2016 (WAM) -- President of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solis, yesterday received H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The two sides discussed cooperation and ways to enhance it in the best interest of the two countries. Dur...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (rear) applauds his wife, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as they appear with their daughter Chelsea (R) at Mrs. Clinton's caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif By Britt Nelson Say goodbye to Republican candidates for president -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Hulett-Packard CEO C...

(Archive image for illustrative purposes. Wikimedia Commons) By Britt Nelson Editor's note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Cheers could be heard loud and clear in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica, Tuesday night as the first votes were being counted in the USA’s New Hampshire presidential primary. Next comes t...

Washington, Feb 9 (EFE).- Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Tuesday finally put a price to one of his most controversial proposals, building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border paid for by the latter, claiming that it would cost $8 billion. "The wall is probably $8 billion, which is a tiny fraction of the money that we lose with Mexico," said Trump in an interview on MSNBC. The...

Former PLN lawmaker, Jorge Angulo faces eight criminal charges including influence peddling, extortion, and corruption. (ICR/CRS Archive) After years of delays and postponements, a Costa Rica criminal court has once again set a new trial date – this time in January 2017 – for former PLN lawmaker Jorge Angulo, who faces eight criminal charges including influence peddling, extortion, and corrupt...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (rear) applauds his wife, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as they appear with their daughter Chelsea (R) at Mrs. Clinton's caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif By Britt Nelson Editor's note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertis...

Source: Johnny Araya Monge Facebook Who needs a strong political platform when you have a shining personality to support the agenda you feel is best for your constituency? According to early counts from cantonal polling centers, the powerhouse National Liberation Party (Spanish initials: PLN) dominated municipal elections in Costa Rica; however, former Mayor of San Jose Johnny Araya proved ...

OAS and TSE reps sign accord before elections OAS Media Release - The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM) headed by the former Uruguayan Deputy Minister Edgardo Ortuño, began its activities earlier this week in preparation for municipal elections to be held on Sunday, February 7th in Costa Rica. Today, the Chief of Mission and the President of the Su...

File photo San Jose, Feb 5 (EFE).- The Costa Rican government announced Friday that next week direct flights to Mexico will begin for Cuban migrants who have been stranded in the Central American country since last November on their way to the United States. "We are pleased to announce that the governments of Costa Rica and Mexico have agreed to carry out direct flights to make travel easie...

Source: Mireya Zamora Facebook Former legislator and current mayoral candidate Mireya Zamora Alvarado is very upset over a hacked Facebook account and a leaked sex video that purportedly features her in an intimate act with her romantic partner. The commotion started earlier this week after a social media update on the candidate's Facebook Timeline showed a pornographic clip, which showed a...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (rear) applauds his wife, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as they appear with their daughter Chelsea (R) at Mrs. Clinton's caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif By Britt Nelson New Hampshire voters will again have the world on their shoulders for the Feb. 9 primary election. Every four years -...

As the race to the White House heats up, The Costa Rica Star is welcoming a seasoned political reporter to its staff to keep US expats in the know about this important election year, with a focus on how US elections affect Americans living abroad. Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New Yo...

Wikimedia Commons Although it may seem as if Costa Rica has always been the leading nation for dental tourism in the Americas, many of us tend to forget that Venezuela once held the title as one of the best Latin American nations for medical and dental tourism, at least until the late 1980s.   There are good reasons to believe that Venezuela could still be the medical and dental tou...

Denver, Feb 1 (EFE).- The legalization and sale of marijuana in Colorado since 2014 has reduced the operations of Mexican drug cartels both along the southern U.S. border as well as inside this country, according to a report released Monday by a group specializing in legal matters. The report, published by Lawyer Herald, uses recent statistics from several sources to conclude that the legal pro...

Wikimedia Commons An attempt to plant transgenic cotton for research purposes in Costa Rica is being challenged in court. According to a news report recently filed by Carlos Arrieta Perez of online news daily El Pais, a legislator from Frente Amplio (Broad Front) and a few non-profit groups dedicated to environmental protection claim that the transgenic cotton seeds contain traces of Agent Ora...

Wikimedia Commons By Beatriz Pascual Macias Washington, Jan 28 (EFE).- Two senators on Thursday revealed serious abuses suffered by some undocumented migrant children, most from Central America and whom the U.S. government had placed in the custody of criminals who exploited them both sexually and at work. They include "vulnerable and traumatized minors abused by their sponsors, or force...

Source: Flickr Commons Rio de Janeiro, Jan 25 (EFE).- The mayor of the Brazilian town of Goianesia do Para, Joao Gomes, was murdered Sunday night while he was attending a wake, local media reported. He was 62. Gomes, popularly known as "Russo," was attending a wake downtown in the municipality in the northern Brazilian state of Para, when two people wearing helmets that covered their faces,...