By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Over the past ten years, there have been many exchanges between myself and clients or would-be clients about the advantages of living in Costa Rica vs other so-called popular countries recommended by such sources as International Living. The list includes but is not limited to Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay. Inquirer...

“What bloody business has the USA to do with the Costa Rican immigration policies on border crossings?” - Posted reaction to a recent article published in TCRS (The Costa Rica Star) The answer: Plenty. The Bigger Picture: The issue is not just about border runners seeking to stay under the radar as Perpetual Tourists, or those needing to keep their foreign driver's licenses valid. Those con...

On June 22, the SSCA HF Radio Service confirmed having received an SOS from a ship’s Personal Locator Beacon (PLB1). Then there was silence. The Radio Service confirmed that the message came from the TRANAVIS, a trimaran sailing between St. Martin, French Antilles, to Barranquilla, Colombia. Aboard the TRANAVIS was Rocco Acocella Roverndom, a well known Eco-Friendly Tour Guide, on his way to Ecuad...

On May 14, three people fled – or were chased – away from a narco submarine in Playa Llorona in Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica’s Corcovado Park. They left behind their ominous-looking gray homemade boat. The Fuerza Publica, Border Police and Coast Guard seized more than two tons of cocaine neatly stored aboard the otherwise messy boat’s interior. There have been several such boats found ...

In separate police raids, Costa Rican authorities confiscated almost three tons of cocaine this week with a street value of over 33 million USD. Police operations carried out in the South Pacific of Costa Rica concluded with a total 456 kilograms of cocaine seized and four men arrested. Public Police Force located a vessel carrying the load of drugs in the area of Dominical in the South Paci...

Coordinated operations by the Costa Rica Coast Guard Service, the Aerial Surveillance Service and the Drug Control Police resulted in another hit to drug traffickers in waters of the South Pacific. A Costa Rican fishing boat was stopped carrying an important load of cocaine, an amount not yet quantified but estimated in close to one ton; the packets were hidden under a lot of ice in the storag...

In June, 2017, the former head of the Costa Rica Public Force (Fuerza Publica) was arrested for traveling in a false-bottom truck with 237 kilograms of cocaine – probably destined for the USA via Mexico.  In October, between 800-1,000 kilos of cocaine were found floating near Golfo Dulce. Last week, 785 kilos of cocaine were seized by authorities near Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia. Last Friday ...

Testigo Directo (Direct Witness) is a Colombian TV show that presents independent investigative journalism on different sensitive topics, one of their series “El ventilador de los narcos” presents detailed information on the drug trafficking business in Colombia and even interviews with former members of cartels that explain in detail how the operations work. The show is presented by Rafael Poveda...

The second beach volleyball open tournament will take place in Tamarindo, Guanacaste on Saturday, September 16. The Costa Rican national team will face off against competitors from the United States, Colombia, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The format is two-on-two, and promises to be a thrilling event with very strong athletes competing, according to Ivannia Ramirez, event organizer. Also on S...

So far this year, Costa Rica's police forces have captured over 17.5 tons of cocaine, both in land and sea operations, informed the Public Security Ministry in the wake of an incident at the Moín, Limón port on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. On Thursday August 17, drug control police detained and inspected a ship where they discovered 50 kilos of cocaine attached to its hull, said the ministry. ...

Costa Rican producers and exporters are in Colombia this month for a round of visits and talks to search out new markets for their products, reported the Costa Rican foreign trade promotion agency, Procomer. A recent market study conducted by Procomer, "Colombia: analysis for the marketing of pastas, snacks, cookies, and sauces," has been a tool for businesses in Costa Rica over the past year t...

The First Encounter of World Marine Heritage Sites of the East Pacific took place from Wednesday to Friday this week in the Guanacaste Conservation Area in Costa Rica. Representatives from the different Marine World Heritage Sites gathered in the country in the event organized by the Pacifico Foundation, the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the UNESCO field office in Costa Rica in respons...

Costa Rican authorities yesterday reported the discovery at the Pacific port of Caldera of 1.3 tons of cocaine in a container hailing from Buenaventura, Colombia. Costa Rican security minister Gustavo Mata said Monday at a press conference that the seizure occurred on Sunday during a routine container inspection, and that it is the first time that drug has been found at the Caldera port in the ...

The Government of Panama announced Friday it will reduce the stay in the country for Nicaraguan, Colombian and Venezuelan tourists from 180 to 90 days as part of a policy of tightening controls over foreigner visitors. This, and other controls by Panama, may lessen some of the flow of undocumented migrants into Costa Rica over its southern border. The Panamanian migration service has detected f...

Costa Rican authorities announced they would reinforce security, including streamlining procedures to expel foreigners linked to criminal activities, following a series of recent crimes that have shocked the country. "Acts of violence in recent days have raised a justified alarm in the population and motivated new calls for attention to all authorities to intensify the fight against drug traffi...

After midnight Saturday, a "Breaking Chains" police operation took place in Tamarindo, Guanacaste, a popular surf town on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The plan - called ROCA in Spanish - is a targeted attempt to rescue victims of human trafficking and is led by Costa Rica's Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ). ROCA is an inter-institutional effort which also involves Interpol police, and a ho...

Today Costa Rican Security Minister Gustavo Mata Vega gave highlights of one of the biggest break ups of a drug ring to date in Costa Rica. With today’s 12 arrests - 10 in Costa Rica and two in Colombia - a total of 38 people have been caught in connection with a Costa Rican-Colombian drug trafficking ring after a 2-year investigation, said the ministry press office. Costa Rica’s Drug Contro...

Spanish national police dismantled the largest international child pornography distribution network to date though pioneering research examining instant messaging groups and WhatsApp messages. The operation monitored 135 users in 18 countries in Europe, Central America and South America who participated in some 96 online pedophile groups. A total of 39 people have been arrested: 17 of them i...

A regional proposal by the Costa Rican Judiciary’s Restorative Justice Program was chosen from more than eighty projects submitted to an international competition organized by the European Union. The program proposes a regional approach to restorative justice, and will receive support from the European Union for its implementation, said European Union Ambassador Pelayo Castro Zuzuarregui. Costa...

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s outgoing Foreign Minister, dedicated his last official visit to Colombia this month to launch the Colombo-German Institute for Peace, or Capaz, its acronym in Spanish. Colombia’s daily El Espectador interviewed Steinmeier about this institute dedicated to teaching, research and consulting on the important peace process underway in Colombia. Following is an edi...

By Wendy Anders Amid the lush forests and remote beaches of Corcovado National Park, southern Costa Rica’s biodiversity hotspot, Costa Rican police often find themselves on the front line of the illicit drug trade between South and North America. Early yesterday morning, Costa Rican police patrolling the stunning southern Pacific coast located eleven rectangular packages wrapped in a sack-li...

By Wendy Anders Representatives from nine South American countries met this month to discuss the conservation of marine biodiversity in the open ocean, said the Costa Rican non-profit marine conservation group MarViva Foundation. Almost half the planet is covered by the high, or open seas, the waters found beyond countries’ territorial limits. Despite their abundance, these vast areas hav...

January 2: Colombian rebels may be preparing to lay down their guns, but the nation faces a deeper challenge to heal itself: treating mental illnesses stemming from the trauma of a half-century war. The 260,000 people killed and 60,000 missing in the civil conflict are quantified in official statistics—but uncounted millions still suffer the psychological scars. Maria—a pseudonym which the w...

Bangkok Desk, Dec. 29 — Fifteen people have been detained in Australia in connection with the seizure of 1.1 tons of cocaine in an international operation against a drug smuggling ring, police officials said Thursday. A total of 500 kilograms were seized on Dec. 25 in the southern Australian state of New South Wales, and over 600 kilograms bound for Australia were intercepted in March in Tahiti, ...

Guerima, Colombia, Dec. 17 — The "drug triangle," formed by the Colombian villages of Guerima, Chupave and Puerto Principe, was famous for its coca leaf production under drug lord Carlos Lehder and later under the FARC. A rural peasant, photo for illustrative purposes. Now, as peace becomes a reality, people here are trying to replace that tarnished past with perfectly legal cacao crops. G...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rican authorities seized US$480,000 as part of an international effort to local and repatriate assets of the now-disbanded Colombian rebel group, FARC. The Costa Rican Supreme Court of Justice last week turned over the assets of the guerrilla group to the Colombian Attorney General's Office, reported Bogotá, Colombia’s daily El Espectador newspaper. This was the firs...

By Wendy Anders Close up of a Marijuana plant flowering during the final stages of growth. EFE/file On Tuesday, Colombia legalized medical marijuana through a decree signed by President Juan Manuel Santos, which regulates the cultivation, processing, import and export of cannabis and its derivatives for therapeutic purposes. Colombia thus joins  Mexico, 23 states in the U.S., and Uruguay, w...

Sao Paulo, Dec. 6 — Colombian singer Shakira said here Tuesday that the task of being a mother has been the most difficult one in her life, admitting that combining motherhood with her professional career is a "daily challenge." Shakira with her eldest son in early 2015, source Facebook. "I don't know how I do it. I imagine that, like all women in the world, we're crazy. It's a daily challe...

By Wendy Anders This morning, Colombia's low-budget regional Wingo airline joins a growing number of regional flight options available out of Costa Rica when it touches down for the first time in the country with passengers from Panama. After an inaugural celebration at the Juan Santamaría Airport (SJO) in Alajuela, roughly 15 miles west of San José, passengers will then board for a flight t...

Avianca airlines announced today the cancellation of all flights to and from Venezuela, after a Venezuelan military plane harassed one of their planes. (EFE).- Colombia's Foreign Ministry on Saturday was asked to demand an explanation from Venezuela for an incident in which a military plane allegedly harassed an Avianca passenger jet while it was in the neighboring country's airspace. Colom...

Bogota, Oct. 7 — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Friday he was receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in the name of all Colombians and particularly the millions of victims of the decades-long armed conflict. "Colombians, this prize is for you. It's for the victims, so there won't be one more death" from the armed conflict, Santos said in a brief statement, accompanied by his wife, Maria C...

COLOMBIA PEACE VOTE  Bogota, Oct. 2 — The president of Colombia late Sunday recognized the victory of the "No" side in the referendum on the peace agreement signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and said this result would open a new political reality which could be an opportunity for the country. Juan Manuel Santos, who had promoted the "yes" campaign, ordered governme...

New York, Sept. 18 - Countries throughout the world, led by the United States and Norway, committed themselves on Sunday to supporting efforts to remove landmines in Colombia with an eye toward ridding that country of the weapons by 2021. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said at the start of a meeting on the issue held in a New York hotel that removing the landmines is an "essential" part of ...

Bogotá, Sept. 14 - At close to 9:00 pm last night in the northwest Colombian state of Antioquia, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck, reported the Spanish news agency EFE. No damages or casualties were reported in Antioquia’s populous capital city of Medellín nor in areas near the epicenter, according to Colombia’s Administrative Department of Disaster Risk Management (DAGRD in Spanish). T...

By Wendy Anders Last night at 7:00 pm, during a routine police stop on Route 27 near the exit for Multiplaza Escazú, police detained a white cargo pick-up truck driven by a 29-year-old Colombian national by the last name Betancourt, stated the Security Ministry in a press release this afternoon. Police flagged the pick-up truck when they noticed the driver seemed nervous as he approached the...

FARC guerrilla unit marching in 1998. Wikimedia Commons By Christian Escobar Mora for Agencia EFE Tacueyo is among the villages most affected by the armed conflict between the FARC and the government, so its indigenous inhabitants are enthusiastic about the new cease-fire but at the same time believe that not all the members of that guerrilla group will obey the orders of their leaders. ...

By Wendy Anders This afternoon, the Washington Post reported from Havana, Cuba that an agreement was reached by the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leftist rebel group to end the continent’s longest conflict after after 52 years of fighting. After nearly four years of negotiations and a ceasefire announced in June, “'We have finished fighting with w...

FARC guerrilla unit marching in 1998. Wikimedia Commons The names of the more than 8 million victims of Colombia's decades-long armed conflict will be inscribed on trees in an expanse of the southeastern province of Vaupes to be known as the "Forest of Peace. Supported by the Colombian government, the Forest is an initiative of the NGO Saving the Amazon. The group began planning the proj...

Supporters of President Maduro rally in Caracas EFE/AGENCIA VENEZOLANA DE NOTICIAS/ Some 25,000 Venezuelans, according to official estimates, crossed the border into Colombia on Sunday to buy food and medicines in the city of Cucuta after the Venezuelan government said it would open border crossings for 12 hours. People began crossing the Simon Bolivar international bridge, which links the ...

Flickr Commons Police around the globe arrested 79 suspected members of an international child pornography network on Monday. The arrests were made in 18 different countries, including the United States, Spain, and several Latin American countries, following 200 raids in 47 cities as part of Operation No Borders. At least 19 of the arrests were made in Spain, primarily in Madrid. Span...