Q COSTARICA — In just a few weeks, we’ll find out whether the state power and telecom utility, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), will tear down the historic building that has long been a landmark in La Sabana’s landscape.
ICE president, Marco Acuña, told Telenoticias that the building doesn’t have the structural strength needed to keep staff safe. Because of this, ICE plans to assess the possibility of demolishing the building in the coming weeks.
The building, officially the Jorge Manuel Dengo Obregón Building, is an iconic architectural landmark in San José.
Currently, the 54-year-old building that has served as ICE’s headquarters for decades is completely vacant. All core headquarters operations have permanently moved to the newer Torre Grupo ICE located in Sabana Sur.
According to Acuña, the fate of the building could be to maintain it as is, remodel it, or even demolish it, and a new building could be erected on the site. In either case, the ICE president acknowledges it would involve a multimillion-dollar investment.
If demolished, the high-value property in Sabana Norte could be converted into a new commercial zone or transformed into a complementary facility for the neighboring Estadio Nacional (National Stadium).
“That location could be interesting for other uses, which we are also considering. It could even be an area to complement the National Stadium, a commercial area, etc.,” Acuña told Telenoticias.
Construction began in November 1969, and the building officially opened on January 19, 1973.
Newly inaugurated ICE building in La Sabana, San José, 1973
Designed by architect Rafael Sotela, the 15-story (58-meter) concrete structure was briefly the tallest building in Costa Rica upon its completion.
Originally known simply as the Edificio Central del ICE, it was renamed in 2012 to honor Jorge Manuel Dengo Obregón, the visionary engineer who founded the State institution.
Q COSTARICA — After removing the access gates (agujas) controlling vehicular access, the Municipality of Garabito confirmed that Playa Blanca is now open to the public 24 hours a day.
The municipality emphasizes that it acted in compliance with a court order recognizing the access road as public and not a private access point belonging to Punta Leona Beach Club.
Francisco González, mayor of Garabito, told La Nación that surveillance operations will be carried out to guarantee free transit.
Meanwhile, Punta Leona Beach Club condemned the “arbitrary and disproportionate actions” taken by the Municipality of Garabito on its premises.
It also stated that the municipality damaged infrastructure such as security barriers, the sturdy posts used to control vehicular traffic, a security booth, vehicles, and other items located on private property belonging to several owners and the Club.
“The municipality acted despite the fact that it is a private property with registered cadastral plans in the National Registry, and also despite the fact that the legal status of access via those roads is still being debated in the Administrative Court.
“The actions of the local government demonstrate a clear abuse of authority, causing damage to private property and violence against the people responsible for protecting it. The Municipal Police exceeded their authority, since in addition to damaging the infrastructure, they also assaulted the officials providing access,” said Punta Leona.
The Municipal police operation last week to remove security barriers in Punta Leona ended in a chaotic, and violent fight between police and those against the opening of the beach to the public. The Fuerza Publica (National Police) reported that two people were arrested for assaulting officers during the operation.
While access to Playa Blanca is open, questions have arisen among tourists and visitors is whether anyone can now freely enter, the use of parking, entry times, and what to do if someone tries to block access.
González assured that the beach can be visited by anyone and clarified several practical aspects for those planning a trip there. The mayor stated that anyone can enter Playa Blanca without needing to be a guest or member of Punta Leona.
The local government’s position is that the road under construction is a public street, so there should be no restrictions on accessing the beach.
There is no cost for access. Entry does not require paying an access fee. However, this does not mean that all services available in the area are free.
One of the main points of confusion among users concerns parking. González explained that Playa Blanca does not have enough parking spaces next to the beach, so historically, visitors have used private parking lots located nearby.
Playa Blanca in Punta Leona
According to him, some tours include parking in nearby lots and transportation to the beach.
You can also use the parking lot managed by Punta Leona, which costs ¢20,000 for eight hours. He said that this service includes access to restrooms and is located near the beach.
According to the mayor, there are no entry times. Although he recommended visiting during the day due to the poor lighting in the area. He even pointed out that people can stay on the beach overnight, as long as they do so at their own risk.
What happens if someone tries to block access? González stated that no person or private company can expel visitors from a public beach. He also maintained that passage on the road that the Municipality considers public should not be obstructed.
In the event of such a situation, he recommended contacting the appropriate authorities through the 911 emergency system or the police in the area.
Q COSTARICA — The potential arrival of El Niño could bring a drier and hotter scenario to Costa Rica in the coming months.
This could include a reduction of up to 50% in rainfall in Guanacaste, temperature increases in various regions of the country, and greater pressure on resources such as water and energy, warned the School of Geographic Sciences at the Universidad Nacional (UNA).
Projections analyzed by international meteorological organizations and national authorities indicate that the phenomenon could solidify during the second half of 2026 and even extend into early 2027, in a context marked by global warming.
Ricardo Orozco, a climatologist at the UNA’s School of Geographic Sciences, noted that current scenarios show conditions similar to those historically observed during this phenomenon.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) estimates an 80% probability of El Niño developing between June and August 2026, a percentage that would exceed 90% by the end of the year.
Furthermore, the most recent projections suggest that it could reach a strong or very strong intensity between November 2026 and January 2027.
If this scenario is confirmed, the North Pacific would be the most affected region, with Guanacaste potentially receiving up to 50% less rainfall than normal during the June-August quarter, according to estimates from the national weather service, the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (IMN).
The Central Pacific and the Central Valley would experience reductions of around 40%, while the South Pacific would have about 35% less precipitation.
In contrast, the Caribbean and Northern regions could receive between 10% and 15% more rain than average.
The decrease in rainfall would also be accompanied by an increase in temperatures.
Guanacaste could register increases of up to two degrees Celsius above normal values, while other regions would experience increases of between one and 1.3 degrees.
This scenario would have direct consequences on water availability, agricultural production, public health, and electricity generation.
“El Niño is a natural phenomenon. The difference now is that we are in a context of global warming,” Orozco explained.
The researcher recalled that previous events caused significant reductions in rainfall in Guanacaste and forced the declaration of drought emergencies in several areas of the Pacific coast.
This highlights the need to strengthen institutional and community preparedness for a possible new episode of the phenomenon.
Q COSTARICA — San José once again became the athletics capital on Sunday with the eighth edition of the San José Marathon.
The 2026 San José Marathon competition brought together 5,000 athletes from more than 25 countries, who participated in the certified distances of 42K, 21K, 10.5K, and 5K.
The official start took place at 5:00 a.m. from the Parque Central in the heart of San José, in an event organized by the Comité Cantonal de Deportes y Recreación de San José (San José Cantonal Sports and Recreation Committee).
The event was supported by the Municipality of San José and solidified its position as one of the country’s premier sporting competitions.
The star of the day was Kenyan Rodgers Ondati Gesabwa, who set a new marathon record, completing the 42 kilometers in 2:19:45 and became the overall male winner.
In the women’s division, Mexico’s Argentina Valdepeña took first place with a time of 2:50:32, marking her third victory in the San José Marathon, on a date that also coincided with her birthday.
Costa Rica also excelled in the main race with Ángelo Olivo and Susana Guillén Mora as the top national representatives.
Olivo finishing third overall in the men’s division, while Guillén Mora finished third in the women’s division.
Concurrently, the San José Without Barriers Mini Race took place, focused on promoting sports inclusion for people with disabilities.
The event began at the Costa Rican Museo de Arte in La Sabana and concluded at the official marathon finish line in Parque Central.
At the close of the day, the 2026 San José Marathon received the Blue Flag Ecological Event award for recognition of the actions taken in waste management, the efficient use of resources, and environmental education.
The organizers expressed their gratitude for the support of athletes, sponsors, volunteers, security personnel, and the general public.
They also emphasized that the event continues to strengthen the promotion of sports, inclusion, sustainability, and healthy lifestyles in Costa Rica.
Q COSTARICA — On Thursday afternoon, the Fuera Publica (National Police), along with the Municipal Police, carried out an operation at Punta Leona resort in Garabito to reopen public access to the beaches and surrounding areas.
This was done following a judge’s order to remove barriers — a gate (aguja in Spanish and gatehouse) that had blocked the roads leading to the public beach.
For years, a gate and guardhouse had stood in the way, letting through only residents, staff, or guests of the resort.
But now, those roads must be open to everyone.
During the police action, some security guards from the resort clashed with officers, and videos show them physically confronting the police. Several people got hurt and needed medical help, and some resort employees were arrested for attacking the officers enforcing the court’s order.
Authorities are still investigating to figure out who’s responsible for what happened.
Francisco González, the mayor of Garabito, explained why the barriers were taken down. In a video shared on social media, he said this should have happened 25 years ago. Back in 2001, the road was declared public, but for reasons he doesn’t know, it was never opened. A legal hold-up by Punta Leona was recently lifted, allowing the police to remove the blockades.
The mayor made it clear the police never entered private property—they were simply following a court order that had been waiting to be enforced for over two decades.
Punta Leona is a famous resort and nature reserve covering more than 40 hectares. Located about 15 minutes north of Playa Jacó and 90 minutes from San José, it’s known for its rich forest and two stunning beaches: Mantas and Blanca.
Until now, access was limited to guests, club members, or those who paid for a day pass, which included vehicle access, parking, and transport to Playa Blanca.
With the barriers gone, the public can now freely enjoy Playa Blanca and other areas.
Costa Rican law says all beaches are public. People have traditionally walked from Playa Mantas to Playa Blanca along the rocky point during low tide.
Punta Leona calls the police action arbitrary, pointing out that the internal roads are listed as private and are currently being reviewed in court.
Meanwhile, Mayor González is inviting everyone—from locals to visitors across the country—to come and enjoy the newly opened public areas at Punta Leona.
Q COSTARICA — A study by the Observatorio Laboral de Profesiones (OLaP) del Consejo Nacional de Rectores (CONARE)— Labor Observatory of Professions of the National Council of Rectors, revealed that 68.5% of university graduates in Costa Rica, between 2020 and 2022, were the first in their families to earn a university degree.
The results were released on Tuesday, June 2, during the presentation of the sixth report, “Monitoring University Graduates 2020-2022 from Costa Rican Universities.”
The research highlighted the prominent role of the public education system, as 78.6% of graduates completed their secondary education in public schools.
One of the report’s findings is the graduates’ interest in continuing their education after completing university.
Thus, 76.7% of those who obtained a university degree between 2020 and 2022 continued their studies afterward, reflecting a trend toward professional development and strengthening skills to face the job market.
Artificial Intelligence on the Rise
The research also reveals the accelerated incorporation of technological tools in professional practice.
More than half of the graduates, specifically 56.5%, indicated using artificial intelligence solutions in their daily work.
Among the most used applications are chatbots, data analysis systems, and virtual assistants—technologies that have become increasingly common resources in the workplace and in academic settings.
English Remains a Competitive Factor
The report also confirms the continued relevance of English language proficiency in professional development.
74.4% of graduates reported having knowledge of this language, with the upper-intermediate level (B2) being the most frequent among those who indicated proficiency, according to the study.
The report also indicates that the main ways to acquire these language skills are through specialized courses and self-study.
The results of the Labor Observatory of Professions allow us to identify some of the main trends that characterize graduates of higher education.
Q COSTARICA — In a context where Russia invaded Ukraine several years ago, the presence of Russian military personnel in neighboring Nicaragua is a source of concern for Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister, Manuel Tovar.
Speaking to AFP in France on various topics, the diplomat did not hide his unease.
“There is a significant Russian military presence in Nicaragua. They recently renewed a military cooperation agreement with Moscow, and it seems to me that these troops are far from where they should be. (…) This is a factor that worries us, particularly knowing that there is a war in the heart of Europe, caused by Russia in Ukraine, and we are not comfortable with it,” Tovar said.
The AFP report emphasizes that the regime led by dictators Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, is Moscow’s main partner in Central America.
Tovar did not suggest in any way that Nicaragua is preparing for an invasion, but his words seem to imply that such a scenario cannot be completely ruled out.
Russian troops are permitted to legally operate in Nicaragua under long-standing, biannual presidential decrees that authorize foreign forces to enter the country for joint training, law enforcement, and humanitarian assistance.
While the Nicaraguan government portrays this as routine, Russia and Nicaragua ratified a major military cooperation pact that embeds Russian forces deeper into the country.
This agreement expands Russian intelligence sharing, electronic warfare cooperation, and joint training, leading international observers and political opponents to warn that Nicaragua is effectively transitioning into a Russian base of operations in the Western Hemisphere.
According to Confidencial Nicaragua, Nicaragua’s leading online news source, in April, Russia’s Federation Council (Senate) ratified its agreement to strengthen military cooperation with Nicaragua, signed in Moscow in September 2025.
“Nicaragua is becoming a Russian military base,” says opposition figure and former political prisoner Felix Maradiaga.
Previously, in December 2024, Russia had already approved a draft intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation with Nicaragua proposed by the Russian Ministry of Defense and coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Russian institutions, for a period of five years.
Russia is a longstanding ally of Nicaragua that, during the first Sandinista government (1979–1990), supplied Soviet weaponry to the Nicaraguan Armed Forces—an alliance that continues today not only through material and military assistance but also through political support in major international organizations.
In August 2024, an investigation by Confidencial revealed that a Nicaraguan Army base located at Cerro Mokoron, south of Managua, has in recent years become one of Russia’s main espionage centers.
The report revealed that the Russian espionage center operates at Mokorón military base in Managua, details that Russian officials are the only ones who control and handle the equipment and the information obtained, while Nicaraguan officers are limited to providing “security” at the base, according to sources with access to the facility.
“Nicaragua is the most visible center of Russian surveillance (in Latin America), under the unconditional support of the regime of (Daniel) Ortega to (Vladimir) Putin, and longstanding historical ties with the former Soviet Union,” according to a report by the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University (FIU), prepared by national security researcher Douglas Farah, as detailed in a Confidencial article published in October 2024.
Satellite Monitoring. Nicaragua hosts a ground station of the Russian GLONASS satellite positioning system.
The Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos has erected stations for the Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) system* in Russia, Antarctica, and South Africa, as well as in the Western Hemisphere, four stations in Brazil, and since April 2017, has had one in Nicaragua.
Last November, Latinamerica21.com reported that, with limited resources but clear objectives, Moscow made Nicaragua its military enclave in Central America, seeking to project symbolic influence and challenging the US-led order.
Military cooperation between Russia and Nicaragua dates back to the Cold War, when nearly 90% of the country’s military equipment came from the former Soviet Union.
* Editor’s note: Back in 2019, during one of my last trips to Nicaragua, I got the chance to visit the GLONASS system—just the outside, mind you—alongside a group of Russian visitors. From the moment I saw it, the place felt straight out of a spy thriller, like something you’d expect in a secret agent’s world.
Q COSTARICA — The possibility of someone attempting to assassinate President Laura Fernández because of her fight against drug trafficking and organized crime doesn’t keep her up at night.
In the weekly press conference on Wednesday, doña Laura stated that she was elected to make decisions, not to sit idly by performing minor administrative tasks.
“Tell me who your enemy is, and I’ll tell you what kind of work you’re doing. I will continue to lead, fulfilling my patriotic duty to the people of Costa Rica, regardless of who it bothers. (…) In my family, we have always been God-fearing people. I always receive the blessings of the people of Costa Rica, and I know that my purpose is far greater than that of anyone who wants to harm me, so I sleep like a baby, I work with all the energy in the world, and I will continue to fight those who, as we know, are bothered by my work,” Fernández said.
Just days shy of her first month in office, authorities at the Ministry of Justice are investigating an alleged threat against the president’s life.
The Ministry confirmed this in a brief statement.
“In response to repeated inquiries regarding reports circulating about an alleged plot to assassinate the President of the Republic, Laura Fernández Delgado, the Ministry of Justice and Peace has indeed received a report and will refrain from commenting on security matters, intelligence, or any potential investigations in this regard,” the Ministry stated.
Since taking office on May 8, Fernández has led an elite task force to address the crime and drug trafficking plaguing the country.
As part of these measures, Fernández announced restrictions on prison visits, the potential recording of meetings between maximum-security inmates and their families and lawyers, and sanctions against owners of illegal airstrips, among other actions.
She is also coordinating efforts with the judiciary and members of parliament to establish harsher prison sentences, including reforms to the Penal Code and the Law on the Execution of Sentences.
The news outlet Noticias Trivisión reported that a well-known drug trafficking gang is allegedly behind the threat originating from inside La Reforma, Costa Rica’s maximum security prison.
The individuals supposedly involved have been isolated, and the case remains under investigation.
The president stated in recent days that she will do everything possible to prevent criminal leaders in prison from continuing to issue orders.
“I will not allow high-level criminals from extremely dangerous gangs, behind bars, to continue directing other gang members on the outside. Who is relaying information and messages to the gang members on the outside? I don’t believe it’s telepathy. So, this needs to be thoroughly investigated. (…) Something is amiss; either they are communicating through visits or they have other means of communication. I have seen cases of people receiving up to 17 visits per week; that is absurd,” Fernández said.
Q COSTARICA — The decline in tax revenue reported by the Ministry of Finance in recent months has not gone unnoticed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has proposed a series of stringent measures for Costa Rica.
These measures include applying taxes to the school bonus and the basic food basket, as well as several changes to the income tax currently paid by businesses and individuals.
In its latest report on the country’s situation, released last week, the IMF proposes raising the VAT from 1% to 13% on all products in the basic food basket. This basket primarily includes mass-consumption goods such as rice, milk, beans, sour cream, cheese, oil, and other items considered essential.
Another measure involves applying VAT to the school bonus. This is a bonus received only by public sector employees and, in theory, would generate an increase in tax revenue equivalent to 0.3% of GDP.
Finally, the IMF recommended reducing the minimum income tax exemption amount for salaried workers, while simultaneously increasing taxes on higher earners.
In addition, the IMF recommended that the country introduce a single corporate income tax rate, along with a simplified tax regime for small taxpayers.
What does the government say?
However, the possibility of moving forward with a plan to increase revenue through new taxes was dismissed by legislator Nogui Acosta, former Minister of Finance and head of the ruling Pueblo Soberano party, in an interview with LA REPÚBLICA.
Nevertheless, the politician does agree that Costa Rica should adopt a global income tax system, which would unify all income received by an individual or legal entity during a year and apply a single progressive tax.
Under this system, it doesn’t matter if the money comes from a salary, independent consulting, travel expenses, rent, teaching, or a business; All resources are consolidated into a single base for calculating the tax.
“The position is not to approve any new taxes for four years. Note that global income tax is not more tax. It’s an issue we will evaluate later, but it’s not about creating new taxes in the country,” Acosta said.
The current situation
In terms of tax collection, at the close of the first quarter of the year, total revenues experienced a decrease of 0.2% of 2026 GDP compared to the same period in 2025.
In nominal terms, they reached ¢1.95 billion colones, representing a net cumulative decrease of ¢70,855 million compared to the same period in 2025, when they stood at ¢2.03 billion colones.
Among the factors that have contributed to the slower growth in tax revenues are the lower exchange rate, less dynamic growth observed in some periods under the final tax regime, legislative decisions that have weakened the tax base, and what is known as “tax fatigue,” meaning that the 2018 tax reform has lost its impact.
By the end of last year, the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 59.2%, and although debt grew by 1.5% as of March 2026 compared to the end of the previous period, it remained below the historical average growth rate for the 2009-2026 period, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Q COSTARICA — After several weeks of record lows in the Mercado de Monedas Extranjeras (Monex) — Foreign Exchange Market, the dollar exchange rate has recovered some of its value.
Between last Friday and Tuesday, June 2, the dollar increased by 3.51 colones, once again surpassin the 460-colón mark and is now selling for 461.06 colones.
The expectation is that it will continue to rise.
That is the forecast by economic analyst Daniel Suchar, adding that the war between the United States and Iran is beginning to be felt in Costa Rica.
“The effects of the trade war between the United States and Iran are beginning to be felt in the Costa Rican economy, albeit slowly. Prices are reflected in the international market and then influence the country.
“The transfer is slow in the country due to the large amount of dollars we have in international reserves. The expectation is that it will continue to rise,” Suchar said.
Experts are cautious, saying the Costa Rican colon’s recent rise against the dollar isn’t a long-term trend. Instead, it’s just a small bounce back after hitting a 21-year low earlier this year.
As of today, June 4, the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) set the exchange rate at ¢459.14 to buy and ¢463.66 to sell.
The slight increase of about ¢4.50 in late May and early June is just a short-term blip caused by local money flow changes—not a sign that the dollar-colon rate is turning around for good, but rather a temporary fluctuation driven by localized liquidity changes rather than a permanent trend reversal.
Q COSTARICA — The Guanacaste Airport in Liberia (LIR), a member of the VINCI Airports network, registered a record number of dogs and cats arriving during the first four months of the year, with 876 pets accompanying their owners on their adventures in Costa Rica.
The number of pet arrivals shows a 4% increase, equivalent to 30 more pets than the previous record for the first four months of 2025. Meanwhile, departures for the same period in 2026 reached 557 pets.
This trend confirms the growth of pet-friendly tourism in the region. Guanacaste is strengthening its position as a destination that facilitates international travel for passengers traveling with their pets.
Due to this surge, Guanacaste Airport has three exclusive and specially equipped areas for the care of traveling pets in different parts of the terminal. Furthermore, it maintains clear protocols and coordination with health authorities to expedite care processes.
If you wish to travel with your pet, you must take into account the requirements established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the National Animal Health Service (SENASA).
To enter Costa Rica with a pet:
To leave Costa Rica with a pet:
If traveling with pets, it is also advisable to check with the airline regarding permitted dimensions, fees, and whether pets are allowed in the cabin or only in the cargo hold.
“We celebrate Guanacaste’s consolidation as an attractive destination for travelers with their pets. The growth of pet-friendly tourism and the low return rate reflect how families are choosing destinations that allow them to enjoy complete experiences. We offer designated areas and facilities that guarantee a safe and satisfactory stay for companion animals,” stated César Jaramillo, General Manager of Guanacaste Airport.
Pet-Friendly Culture
Costa Rica is highly accommodating to pets, with many open-air restaurants, shopping centers, and beach town cafes welcoming dogs.
Pets are increasingly viewed as core family members. The country’s lush landscapes and relaxed lifestyle make it incredibly accommodating for four-legged companions
To maintain public health standards, the Ministry of Health has clarified rules for businesses serving food (like restaurants and bars). Certified service animals are automatically allowed inside, while other pets can be hosted on patios as long as the establishment provides clear signage, waste disposal stations, and carries liability insurance.
Leaving Costa Rica with your pet
If your stay in Costa Rica exceeds your original health certificate’s expiration window (typically 14 to 30 days, depending on your origin), you must visit a licensed Costa Rican veterinarian before heading home to get a brand new export clearance through SENASA.
Q COSTARICA — A platform called LEAPCR (Liderando el Emprendimiento de Alto Potencial en Costa Rica) is a newly launched national initiative designed to accelerate startups, attract international investment, and strengthen Costa Rica’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
The program operates as a technical cooperation project administered by the Inter-American Development Bank Group. It is powered by a joint alliance of four core organizations:
BID Lab: The innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank.
PCII: The Promotora Costarricense de Innovación e Investigación.
Fundación CRUSA: A private Costa Rican non-profit committed to sustainable development.
SBD: The Sistema de Banca para el Desarrollo, driving national development financing.
LEAPCR emerges at a time when Costa Rica seeks to promote entrepreneurship as an engine for innovation, productivity, and the generation of quality formal employment. To this end, the initiative will work in key areas such as capacity building, early-stage financing, open innovation, and the development of policies that foster the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“With LEAPCR, we reaffirm our joint commitment to strengthening the country’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Costa Rica has valuable talent, capabilities, and stakeholders; the challenge is to better connect them, generate clear signals to the market, and build a roadmap that allows more high-potential ventures to scale, access investment, and compete globally,” stated Patricia Rojas Figueredo, General Manager of the PCII, representing the organizations involved in this national effort.
The promoting organizations believe that the development of high-potential entrepreneurship requires a national vision, collaboration, and an infrastructure that allows good ideas to find support, financing, and real growth opportunities.
LEAPCR seeks to contribute to greater ecosystem coordination, supporting and enhancing existing efforts, without replacing the work already being done by various national stakeholders.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Group’s innovation lab is focused on promoting innovative solutions that foster inclusion, productivity, and development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The initiative aligns directly with Costa Rica’s National Development and Public Investment Plan, specifically targeting global economic projection and sustainable employment.
Jun 28, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Colombia forward Luis Diaz (7) dribbles the ball as Costa Rica defender Jeyland Mitchell (3) defends during the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports
Q COSTARICA — Costa Rica’s La Sele (Selección), the national soccer team, dropped a 3-1 decision to Colombia in an international friendly on Monday, June 1, a result that, while not a qualifier, served as a bitter coda to what has been one of the most disappointing stretches in the program’s history.
The loss came just months after La Sele was officially eliminated from contention for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — a tournament being hosted next door, across North America, in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Colombia controlled the match from the opening whistle. Dávinson Sánchez put the hosts ahead with a header in the 17th minute, assisted by Luis Díaz, and the two sides never really felt equal after that. Díaz added a second before the half, and Colombia went on to seal it 3-1.
Costa Rica managed a consolation goal, but it did little to soften the mood around a team still processing a far more consequential failure.
That failure came in November 2025, when a scoreless draw against Honduras officially ended Costa Rica’s hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup through CONCACAF qualifying. Both Costa Rica and Honduras were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup race following that result.
Los Ticos missed not only direct qualification but also a playoff spot — a brutal outcome for a country that had qualified for the previous three consecutive World Cups and famously reached the quarterfinals in Brazil in 2014.
The timing stings for Costa Rican fans in a way that goes beyond the sport. The 2026 World Cup will be the first to expand to 48 teams, and with matches scheduled across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Central American nations had more reason than ever to want a seat at the table. Costa Rica, a country that Wikipedia notes is the only Central American team to have won multiple World Cup matches, will instead watch the tournament from home.
There is no last-chance door left open. The FIFA intercontinental playoff — a six-team mini-tournament that offered a final path for nations from smaller confederations — has already concluded, with qualification for the 2026 World Cup fully wrapped up as of March 31, 2026. Costa Rica was not among the teams involved.
What went wrong is a question that will occupy Costa Rican football for years. The CONCACAF third round, which ran from September through November 2025, proved too steep a climb.
The program that once stunned the world by eliminating Uruguay, Italy, and Greece in 2014 — before defeating Greece on penalties in the round of 16 — looked a far cry from that golden generation. Haiti, a nation returning to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, qualified ahead of Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua in the third round, according to The Athletic.
Monday’s friendly against Colombia was supposed to be a chance to regroup, to find some momentum heading into a rebuilding phase. Instead, it produced another loss, another night of Luis Díaz reminding everyone just how wide the gap has grown between the region’s top sides and a Costa Rican squad still searching for its identity. Colombia, already qualified for the 2026 tournament, looked sharp and purposeful. Costa Rica looked like a team that knows the party is happening without them.
The road back will not be short.
With the 2026 World Cup now out of reach, Costa Rica’s soccer federation, FEDEFUT, faces hard decisions about coaching, player development, and the kind of structural investment needed to return the program to relevance.
For a nation where football is deeply woven into the national fabric, missing a home-region World Cup — one that will be played just a short flight away — is not a footnote. It’s a wound.
The next FIFA World Cup cycle begins almost immediately. Whether La Sele can rebuild fast enough to be a factor in 2030 remains to be seen. For now, the 3-1 loss to Colombia is just the latest reminder of how far they’ve fallen from the team that once made the whole world stop and watch.
After missing out on Qatar in 2022, Los Cafeteros (Colombia’s national team) will return to the World Cup stage — and according to Goal.com, they’re arriving as one of the tournament’s dark horse contenders to win or make a deep run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Colombia has been drawn into Group K, which offers a highly favorable path to the knockout stages:
June 17: vs. Uzbekistan (Mexico City)
June 23: vs. DR Congo (Guadalajara)
June 27: vs. Portugal (Miami)
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Q COSTARICA — Legislators Karen Alfaro of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) emphasized that political violence against women cannot be minimized or normalized.
“Because yes, I have experienced it, and I know that participating in politics as a woman still means, for many, having to endure attacks that go far beyond democratic debates. It means being questioned, not for our abilities, but for how we look, the way we speak, or our personal lives. And that should not be normal,” she asserted.
Alfaro stressed that “it is not normal for women to face more obstacles and questioning to access and remain in decision-making spaces. It is not normal for digital violence to become a tool to silence and intimidate us. It is not normal for us to enter a session or even social media emotionally preparing ourselves to receive hate.”
“Political violence against women isn’t always shouted. Sometimes it’s disguised as bullying, constant interruptions, malicious rumors in the hallways, and what’s most worrying is that this violence continues to seek to push women backward,” she asserted.
Alfaro insisted that “this reality is not foreign to our country, and we have seen it reflected in direct attacks on female magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), on colleagues who are here today, on the former president of the Republic, and on many other women who have held positions of power.”
“But every time women raise their voices and make a difference in the political spaces where we participate, when we debate and when we lead, we do so exercising a democratic right. And that right didn’t come about by chance; it was the result of the efforts of many women, like Pancha Carrasco, Carmen Lyra, Ana Rosa Chacón, and Ángela Acuña, who defied the limitations of their time,” she stated.
The Liberationist commented that “thanks to those struggles, in 1949, we took a historic step by recognizing women’s suffrage, expanding the doors to political participation. It was an enormous advance, but today we must honestly acknowledge that we haven’t progressed enough. That is precisely why our country has a law to prevent, address, punish, and eradicate violence against women in politics. Because the country had to recognize that this violence is real and that it can no longer be seen as part of our politics.”
“Today I want to address the girls who are with us here today, all those watching from their homes, all the young women who dream of leading someday. This space also belongs to you. Don’t let fear, attacks, or those who try to minimize your abilities make you doubt your worth,” she stated.
Alfaro asserted that “today I call for collective reflection, because combating political violence against women is not the sole responsibility of those of us who suffer it; it is the responsibility of everyone.” “I hope, colleagues, that the day will come when a girl can not only dream, but can become a leader, a member of parliament, a president, or whatever she wants, without having to first think about all the hatred she might face. Participating in politics should be an act of service, not an act of constant emotional resistance,” she concluded.
Q COSTARICA — Thousands of Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, Cubans, and Colombians in Costa Rica will be able to access legal residency and the labor market starting in September, thanks to the new “categoría especial temporal complementaria (special temporary complementary category) announced by Costa Rica’s immigration service, the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME).
According to the text published in La Gaceta, this is a complementary protection system with a humanitarian focus aimed at foreigners from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, and Colombia. The document will take effect on September 1, 2026.
Who is eligible?
To obtain this category, applicants must have applied for asylum in Costa Rica between June 1, 2014, and May 7, 2026, and must have resided continuously in the country from the date they submitted their application until the date they apply for this new category.
Furthermore, their asylum application must be pending resolution, have been definitively denied, or have been declared unfounded at the time this regulation comes into effect. They also cannot have another approved or pending immigration status.
What are the benefits?
Those who obtain this status will be able to work legally in any paid activity, whether self-employed or for an employer. In addition, they will not need a special permit to leave the country; they will only have to comply with the standard departure and re-entry requirements. That is leave and return to the country legally.
The permit will be granted for two years and may be renewed indefinitely for two-year periods, provided that the established requirements continue to be met.
Who will be denied?
According to the text, this status will not be granted, or may be canceled, to individuals with a criminal record for intentional crimes within the last 10 years or who represent a threat to public safety.
Likewise, if a person enters or leaves Costa Rica irregularly after receiving this status, they will not be able to renew the permit unless they can justify the situation with conclusive evidence.
Another important point is that this benefit does not extend to the beneficiary’s family members, so each applicant must submit their application individually.
The Application
Applications will only be accepted between September 1, 2026, and September 1, 2027, by appointment. Some of the documents required to process the permit are:
Affiliation form.
Birth certificate.
Criminal record certificate from the country of origin or the country where the applicant has resided for the last three years.
Identity document: passport, national identity card, or consular certification with a photograph.
Proof of fingerprinting issued by the Ministry of Public Security (MSP).
Documents proving legal residency in Costa Rica.
Path to regularization
The “special temporary complementary category” offers a path to regularization for thousands of people who, until now, have lacked legal alternatives to remain and work in the country.
The mechanism will be renewable indefinitely unless a higher-level regulation dictates otherwise.
Costa Rica attracts a diverse migration of Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Cubans, driven by its political stability and economic opportunities. However, this appeal coexists with a strained asylum system and thousands of unresolved cases.
The largest volume of applicants is from Nicaragua: between January and September 2024, 414,123 regular movements of Nicaraguans were registered at the Costa Rican borders, a 9% increase compared to the same period in 2023. This influx adds to an already consolidated presence in the country and a sustained demand for international protection.
An estimated 500,000+ Nicaraguans live in Costa Rica as of recent demographic reports, tracking alongside Statista data on the country’s rising immigrant and refugee population.
Nicaraguans
In terms of residency, more than 296,000 Nicaraguans lived in Costa Rica in 2020, making them the largest foreign community in the country, according to Statista.
From 2014 to April 2025, Nicaraguans filed 195,512 asylum applications in Costa Rica, and only the 5% received a resolution.
The total population of Costa Rica stood at 5.37 million people in 2025. Between 1980 and 2025, the total population rose by 3.07 million people, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.
Nicaraguans make up approximately 7% to 10% of Costa Rica’s total population and constitute nearly three-quarters (71–75%) of all foreign-born residents in the country.
Nicaraguan migrants represent a crucial labor force, particularly in the northern border towns and central regions. They make up approximately 60% of the seasonal migrant agricultural labor force (such as coffee bean pickers) and drive key sectors like construction and domestic services.
There are approximately 25,000 to 30,510 Venezuelan nationals living in Costa Rica, with demographic data and migration figures monitored by platforms like Statista.The Venezuelan diaspora in the country includes a mix of registered asylum-seekers, refugees, and those with temporary or permanent residency.
Some demographic studies and migration boards estimate the total figure, including non-registered or transient migrants, could reach up to 58,000. While a small percentage of Venezuelans are in irregular situations, a large majority hold regular statuses, with nearly 32% registered as refugee applicants.
Around 6,000 to 7,000 Cuban nationals reside in Costa Rica, representing a smaller fraction of the country’s total foreign-born population.
In the broader scope of Latin American migration, Cubans historically used Costa Rica as a prominent transit country en route to North America. However, recent data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) points to a notable shift: Cubans are increasingly opting to stay in Latin American host countries and are among the top nationalities requesting asylum in Costa Rica.
For comprehensive breakdowns of migration statistics, labor force integration, and specific demographic reports, you can explore the Statista Demographics of Costa Rica portal.
Q COSTARICA — At the second meeting of the Fuerza Élite (Elite Force) team, Costa Rican President Laura Fernández outlined a plan of coordinated actions to combat the rise of organized crime in the country.
According to the president, an agreement was reached to promote a bill that will establish severe penalties for owners of properties where clandestine airstrips are discovered. The government has identified approximately two hundred airstrips in Costa Rican territory, many of which are unregulated and lack effective penalties.
Fernández explained that “today there are around two hundred airstrips in the country, many of them clandestine, and unfortunately, we don’t have strong sanctions.” The proposed legislation will seek to fill this legal void and provide authorities with the tools to combat illicit activities facilitated by the existence of these infrastructures.
The session was attended by key security officials, including the Minister of Public Security, Gerald Campos, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Communication. Fernández asserted that the decisions made stem from a comprehensive review of national security issues, prioritizing aerial surveillance and inter-institutional cooperation.
The Policía de Control de Drogas (PCD)—Drug Control Police, discussed the obstacles to seizing vehicles linked to criminal activities. The government pledged to work with the Ministerio Público (Public Prosecutor’s Office) and the Judiciary to ensure the immediate transfer of seized vehicles to judicial authorities, guaranteeing that the chain of custody is respected and reducing vulnerability to corruption or loss of evidence.
“We will file requests with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the judicial branch in general, so that in seizures involving vehicles, they are transferred to the judicial authorities under the appropriate chain of custody,” President Fernández stated.
Another agreement announced was the improvement of air surveillance protocols at airports, to strengthen the detection of drugs and chemical precursors.
These measures aim to place Costa Rica “at the forefront of drug detection at our airports,” in the president’s words. Strengthening controls is considered key in the fight against drug trafficking and transnational criminal networks.
Regarding the prison system, Fernández indicated that the protocols of the national prison system will be modified. The objective is to eradicate permissive practices that have led to unsanitary conditions and risks within the detention centers. Strict rules will be established for the handling of packages, one of the recurring channels for the entry of prohibited objects and substances into prisons.
The president also announced the implementation of a polygraph testing program for members of the Elite Force team. The first group to undergo the evaluation will consist of the ministers who attend the event, as part of the commitment to transparency and integrity within the security teams.
“Today I instructed the first group of Elite Force members who will undergo polygraph testing. We will begin with the ministers: the Minister of Communication, the Minister of Justice and Peace, and, of course, the Minister of Public Security, Gerald Campos,” Fernández stated.
The government will keep the public informed about the progress and results of the Elite Force team, which is becoming the core of the strategy to combat organized crime in the country.
“We continue to confront this crusade against organized crime in the country,” the president concluded.
Q COSTARICA — A vacation photo stop in Costa Rica nearly turned tragic when hikers at a scenic lookout heard what they described as “a very silent hiss” — and then watched a snake strike at them.
The bite missed, but commenters said the pair may have come dangerously close to a fer-de-lance or a similar pit viper, one of Costa Rica’s and Central America’s most dangerous snakes.
In a popular post shared to Reddit (r/snakes), a traveler said they had reached a Costa Rica lookout and stopped to take a photo of the scenery. That’s when they heard the faint warning sound. By the time the hikers realized what was nearby and stepped back, the snake had already lashed out but failed to connect.
Commenters identified the snake as an eyelash viper or a closely related pit viper. Eyelash viper snakes are venomous, and their bites can cause extreme pain, swelling, and tissue death. However, it’s incredibly rare for a human to die from a bite.
Scenic overlooks, hiking trails, and tourist infrastructure can bring humans deeper into habitats where animals such as pit vipers already live and hunt.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the snake was “attacking” in the way many people imagine. Venomous snakes often rely on camouflage and remain still until they feel threatened or cornered. Someone stepping too close — even without realizing it — can trigger a defensive strike.
A venomous bite can become a medical emergency within minutes, especially in a remote area. Human activity can raise the chances of dangerous contact.
The most important step is awareness. Watch where you place your hands and feet, avoid stepping off marked trails, and be especially careful around rocks, roots, brush, and scenic pull-offs where visibility may be limited.
If you hear a hiss or notice a snake nearby, back away slowly and give it plenty of space. Don’t try to move it, photograph it up close, or identify it from a dangerous distance. Wearing sturdy boots and long pants can also help reduce risk on trails in snake habitat.
When traveling in tropical regions, it helps to ask guides or park staff about local wildlife before heading out. Knowing which species are common and where they tend to hide can make a big difference.
And if a bite does happen, seek emergency medical care immediately. Quick treatment matters far more than trying to capture the snake or confirm its exact species.
The Redditor was lucky to avoid getting bitten. As one commenter put it, “Dodged a bullet. That would have been a rough end to vacation.”
RICO’s Q — I heard Paul McCartney’s new song “First Star Of The Night” for the first time last night, and I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing: the rain. Specifically, the rain from Costa Rica — and yes, that’s exactly as magical as it sounds.
The former Beatle found inspiration in the country, particularly in the sound of rain, as part of the creative process for his new song.
According to the Paul McCartney Project, it was written during a day off from the Got Back Tour while he was in Costa Rica in November 2024 — and it literally “pissed down rain,” totally ruining whatever sunny plans he had. So he channeled that into the song instead.
“It rained like tropical rain, so I had my guitar and thought I could write a song,” Paul McCartney – from The Mirror, May 5, 2026.
In “First Star of the Night,” the musician incorporates a direct reference to the country and evokes how rain and emotions influence his composition.
The track actually opens with the spoken words “Raining in Costa Rica” before going into the verse, which is a nice little nod to where it came from. And thematically it fits — the lyrics are about finding optimism even when things aren’t going your way, which makes sense given the circumstances.
The song is part of his album “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” and is now available on his official YouTube channel and music platforms.
The work reinforces the connection between landscape, emotion, and artistic creation, a recurring theme in the former Beatle’s career.
Paul McCartney’s first-ever concert in Costa Rica took place on April 17, 2012. As part of his ‘On the Run’ tour, he performed an unforgettable, nearly three-hour show in front of 40,000 enthusiastic fans at the newly built Estadio Nacional in La Sabana, San José.
You can listen to it on Spotify or check out the official audio on YouTube. Fans seem to be pretty into it too — people on Reddit are calling it an “absolute banger.” Not a bad thing to get out of a rained-out day in Central America.
Q COSTARICA — Costa Rica is once again capturing international attention, becoming the cover star of the June issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
The cover, in both print and digital versions, features a photograph of Punta Catedral, located in Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the magazine’s featured destinations.
In addition to gracing the cover, Costa Rica is also featured in the main article of this edition, titled “Costa Rica: From Coast to Coast,” a publication that invites readers to discover some of the country’s main natural and tourist attractions.
The article presents a wide array of landscapes and experiences through photographs and aerial views of destinations such as Manuel Antonio National Park, Arenal Volcano, the forests of San Gerardo de Dota, and Costa Rican wildlife, including a scarlet macaw in flight over the Caribbean.
The magazine boasts a digital reach exceeding 1.2 million monthly readers, according to estimates from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).
This is complemented by a certified premium distribution of 58,242 printed copies in the United Kingdom, further amplifying the country’s international exposure as a tourist destination.
Costa Rica’s presence in this edition is particularly significant given the growing importance of the British market to the national tourism industry.
During the first four months of 2016, more than 30,385 visitors from the United Kingdom arrived in the country by air, solidifying its position as the third largest source of European tourists to Costa Rica, according to ICT data.
The publication also highlights some of the pillars that have strengthened the nation’s international image, including its commitment to sustainable tourism and its recognition as the first tropical country to reverse deforestation.
Likewise, the report emphasizes the work being done by Costa Rican organizations to expand and strengthen protected areas, particularly in Corcovado National Park, considered one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
Costa Rica’s appearance on the cover and in the main feature of National Geographic Traveller UK represents an important international showcase that helps position the country among destinations of interest to international travelers.
Q24N — Last week, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo once again confirmed, without admitting it, one of the practices most denounced by human rights organizations: the forced disappearance of political prisoners.
First, they showed Angélica Patricia Chavarría Altamirano reading a prepared statement in which she thanked the regime for the supposed “humane treatment” she received in prison.
Days later, they released a medical report on the Miskito indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera Bryan, who disappeared in September 2023, presented in critical condition, on a ventilator, and suffering from multiple organ failure. Brooklyn Rivera died on Saturday, May 30; however, the regime did not make it public until the next day.
The paradox is that neither Chavarría nor Rivera has an open legal case explaining why the regime has kept them imprisoned and disappeared for more than two years.
The two reappearances came after years of public pressure from family members, international bodies, the U.S. government in the case of Brooklyn Rivera, and human rights organizations. They also came amid growing reports of missing political prisoners within the Nicaraguan prison system and fears that more detainees will die in state custody.
Since 2019, at least six political prisoners have died in prisons or under the regime’s control. Nicaragua’s newspaper, La Prensa, puts the number at 8. And now 9 with Brooklyn Rivera.
Forced disappearance has become one of the most extreme instruments of political repression in Nicaragua. Human rights organizations consider any detained person whose whereabouts are concealed by the State, without access to family, lawyers, or official information about their physical condition or legal status, to be “disappeared.”
A study presented in August 2025 by the Legal Defense Unit and other organizations indicated that 33 of the 73 political prisoners at that time were victims of enforced disappearance. According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, as of March 2026, 11 people remained disappeared while in state custody.
Gonzalo Carrión, lawyer and member of the Nicaragua Never Again Human Rights Collective, maintains that the real number is higher. “We’re talking about a dozen missing people. And I’m telling you, there are more, because we’re documenting missing people whose families kept them anonymous out of fear, out of terror, even hoping that one day they would deign to bring them out.”
The Angélica Chavarría Case
Five days before Rivera’s public appearance, the regime had already displayed Angélica Chavarría Altamirano, detained since May 2024 and disappeared for two years. The Ministry of the Interior released a video in which Chavarría appeared reading a statement claiming she was receiving medical attention, food, and humane treatment.
Carrión rejects the authenticity of that statement. “In Angélica Chavarría’s case, they paraded her, forcing her to read what she said. They forced her to say that she was being treated well, that she was receiving care, all of that. But we know firsthand: she wasn’t speaking freely. Her face and the way she spoke weren’t those of a free person.”
The historic leader of Sandinismo and retired general, Humberto Ortega, died as a political prisoner of his own brother, Daniel Ortega. (File photo)
Chavarría was arrested during the operation against her partner, Humberto Ortega Saavedra, Daniel Ortega’s brother and former head of the Army, on May 19, 2024, the same day he gave an interview to Infobae criticizing the lack of democratic succession in Nicaragua. Five months later, on September 30, 2024, Humberto Ortega died after spending more than three months under house arrest and in hospital isolation. Daniel Ortega never publicly commented on his brother’s death.
“Angélica was the woman who had been missing the longest,” Carrión recalled. “And her case demonstrates something important: asking about them, speaking publicly, persisting even amidst fear, plays a vital role.”
Q COSTARICA — Brooklyn Rivera, a historic leader of the Miskito people and president of the indigenous Yatama party, died on May 30, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. in a Managua hospital, according to the Nicaraguan government.
Brooklyn Rivera had been detained for almost three years, since September 2023. According to official reports, Rivera died from health complications, although human rights organizations and family members maintain that the regime is responsible for his enforced disappearance for 971 days without providing any information about his whereabouts or condition.
On Friday, May 29, 2026, the United States government demanded the release of Brooklyn Rivera before his death in state custody on Sunday.
According to Confidencial Digital, the dictatorship concealed his death and initially refused to release his body. The online news portal operated by Carlos Chamorro, exiled in Costa Rica, reported that the dictatorship concealed the death of the Indigenous leader for more than fifteen hours. “It wasn’t until noon on May 31, 2026, that they acknowledged what had happened, but they didn’t say when or at what time he died. They also didn’t mention that he was a political prisoner and that they had kept him in enforced disappearance for almost three years,” reported Confidencial.
Deaths and Disappearances
The Brooklyn Rivera case is not isolated. There is some variation in the exact figures depending on the source—some report 6 deaths, others, like La Prensa, Nicaragua’s major newspaper, say 8, probably because different organizations use different criteria for counting cases.
What is clear is that Brooklyn Rivera’s death has intensified international pressure on Daniel Ortega’s regime and has brought renewed attention to the conditions of political prisoners in Nicaragua.
Brooklyn Rivera’s death in police custody immediately evoked the tragic patterns that preceded the deaths in state custody of fellow political prisoners Hugo Torres Jiménez, a historic guerrilla commander, in February 2022, and Humberto Ortega Saavedra, a retired army general and brother of dictator Daniel Ortega, in September 2024.
As for the disappeared, the situation is also alarming. According to Infobae, the regime published “proof of life” for only two political prisoners, but nine others remain missing. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), reports at least 47 political prisoners and 11 disappeared persons in Nicaragua.
Q COSTARICA — Dekra, the German company in charge of vehicle inspections (RTV) in Costa Rica, filed a criminal complaint with the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) in early March against a group of employees at its Ciudad Quesada (San Carlos) inspection station.
The company accused the workers of having formed a network with local mechanic shops to manipulate results at specific points during the vehicle inspection.
According to sources consulted by La Nación, the complaint targets at least 10 former employees of the company and the owners of three mechanic shops in the area.
The employees have already been dismissed, but after their terminations, they allegedly returned to the facilities posing as drivers, causing disturbances that in several cases required police intervention.
Dekra also formally wrote to the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi) Board of Directors requesting authorization to prohibit these individuals from entering the premises. Cosevi responded that the company already has a sufficient regulatory framework to make that decision on its own, without needing specific authorization.
The company did not provide many details about how it detected the irregularities, stating that the case is under investigation. It did announce that it has reinforced its control measures: monitoring of appointment scheduling, vehicle entry controls, and new system security measures.
It is worth remembering that Dekra continues operating, on a temporary basis, as the sole provider of vehicle technical inspections in Costa Rica since the end of 2022, with permits that have been extended due to delays in the bidding process of awarding the contract to a permanent operator, of which Dekra would be one of the bidders.
Legally, it operates under a specific administrative figure known as a “permiso de uso en precario” (a temporary, revocable permit). When DEKRA took over the inspection program from Riteve in October 2022, it was granted a discretionary two-year temporary permit that was originally slated to expire in October 2024.
The 2025 and 2026 Extensions: Because the government repeatedly failed to finalize a definitive public bidding process for a permanent operator. The 2026 contract extension signed by the MOPT established that DEKRA will continue managing operations until at least July 27, 2026.
If anyone believes they have been affected by irregularities, they can file a complaint at info.cr@dekra.com or directly with the judicial authorities.
Q24N — Confirmed! According to the results of the May 31, 2026, presidential elections in Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella (far-right) and Iván Cepeda (left-wing, Historical Pact) were the two candidates with the most votes and will face each other in a runoff election, as reported by El País and Canal Trece.
The runoff is scheduled for June 21, 2026, where the next president of Colombia will be decided.
De la Espriella led the count in the first round. It will be a very marked ideological duel: far-right vs. left-wing, which promises an intense runoff campaign over the next three weeks.
To win in the first round, 50% +1 of the vote was needed.
No one achieved that, but De la Espriella emerged strengthened. The controversial “outsider,” representing a new right wing in the country—more radical than the traditional one and similar to that of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador or Javier Milei in Argentina—not only received the most votes but did so with a record-breaking support of more than ten million votes.
With a discourse focused on attacking the left and promising a “tough on crime” approach against armed groups and violence, he outperformed Cepeda by more than 650,000 votes, and it is expected that a large portion of the 1.6 million votes cast for the third-place candidate, Paloma Valencia, will go to him on June 21.
In his first statement after becoming the candidate, De la Espriella said on social media, “We made it to the second round thanks to the more than 10 million Colombians who responded to the roar. In 21 days we will make history!”
De la Espriella also called on his supporters in Barranquilla to gather at the venue where he will deliver a speech. The far-right leader added that he will defeat “tyranny and absolutism.”
In the video, he appears surrounded by his family, all wearing Colombian national soccer team jerseys.
Cepeda (left) and De la Espriella will compete for the presidency of Colombia on June 21.
With 89.48% of the votes counted, De la Espriella has 43.77%, while Cepeda, of the leftist Historical Pact, has 41.08%.
The latest polls that could be published up until Sunday, May 24, showed De la Espriella trending upward, but in second place. Therefore, snatching first place from Cepeda strengthens his position heading into the second round.
The Uribista candidate, Valencia, who won the right-wing primary in March and aspired to compete against Cepeda, only garnered 6.81%, while no centrist option reached 5%.
Q COSTARICA — Immigration Police rescued eight women victims of sexual exploitation at a brothel in San Jorge de San Carlos that had been raided six years prior, in 2020, but continued operating.
In the raid that took place on Thursday night, a woman was arrested for human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
According to the report, the establishment was run by a criminal group that recruited women and held them under various coercive mechanisms, including emotional manipulation, economic control, indirect threats, intimidation, emotional dependency, isolation, and constant pressure. Furthermore, the organization allegedly exploited the women’s economic needs or immigration status to subjugate them.
In 2020, another operation was carried out at the same location, resulting in the rescue of 40 women. The establishment was part of a network operating in various parts of the country, dedicated to sexual exploitation.
The arrested woman was taken to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, where her legal status will be determined.
Q24N — More than 41 million Colombians are eligible to vote in the first round of the presidential elections this Sunday, May 31, 2026, a process that will determine who will occupy the Presidency of the Republic during the 2026-2030 constitutional term.
The event has garnered attention both within and outside the country because it will mark the succession of President Gustavo Petro and will determine the political orientation of the next government in one of Latin America’s five largest economies.
According to the National Civil Registry voting will take place both within Colombia and abroad. For Colombians residing outside the country, the electoral process began several days before the main day and will continue until the polls close on May 31.
In these elections, citizens will vote exclusively for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Each candidate appears on the ballot along with their vice-presidential running mate, and voters also have the option to cast a blank ballot (voto en blanco).
Voters will find all presidential candidates and their vice-presidential running mates on the ballot. – Credit: National Civil Registry
Unlike other electoral processes, this election will not include the election of members of Congress, governors, mayors, representatives, or council members. The legislative elections were already held in March 2026, resulting in the formation of the new Congress that will serve alongside the next head of state for the following four years.
The elected president will assume the presidency from August 7, 2026, to August 7, 2030, during which time they will be responsible for economic policy, security, international relations, and the implementation of key government programs.
The Colombian electoral system stipulates that to be elected president in the first round, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority of the valid votes cast; that is, half plus one of the votes (50% + 1).
When none of the candidates reaches this threshold, the Constitution mandates a second round of voting, also known as a runoff election. This mechanism was incorporated to ensure that the elected president has a majority electoral support and is used in several Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, and Brazil, and European countries.
For the 2026 elections, a potential runoff is scheduled for Sunday, June 21. Only the two presidential tickets that received the most votes in the first round participate in this stage.
Colombian law does not establish a fixed number of votes required to win the election, as the result depends on the total number of valid votes cast on election day.
Since the introduction of the presidential runoff in the 1991 Constitution, only Álvaro Uribe has managed to avoid a runoff. He did so twice consecutively: in 2002, when he won the presidency with 53.05% of the vote against Horacio Serpa, and in 2006, when he was re-elected with 62.35% of the vote against Carlos Gaviria. All subsequent elections have required a second round.
The five candidates with the best chances according to the polls
Although several presidential tickets appear on the ballot, the various polls published during May agree in pointing to five figures as those who garner the most voter support.
Iván Cepeda The candidate of the Historical Pact is presented as the main hope of the political sector that supports President Gustavo Petro. The senator and leftist leader has led in most of the polls published during the campaign and enters the election as one of the favorites to advance to a potential runoff. His platform focuses on continuing several of the reforms implemented during the current administration, especially in social, institutional, and peacebuilding matters with armed groups.
Abelardo de la Espriella The lawyer and businessman is running for the Defenders of the Homeland movement and has built his campaign around issues related to security, the fight against corruption, reducing the size of the state, and defending free enterprise. In recent weeks, he has seen sustained growth in various polls and appears to be one of the main contenders for a spot in the runoff.
Paloma Valencia The senator from the Democratic Center represents one of the parties with the largest presence in the Colombian Congress. Her candidacy is positioned within the right and center-right sectors, and she has focused part of her campaign on proposals related to strengthening the Public Force, reducing taxes, and promoting private investment. Various polls place her in contention for second place.
Sergio Fajardo The former governor of Antioquia and former mayor of Medellín is participating in a presidential election for the third time. Traditionally identified with centrist positions, he has based his campaign on proposals related to education, transparency, and institutional strengthening. However, polls show him trailing the leading candidates.
Claudia López The former mayor of Bogotá is also competing from the center-right. Her campaign has focused on issues of public administration, urban security, the fight against corruption, and institutional reforms. Like Fajardo, she appears in the polls behind the three main frontrunners.
Polls published by leading firms agree that the election remains open and that none of the candidates currently have enough votes to win in the first round.
Iván Cepeda, Abelardo de la Espriella, and Paloma Valencia appear to be the leading contenders to advance to a potential runoff election. – Image credit: Infobae
In terms of voting intentions for the first round, Iván Cepeda leads in most of the polls released in May, followed by Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia. Sergio Fajardo and Claudia López trail behind.
The runoff scenarios vary significantly depending on the polling firm. While Invamer projects advantages for Cepeda over all his potential rivals, studies conducted by Guarumo & Ecoanalítica, Atlas Intel, and the National Consulting Center show competitive scenarios and even advantages for some opposition candidates in certain matchups.
According to Invamer, Cepeda would obtain 52.4% of the vote compared to 45.3% for De la Espriella and 52.8% compared to 44.3% for Paloma Valencia. Conversely, Guarumo & Ecoanalítica projects a scenario in which De la Espriella would reach 43.6% compared to Cepeda’s 40%, while Valencia would obtain 44.8% compared to the government candidate’s 39.9%.
Atlas Intel presents similar results, showing De la Espriella with 50% of the vote intention compared to Cepeda’s 41.3% in a potential runoff. Meanwhile, the National Consulting Center registers a narrower difference, with De la Espriella obtaining 43.6% compared to Cepeda’s 40.9%.
Although polls differ on the exact percentages, most agree that Iván Cepeda, Abelardo de la Espriella, and Paloma Valencia are the candidates with the best chances of securing the top two spots in the first round of the presidential election.
The projections available so far suggest that Colombia is headed for a runoff election on June 21, as none of the candidates are close to the threshold needed to win the presidency outright in the first round.
The final result will depend on voter turnout and how the vote is distributed among the various candidates in an election that will determine Gustavo Petro’s successor for the 2026-2030 term.
Q COSTARICA — Costa Rica doesn’t mess around when it comes to the “Pensión Alimentaria” — the legal obligation to financially support qualifying family members, whether that’s your children, your spouse, or in some cases, your aging parents.
It isn’t one of those countries where skipping a payment gets you a strongly worded letter. The consequences are real. But what happens when the system itself makes a mistake? What happens when it’s not negligence or bad faith — just a plain administrative error?
Two real stories: one traveler who did everything right and still had his trip ruined, and one woman slapped with a child support travel ban — despite never having any children.
The first case in summary
A man had a business trip scheduled from Costa Rica to Mexico on August 28, 2017. The problem was that he was barred from leaving the country due to child support payments.
But here’s the kicker—he had correctly processed the temporary lifting of that restriction. The beneficiary herself requested it, and the Child Support Court approved it.
The permit was there. The document existed. But no one entered it into the system. Two court officials, the court assistant and the person in charge of the process, simply never registered the authorization in the database.
So when the man arrived at the airport at 6 a.m. and was already on the plane, immigration officers removed him. They told him that the system showed him with an active “impedimento de salida” (travel ban).
He was detained for almost four hours. He missed his 1 p.m. business meeting.
The humiliation was public, in front of all the passengers on the flight. The Mexican businessman he was supposed to meet told him he was upset by his “irresponsibility.”
The man did not remain silent. He filed a habeas corpus petition with the Constitutional Court, alleging an unlawful restriction on his freedom of movement. The magistrates ruled in his favor: the Pension Court had violated his right by failing to properly process the lifting of the ban, despite having sufficient time to do so.
The two responsible officials were internally sanctioned within the Judiciary. The Court ordered the restoration of his right and condemned the State to pay costs, damages, and losses—leaving the quantification to be determined through administrative litigation.
In December 2018, the affected party filed the formal lawsuit. He sought ¢15 million colones for subjective moral damages and ¢35 million colones for economic losses (loss of business and travel expenses).
The Administrative Court, in 2021, partially ruled in his favor: ¢450,000 colones for moral damages and ¢544,402 colones for economic losses (two additional airline tickets), plus court costs.
What the First Court said. The State appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that only one ticket—the outbound one he had to buy again—should be paid for, not two. The original return flight remained valid because the man could have left that same night on the flight he had already booked.
The First Court of the Supreme Court, in January 2024, partially ruled in favor of both sides: it confirmed the State’s liability but reduced the amount. It recognized only the additional one-way ticket (US$424) and upheld the award for moral damages. The final total came to ¢713,731.
It’s not a huge amount, but the bottom line is clear: the government made an administrative error, ruined a business trip for someone who had done everything correctly, and had to answer for it.
Another documented case of administrative error
This is a case that happened to a Costa Rican woman when she was removed from a plane due to an administrative error related to child support. Back in September 2016, the woman was taken off a flight to New York at the San José Airport because she had a travel ban.
The problem was that earlier in the year, in February, a restriction had been placed on her travel for child support payments from a woman she didn’t even know and with whom she had no relationship whatsoever. She didn’t even have children. So it was all a mistake.
The most frustrating part of the matter is that, according to the coordinating judge of the Child Support Court in Alajuela, this could have been resolved with a simple phone call between Immigration and the court.
One call. That’s all it would have taken. Instead, the woman had to travel to San Carlos to go to court, where they corrected the error (which was an incorrect digit in her cedula number) in less than 5 minutes. But the damage was already done: she lost her trip, had to cancel accommodations and transportation, and ended up spending almost US$750.
Sometimes bureaucracy has consequences—and these cases made that clear.
Q COSTARICA — How can you check if you have an “Impedimento de Salida” (travel ban) — the legal obligation to financially support qualifying family members, whether that’s your kids, your spouse, or in some cases, your aging parents — barring you from leaving Costa Rica?
Good news — there’s actually a pretty straightforward way to check this online.
Here’s what you need to know
The Costa Rican Judiciary (Poder Judicial) has an online portal where anyone over 18 can check whether they have a travel restriction. According to the Poder Judicial services portal, you can check by visiting pj.poder-judicial.go.cr or through their mobile app.
If a ban exists, the system will show you the case file number, the office handling the case, and a phone number to contact.
There’s also a more detailed route through Costa Rica’s online case management system, the Online Case Management System (Gestión en Línea). Per the Poder Judicial, you’d need to request a username and password in person at a judicial office — just once — and then you can monitor your status online going forward. If you’re already in Costa Rica, visiting a nearby courthouse (juzgado) to get that login is the move.
What happens if you have one?
If you owe, for example, child support (pensión alimentaria) in Costa Rica and haven’t paid, even if it is a small amount, say ¢10,000 colones, a travel ban can be placed on you.
If the restriction is in place, the quickest way is to immediately pay the amount owed through authorized banking channels and urgently submit the payment receipt to the corresponding court so they can issue the lifting order.
Do you have a trip planned soon or need to know how to guarantee future payments to the judge so you can leave the country legally?
According to the Poder Judicial, anyone who owes child support in Costa Rica may be required to pay 13 months of support in advance before being allowed to leave the country.
Your fastest option is the Poder Judicial website at pj.poder-judicial.go.cr. If you run into issues accessing it, heading to a local courthouse in person is the reliable backup. And if a ban does show up, consulting a Costa Rican family law attorney would be the smart next step to understand your options for lifting it.
Costa Rican law takes this seriously — the travel ban exists specifically as a mechanism to compel payment.
Q COSTARICA — MOPT authorities indicate that the Ruta 27 at km 56 at Orotina has been reopened with “paso regulado” and only for light vehicles, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Heavy vehicles must continue using Cambronero.
Machinery continues working in the area to fully restore traffic flow in this sector as soon as possible.
Drivers are asked to reduce their speed when passing through the designated area, respect the signage, and follow instructions.
OPINION by Luis Paulino Vargas Solís — What I’ve heard these last few days clearly suggests one thing to me: Laura Fernández has decided to take to its ultimate and most extreme limit the thesis that the Costa Rican population is easily deceived, tricked, and manipulated.
This, in fact, has been the political thesis on which Rodrigo Chaves worked throughout his entire administration, who knew how to identify and profit handsomely from people’s prejudices, their anger and frustrations, and their aspirations for “change.”
An aspiration for “change,” alive in popular sentiment, but diffuse, formless, without substance, lacking profile and form. Therefore, easily manipulated.
That, without a doubt, made things easier for Chaves, who made himself the vehicle through which to channel that anger, that frustration, and that discontent. He tried it by displaying anger and vulgarity, and, seeing that it worked, he continued with the method.
In other words, many people believed they saw in his violent tirades the representation and expression of their own anger. These same people also felt that Chaves’s furious attack against democratic institutions and the rule of law accurately captured their frustration, discontent, and desire for change.
Chaves was very skillful at establishing this subjective and emotional connection, and from then on, everything went smoothly.
The fanatical followers—a small group—elevated him to the status of redeemer, prophet, and messiah. For the general population, he didn’t reach that level, but he was readily granted the status of spokesperson and representative.
As if these people were saying: “He says and does what we would like to say and do.” That’s right: he did it for them, allowing them to remain comfortably settled in their passivity.
Then the “confirmation bias” kicked in, full steam ahead. Having their spokesperson and representative, many people chose to see the world they wanted to see, with the colors and nuances that allowed them to evade doubts and reaffirm their tranquility.
This resulted in a total cognitive inability to grasp and correctly interpret the countless symptoms of government incompetence and inefficiency, as well as its innumerable expressions of corruption.
Trapped in this “confirmation bias,” many people developed great skill in the painful task of justifying the unjustifiable, determined to see light where there was darkness, beauty where there was ugliness, and righteousness where there was rampant corruption.
But lies have their limits. And, sooner or later, reality itself can impose them. This is what could happen if the “foreign investment bubble” that accompanied the four years of the Chaves administration bursts. The other bubble that benefited him—the “narco-capital bubble”—could also have a short lifespan.
It is very likely that Laura Fernández will have to deal with the bursting of these bubbles and the accompanying problems. With one aggravating factor: she inherits a fiscal situation on the very verge of collapse.
It is evident that she is struggling to keep things afloat, displaying a brazenness and level of violence that are in no way inferior to her predecessor’s legacy.
However, I believe I see two cracks.
First, the one I already mentioned: economic storms are brewing, against which noisy diatribes could lose their effectiveness. Second, I think Fernández is really pushing her luck to the point where she seems to be trying to outdo her predecessor, which is saying a lot.
Reducing her entire argument to the adjective “communist” to disqualify anything said or done that she doesn’t like is so incredibly repetitive that it risks becoming just an annoying noise, like the rattling of a loose tin roof on a windy night, devoid of any power to rally support or any emotional or subjective impact.
RICO’s Q — At 86 years old, former president of Costa Rica and former secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, said that for years he lived with a silent fear: not to live to see the end of a legal process that consumed 25 years of his life.
“I always feared I wouldn’t live to see this time,” he confessed on Friday after hearing the acquittal that brings to a close, at least in this procedural stage, the trial in the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) Reinsurance case.
The decision was by the Criminal Court of Finance and Public Service, based in the Second Judicial Circuit of San Jose, after a trial that extended from August 2025 until May 29, 2026.
During the reading of the ruling, Judge Mercedes Muñoz explained that the analysis of the evidence made it possible to determine that the investigated resources came from private funds belonging to international insurance companies and brokers, and therefore could not be considered public assets.
The scene has something of a historical paradox about it.
The man who arrived in Washington in 2004 to assume one of the most important political posts on the continent ended up abruptly and voluntarily, returning to Costa Rica. He resigned as the 8th Secretary General of the OAS amidst the ICE-Alcatel scandal, was arrested in handcuffs as he stepped off the plane at the Juan Santamaría International Airport that brought him back to the country, dragged off in a “perrera” (prisoner transport, one of three used to mislead the waiting media), and spent several months isolated in pretrial detention, at the maximum-security La Reforma prison.
On his arrival to Costa Rica, Rodriguez was handcuffed and escorted off the plane to a waiting ‘perrera’ to be taken to his court hearing
More than two decades later, the same man, now with more lines etched on his face and speaking more deliberately, heard a court conclude that there was no evidence to convict him of embezzlement in the Reinsurance case.
Between those two moments, 25 years of investigations, appeals, annulments, changes of criteria, judicial delays, and an endless legal battle unfolded, a battle that even survived the pandemic.
That is why, when he addressed the press on Friday, Rodríguez did not speak only of himself.
“It has been a very difficult process in which my family and I, my friends, and the Costa Rican judicial system have suffered,” he stated.
His speech had the tone of someone looking backward rather than forward.
What the Judges Said
He said that what impacted him most about the verdict was not the acquittal itself, but hearing the judge state that there was not a single fact linking him to a criminal plot. According to Rodríguez, that statement gave meaning to years of personal and public suffering.
The former president summarized his state of mind in three words: gratitude, admiration, and regret.
His gratitude was directed toward God.
“God left me here so that I could be present,” he expressed, noting that he has already surpassed the average life expectancy of a Costa Rican man by several years.
His admiration was for his lawyer, Christian Arguedas, whom he described as a friend who voluntarily offered his help when few were willing to do so.
But it was his regret that revealed the most intimate dimension of the day.
His wife, former First Lady Lorena Clare, passed away in March of this year. She had been his champion throughout much of this long legal process. She wasn’t in the courtroom this Friday to hear the outcome.
Her absence permeated every word he spoke.
The Reinsurance Case
The Reinsurance case was just one chapter in a long legal saga that marked the last two decades of Rodríguez’s public life. He had previously faced the ICE-Alcatel case, for which he was convicted in the first instance in 2011 and later acquitted after a series of appeals and judicial reviews.
During those years, he went from being the 43rd President of Costa Rica (1998-2002), a political leader with some 30 years in various government positions before his presidency, and Secretary General of the OAS (15 September 2004 – 15 October 2004), to becoming one of the most visible symbols of the fight against corruption in Costa Rica and, at the same time, one of the most persistent defendants in the Costa Rican judicial system.
The sentence handed down this Friday does not necessarily represent the end of the matter. Despite the acquittal, the case could still have further legal developments. The ruling can still be appealed.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that it will await the full text of the ruling to analyze the legal basis for the decision and determine what appeals it will file.
However, for Rodríguez, the day carried the emotional weight of a long-awaited closure.
After 25 years of legal proceedings, headlines, hearings, and uncertainty, the former president arrived at the courthouse carrying the weight of a story that began when he was just over 60 years old and ended when he was 86.
Along the way, he lost positions, reputation, time, health, and close friends, as he has recounted on countless occasions.
What was the Reinsurance Case about?
The case concerns alleged improper payments that UK reinsurance companies reportedly made to public officials in 2001 to become the reinsurance providers for the State insurer, the INS. The case was brought by the Deputy Prosecutor’s Office for Probity, Transparency, and Anti-Corruption (FAPTA).
The investigation was divided into two files, which were consolidated in August 2013. One addresses an apparent payment of US$2.1 million allegedly made by the London-based reinsurer PWS between 1998 and 2002; The other case involves alleged commissions and trips financed by the brokerage firms Guy Carpenter and Willis Re during 2001.
The case has accumulated more than two decades of investigations, appeals, and delays. The preliminary phase alone in the Criminal Court took 12 years and seven months. In 2013, a court dismissed the case, deeming the use of bank records from Panama, the United States, and the United Kingdom illegal; however, a Criminal Court overturned that ruling in 2014 and ordered the proceedings to resume, although it upheld the exclusion of said records.
The case went to trial several times, but the decisions were successively overturned or appealed between 2015 and 2018. The trial, originally scheduled for 2021, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to translate 4,809 pages of documents written in English into Spanish. In February 2022, the Constitutional Chamber granted an appeal for protection filed by the former president and ordered the Judiciary to expedite the case. The trial finally began in August 2025 and concluded in May 2026.
Also acquitted were the former head of Reinsurance at the INS, Álvaro Antonio Acuña Prado; the former head of Reinsurance at the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), Ronald Bonilla Rodríguez; as well as former ICE officials Antonio Corrales Moya and Ramón Lara Molinari.
The Other Major Case: The ICE-Alcatel Case
The Reinsurance case is not the only criminal case Rodríguez has faced. The former president was also a central figure in the ICE-Alcatel case, related to the alleged payment of bribes by the French company Alcatel to obtain a cellular phone contract with ICE in 2001, valued at approximately US$149 million.
He was accused of instigating the collection of bribes and of having received more than US$819,000.
In April 2011, Rodríguez was sentenced to five years in prison and a twelve-year ban from holding public office, in what was seen as a landmark ruling against a former head of state.
However, in December 2012, the Court of Appeals overturned the sentence.
The Third Chamber overturned that acquittal in November 2014 and ordered a review of the case, which resulted in a new acquittal in December 2015. This new acquittal was based on the fact that the testimony of former ICE executive José Antonio Lobo, the prosecution’s star witness, had been obtained illegally.
The acquittal became final when, in December 2017, the Criminal Court rejected the prosecution’s appeal for failing to meet formal requirements.
A Personal Note
The former president and I never met officially, but we exchanged a handful of emails — ones where he wrote with real frustration about what he saw as a deep injustice, both from Costa Rica’s legal system and the media, back when I was reporting the case on Insidecostarica.com, the go-to publication for all things before the Q.
I believed him. At least believed that the story was more complicated — or at least truer than the version that everyone else was buying.
I crossed paths with him a few times over the years. What struck me wasn’t anything he said or did — it was the silence around him. Ordinary Costa Ricans had just… turned away. Like he’d gone invisible. Like looking at him was something to be ashamed of.
At the airport is the moment I keep coming back to. He walked through, and not one person reached out to shake his hand. So I did. A small thing. Probably meaningless to him — I doubt he even remembers it. But I do.
Q COSTARICA — A new operation against illegal gold mining on the northern border in Costa Rica ended with clashes between Fuerza Publica (National Police) officers and alleged clandestine miners on Conchuditas hill, located in Cutris de San Carlos, near the San Juan River.
The police operation dismantled a large camp used for illegal mining activities and prevented approximately 5,000 sacks of mining material from being removed from the area, the Ministry of Public Security reported.
This operation represents the second blow in less than two weeks against criminal organizations linked to illegal mining in this border region, a problem that has raised alarms among authorities due to its environmental impact, the territorial control exerted by criminal groups, and the risk to public safety.
Authorities seized nearly 5,000 sacks of mining material during the operation on the northern border. Photo: Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
The official report states that when officers entered the camp, they found a large number of people present. Most of the suspects fled into the mountains; however, approximately 150 individuals remained in the area and reacted violently against the police.
Some of the alleged gold miners were armed and fired at the officers, while others attempted to attack them using machetes, metal bars, and tools known as “shovels,” commonly used in mining operations.
Faced with the direct aggression, the officers had to use their service weapons to repel the attack and protect themselves. Despite the tension of the confrontation, no one was injured.
Subsequently, the police managed to disperse the group, whose members escaped into wooded areas and toward the San Juan River, a zone frequently used by organizations dedicated to illegal gold mining due to the difficult access and its proximity to the border with Nicaragua.
In recent months, Costa Rican authorities have intensified operations along the northern border due to the growth of illegal gold mining activities, especially in areas near the San Juan River and in remote mountainous regions.
The Cutris area and other border points in the north of the country have become critical areas for illegal gold mining, a phenomenon also denounced by environmental organizations due to river pollution and deforestation caused by these clandestine activities.
Authorities do not rule out further operations in the coming weeks as part of the strategy to curb the expansion of illegal mining camps on the border with Nicaragua.
Q COSTARICA — Legislator and former first lady (2018-2022), Claudia Dobles, of the Coalición Agenda Ciudadana (CAC), asserted that President Laura Fernández is facing a security crisis inherited from the administration of Rodrigo Chaves.
The legislator made the statement this Friday prior to the start of a meeting between the Executive Branch, members of the Legislative Assembly, and high-ranking officials of the Judiciary, held in the auditorium of the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS)—State insurer.
“With these kinds of actions, Laura Fernández acknowledges that the Chaves administration left behind a security crisis, and it is an issue that must be addressed,” Dobles stated.
The legislator indicated that security must become a national priority and defended the need to promote coordinated work among the different branches of government to confront the rise in crime.
She also maintained that the Legislative Assembly must assume an active role in the discussion and approval of bills related to security and the fight against organized crime.
Dobles also questioned whether the Ministerio de Hacienda (Ministry of Finance), currently headed by Rodrigo Chaves, will continue to block the transfer of ¢8.68 billion colones earmarked for the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) and the Ministerio Publico (Attorney General’s Office) to combat crime.
These are resources budgeted and approved by the previous Legislative Assembly for this year, with the aim of financing the creation of 176 positions in the OIJ and 99 in the Ministerio Publico, in addition to covering rental expenses and the acquisition of transport equipment.
Earlier this year, in January, Chaves, then still President, once again denied a transfer of the funds. As revealed by CRHoy.com on January 15, Rudolf Lücke, the then Minister of Finance, prohibited the institution from releasing these funds, even though they were already budgeted.
The meeting on Friday was attended by 50 of the 57 members of the Legislature, as well as the President of the Supreme Court, Patricia Solano; the acting director of the OIJ, Michael Soto; the Attorney General, Carlos Díaz; and high-ranking officials from the Executive Branch.
