Q COSTARICA (EFE) Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino met on Monday with executives from Mizuho Bank, one of Japan’s leading banks interested in financing several infrastructure projects in Panama, including the train that will connect Panama City to the border with Costa Rica.
Mulino announced at the meeting, which took place in New York as part of his presidency of the UN Security Council* during this month, August 2025, that the train will have “a system for transporting commercial cargo and passengers that will not only connect Panama but also the rest of Central America,” according to official information.
In addition, Mulino “emphasized the important infrastructure projects” of his administration, including “rescuing” Panama’s largest landfill “with new recycling technology” and “the rehabilitation of the Inter-American Highway,” in addition to the train, which is “a key element for the future of Panama’s logistics infrastructure.”
Future Panama Canal projects were also discussed at the meeting, the presidential statement stated, without providing further details.
The executive director of Mizuho Bank, Shuji Matsuura, told Mulino “that the purpose of this global corporation is to explore strategic financing priorities for Panama and identify innovative long-term solutions that support the country’s infrastructure and development agenda,” the Panamanian presidency emphasized.
On behalf of Mizuho Bank, Matsuura was accompanied by Mark Tuttle, director of Banking for Latin America; Edgar Liévano, director of Markets for Latin America; and Rafael Borjas, an executive from the Japanese bank.
While the foreign minister, Javier Martínez-Acha; Canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez; Secretary of Goals and Minister of the Canal, José Ramón Icaza; and Panama’s ambassador to the United States, José Miguel Alemán, accompanied Mulino.
The ambitious railway project, proposed by Mulino as one of his key promises during his election campaign, consists of a train connecting Panama City with the border to Costa Rica, passing through the city of David, the capital of the province of Chiriquí, which borders Costa Rica.
The idea had been promoted by the government of Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019), who commissioned it to China in 2017 during his first visit to Beijing after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries that same year.
Now, several countries, such as Spain, are interested, and others have already offered loans, such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
Japan is interested in several railway projects in Panama, and last week signed a US$2.486 billion loan for Japan to finance the Central American country’s third metro line, which will pass under the Canal.
In addition, last February, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Panama signed the third loan for US$1.036 billion for the construction of Metro Line 3.
Mulino will also present the Canal project to build a gas pipeline and another for a port on the Pacific to the Japanese government, with a view to “finalizing an agreement to move them forward” during a visit to the Asian country next September.
* Rule 18 of the Security Council’s Provisional Rules of Procedure states: “The presidency of the Security Council shall be held in turn by the members of the Security Council in the English alphabetical order of their names.
Q COSTARICA — According to a study by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a connection to the past is one of the main motivations for wellness travel. It has been observed that travelers seek destinations that allow them to relive happy memories, which is directly related to improved mental well-being.
Furthermore, the Booking.com and Amadeus 2025 reports mention a strong desire for experiences that evoke “simpler times,” such as recreating childhood vacations, reflecting a longing for security and comfort in an uncertain world.
Alejandro Rojas, Marketing Coordinator at Hotel Arenal Manoa, in La Fortuna, mentions that “we have observed a very clear trend in the tourism industry: travelers are looking for more than just a destination. They are looking for a trip to the past.”
“The ‘idyllic throwback’ isn’t just a trend; it’s a human response to the need to reconnect with the simplicity and happiness of bygone eras. People crave that sense of security and warmth often associated with childhood memories. Therefore, the industry must adapt and offer experiences that evoke authenticity and tradition, allowing travelers to create new memories based on nostalgia,” Rojas added.
Key Aspects of Nostalgia Tourism:
Revisiting Childhood Destinations: Many travelers, especially millennials, are returning to places they visited as children, often with their own families, to recreate cherished experiences and share them with the next generation.
Historical and Cultural Sites: Nostalgia tourism also encompasses visits to historical landmarks, museums, and cultural events that offer a glimpse into the past and allow for a deeper connection with history and heritage.
Retro-Themed Experiences: This can include staying in vintage motels, dining in retro diners, or attending events that recreate the atmosphere of a particular decade, offering a fun and engaging way to step back in time.
Personal and Collective Memories: Nostalgia tourism can be driven by both personal memories (e.g., revisiting a family vacation spot) and by a broader sense of collective memory associated with historical events or cultural trends.
Emotional Connection: The core motivation behind nostalgia tourism is the emotional connection to the past, offering a sense of comfort, familiarity, and a break from the fast-paced modern world.
Economic Impact: Nostalgia tourism can have a positive economic impact on local communities by revitalizing historical sites, supporting local businesses, and attracting visitors interested in cultural heritage.
Parts of his article were generated using Google AI Overviews.
Q COSTARICA — The statement on Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump, in which he listed San José, Costa Rica, among “the worst cities in the world to live” due to its lack of safety, set off alarm bells in the tourism sector.
For the Cámara Nacional de Turismo (Canatur) – National Chamber of Tourism, this statement is a stark reminder of a problem that has been noted for years: the sustained increase in crime and violence in the country.
Shirley Calvo, executive director of Canatur, stated that Trump’s words not only jeopardize the country’s international perception but could also directly impact the travel decisions of foreign tourists, affecting residents themselves.
“The only way to avoid appearing in these types of references and statistics is to regain control of the country’s security,” said Calvo, who reiterated her support for the Fuerza Pública and other national police forces, despite resource limitations.
She also called on the Executive and Legislative branches of government to provide the police forces with the necessary resources and funding to restore security for Costa Ricans and peace of mind for international visitors.
Trump’s comment came as he defended the decision to place Washington, D.C.’s security forces under federal control, arguing that it was intended to “cleanse” the streets of “violent gangs.”
Trump also mentioned Panama City (Panama), Brasilia (Brazil), Bogotá (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico), Lima (Peru), and Baghdad (Iraq) in his list.
Last year, Costa Rica recorded 880 homicides, according to data from the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ).
We wish we could contradict Trump, but violence has taken over our capital. So far this year, 182 people have been killed in San José, up from 141 at the same time last year.
For Canatur, beyond the controversy over Trump’s tone, the message should be taken as a serious warning: without decisive action, tourism and Costa Rica’s international image could be seriously affected.
On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Chaves swore in 705 new police officials. “Today, 705 new police officers raise their hands and say, ‘I swear!’, said Chaves during the swearing-in ceremony.
“They are the reflection of a country committed to security, justice, and hope. They are people with hearts ready to protect us. The future of Costa Rica lies in every step they take. Forward, guardians of peace!” added the President.
Companies in Costa Rica like Bridgestone (tires) will be able to export immediately without tariffs.
Last Thursday, August 7, the new tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump went into effect. In the case of Costa Rica, the tariff was set at 15%, one of the highest in Central America.
As explained by Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves, Costa Rica is among the countries that sell more to the United States than they buy from. In other words, there is a trade surplus. This is what would be motivating Trump’s decision, according to Chaves.
The balance in Costa Rica’s favor reached almost US$2 billion in 2024, and this year it so far exceeds US$1 billion.
However, the Costa Rican government maintains that the negotiations are not over. After being surprised by the White House’s announcement last week, raising the tariff for Costa Rica from 10% to 15%, the government of Rodrigo Chaves has insisted that there is still room to change this outcome.
The majority of Costa Rica’s exports are now subject to this tariff. Last year alone, 47% of all exports leaving Costa Rica were destined for the United States.
In 2024, the top products exported to the United States were:
Medical devices: 22.9%
Pineapple: 7.7%
Banana: 4.3%
Tires:1.6%
Gold Coffee: 1.4%
Yuca (Cassava): 1.0%
Who will pay the 15%?
This tax is calculated on the value of the merchandise. Additionally, it is paid by U.S. importers to their government. Thus, if a U.S. importer imports a product worth US$100 from Costa Rica into their country, they will have to pay a tariff of US$15.
However, importers could assume part of this payment (out of pocket). They could also raise the price of the products they sell in the United States and thereby finance the additional payment they will have to make to the government.
“The U.S. consumer will be the main loser. To a lesser extent, the local producer, the importer, and the U.S. distributor will suffer,” economist Alberto Franco explained.
Roxana Morales, economist and coordinator of the Economic and Social Observatory (OES) at the UNA School of Economics, commented that Costa Rican producers (and those from around the world) could also assume part of this cost. To compete, they could lower the price of their products, which would give importers more leeway to continue buying from them or view Costa Rican products as an option.
“A portion (of Costa Rican exports) could be reduced. That is, Americans could reduce their purchases from our country or prefer to buy from other companies in other countries with lower tariffs,” Morales explained.
“All of this won’t happen immediately. It will be a process that will unfold over time and according to the contracts and agreements between the two countries,” she added.
Additional impacts from tariffs?
Franco believes this tariff is expected to limit the dynamism of exports from Costa Rica. It will also affect Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and likely private consumption.
“The tariff will have a (negative) impact on the productive sector, whose activity is primarily oriented toward the US market,” he added.
“The United States is a country where consumption is very price-sensitive. That is, when prices increase, people tend to look for substitutes for the things they buy or change their consumption more noticeably,” Laura López, general manager of the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (Procomer)
“It’s not just an increase for Costa Rica (products). The U.S. consumer will feel it across their entire basket,” the official added.
Q COSTARICA — Mother’s Day (Día de la Madre), celebrated in Costa Rica every August 15, has established itself as one of the most significant dates on the Costa Rican calendar, both for its emotional significance and its economic impact.
It ranks third in commercial importance, surpassed only by Christmas and Black Friday.
In 2024, sales of ¢45 billion colones (US$89 million) were projected, according to the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce. Among the most purchased items were clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and electronic devices such as tablets and phones.
The celebration this year falls on a Friday, setting up a nice long weekend.
The date represents an opportunity to spend time with family, travel, or enjoy cultural and culinary activities specially designed for the occasion.
The Chamber of Commerce recommends planning ahead and establishing a clear budget, which allows you to take advantage of discounts, promotions, and give something meaningful without compromising personal finances.
On this day, many families choose to eat out or order in, enjoying everything from a six-course dinner to pizza. Pizzas, especially pepperoni and combo pizzas, remain a favorite for family celebrations.
During Mother’s Day 2024, Didi Food Costa Rica reported a 57% increase in orders through their platform, compared to the average Friday of the year.
To commemorate Mother’s Day 2025, at LaPizza by Pizza Pizza in downtown Santa Ana, they’re rolling out their boldest menu to date.
This holiday, deeply rooted in Costa Rican identity, unites tradition, affection, and opportunities for different productive sectors. It’s a day that strengthens the connection between generations while boosting the local economy.
Mother’s Day has established itself as one of the most significant dates on the Costa Rican calendar, both for its emotional significance and its economic impact.
People also ask, Why is Mother’s Day on August 15th in Costa Rica?
The choice of August 15th to celebrate Mother’s Day in Costa Rica is no coincidence. This date coincides with the Catholic feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a day that commemorates the Catholic belief about Mary’s ascension into heaven.
Unlike in other countries in the Americas, such as Canada and the United States, Mother’s Day in Costa Rica is a national holiday. The entire day, this year, the whole weekend, is all about honoring our moms. While it’s important everywhere, the dual purpose of this holiday here in Costa Rica demonstrates the great respect and honor we have for mothers.
Q24N (BloombergLinea.com) Latin America remains trapped in the dilemma of low productivity, despite being one of the regions with the longest working hours in the world.
This makes it difficult to generate quality jobs and recruit workers, especially in Central American and Caribbean countries.
The World Bank has noted a prolonged stagnation in labor productivity in Latin America over the last decade, which could have repercussions on multiple fronts and deteriorate job quality in the future.
“This stagnation represents a critical obstacle to the generation of quality jobs, as low productivity generally translates into weak labor demand from the private sector,” Carlos Rodríguez-Castelán, manager of the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Global Practice for Latin America and the Caribbean, told Bloomberg Línea.
Rodríguez-Castelán explains that boosting productivity growth requires policies that promote macroeconomic stability and a predictable regulatory environment by strengthening government management, increasing transparency, and creating a friendly environment for private sector investment.
“Latin America continues to produce little, despite grueling workdays, because most companies are still managed with outdated methods and minimal digitalization, which limits the efficiency of each hour worked,” according to Miguel A. Martínez-Carrasco and María Ximena Hincapié, analysts and professors in Colombia at the Faculty of Management at the Universidad de los Andes.
Additionally, there is the survival of unproductive businesses, including companies in a large informal sector. In the analysts’ view, cumbersome regulations and uncompetitive markets allow them to continue operating and retain capital and talent that would yield more in better-managed firms.
“Furthermore, the informal sector becomes a funnel that attracts potential talent, which fails to develop its full potential, either due to a lack of opportunities, resources, or the prospect of a better life in the short term by entering the labor market early,” the academics wrote in an analysis shared with Bloomberg Línea.
Productivity Gaps
The region presents wide productivity gaps between countries. For example, although Hondurans work an average of 43.7 hours per week (2023), productivity is only US$6.83 per hour worked.
Panamanians work only 36 hours (2024), but productivity is US$45.81, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg Línea from sources such as the ILO and ECLAC using the latest available data.
According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), while in 1950 it took 2.5 hours in the region to produce the same amount of work as in the United States in 1 hour, by 2023 it would take almost 4 hours.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) indicates that by 2024, the average number of hours worked per week per worker in the U.S. was 37.6.
According to analysts, there are two major determinants of a country’s productivity. One is its productive capabilities, which include the efficiency of the production processes used, the capacity to innovate in what is produced, and human talent.
Human talent is “perhaps the most important because the capacity to innovate and the capacity to improve production processes also depend on it,” Marcela Eslava, a professor at the Faculty of Economics at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, told Bloomberg.
She explains that the other major determinant is whether the business environment favors (or not) the maximum use of these capabilities and creates (or not) incentives for investment in improving them in the future.
“Compared to high-productivity countries, Latin America has deficiencies in both dimensions (…). The differences between countries often reflect these underlying factors,” says Eslava. “There is greater productivity in those countries within the region that build the bulk of their human capital more effectively, that invest more in innovation, and that encourage the development or adoption of better technologies.”
Also, more productive are those where the rules are more consistent with existing productive capabilities and encourage more investment to improve those capabilities.
The relationship between labor productivity and income growth
An increase in labor productivity has the potential to generate an increase in real labor incomes throughout the region, according to the World Bank.
The multilateral organization highlights that in Colombia, for example, a 1% increase in productivity can lead to an increase in wages of almost half a percentage point.
“Reforms that promote growth and increase labor productivity are the main long-term channel for revitalizing real labor incomes,” the World Bank said in a report.
According to the organization, there is significant potential for improving labor productivity in the region. In fact, according to pre-pandemic estimates, labor productivity was between 20% and 60% of the levels in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “with considerable variation across sectors,” the World Bank explains.
Analysts suggest that, to transform hours into added value, the region needs to eliminate barriers to business entry and exit, as proposed by Professors Martínez-Carrasco and Hincapié.
In addition, they suggest providing incentives for formalization and investing in Infrastructure 4.0, combining high-capacity logistics corridors with broadband, so that SMEs can seamlessly connect to national and international markets.
A third pillar, in their opinion, is to finance, through competitive bidding, the adoption of technology—hardware, software, and training—with disbursements conditioned on specific productivity goals.
Finally, they recommend empowering both public and private universities that need to rethink their educational models, rethinking them from the perspective of partnering with companies seeking to close the gap between the profiles produced by education and those demanded by industry.
Large-Scale Problem
Productivity is a large-scale structural challenge in Latin American countries at different levels.
According to a 2024 World Bank report, entitled “The Geographic Evolution of Productivity and Employment,” in Latin America and the Caribbean, most people live in cities, but these are not particularly productive areas.
The phenomenon of low productivity in the region’s cities is associated with a marked deindustrialization process, which has to do with the fact that cities have moved away from the production of tradable goods and services and have focused instead on non-tradable services.
This is evidenced by the fact that, of the 15 largest cities in the region, none are dedicated to manufacturing, and only Brazil, Mexico, and Central America have such cities, but they are relatively small.
Another structural obstacle facing Latin America in improving its productivity and competitiveness is the lack of infrastructure, says Alejandro Arroyo Welbers, director of Programs in International Trade and Regional Economies at the Universidad Austral in Argentina.
Without modern infrastructure and greater openness to the world, the region will continue to face structural barriers that limit its competitiveness and capacity for sustainable growth.
Deficiencies in ports, railways, highways, logistics, and energy networks limit both the region’s productive capacity and its connection to global markets.
In other words, “it’s not a matter of working 14 hours a day, but rather of having the necessary infrastructure and technologies that allow you to gain productivity in your manufacturing plant, in your distribution, supply, and in your connection to the world,” said Welbers.
In countries like Argentina, analyst Welbers says this situation is aggravated by their low level of trade openness and connection to the world.
Furthermore, the lack of industrial integration hinders the development of strategic sectors and job creation.
In comparison, countries like Brazil show a more determined commitment to infrastructure investment, although they also face challenges in absorbing growing demand.
Q COSTARICA — Costa Rica has the highest minimum wage in Latin America for the first half of 2025, according to a Bloomberg Línea study published on June 26 of this year.
The analysis compares monthly minimum wages in 17 countries in the region. For comparison purposes, the data was converted to US dollars using the official exchange rates in effect as of June 25, 2025.
With a monthly minimum wage of US$726 (¢367,108), Costa Rica ranks first in the region, followed by Uruguay in second place at US$586 and Chile in third at US$565.
Other countries such as Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico, although lower in the ranking, are above the regional average.
Panama (US$341), Peru (US$316), Brazil (US$273), and El Salvador (US$273) were left out of the top 10, while Argentina ranked third to last with a minimum wage US$262.
Screenshot from Bloomberglinea.com report
Finally, the country with the lowest minimum wage in Latin America is Venezuela, where the official wage of 130 bolívares, frozen since 2022, is equivalent to just over US$1.20 per month.
The Bloomberg Línea study shows the officially established minimum wages in each country, without adjusting for the cost of living or inflation.
Even so, the data reveal a notable disparity between the levels and policies each country implements in this area.
In this regard, the report highlights that, in almost the entire region, minimum wages alone are below the basic needs of the population.
Factors such as the level of economic development, inflation, exchange rate, tax structures, and the degree of labor formalization contribute to this gap.
In the case of Costa Rica, a high minimum wage does not necessarily guarantee greater purchasing power if the prices of basic goods and services, such as housing, transportation, and food, are also high.
Furthermore, one of the common challenges in the region is the total cost faced by employers (wages plus social security contributions), which limits the ability to increase income, especially in small businesses.
Another critical aspect is that, in several countries, minimum wage increases fail to offset the pace of inflation.
Since January of this year, only five countries have recorded increases: Argentina (1.4%), Bolivia (10%), Chile (3.6%), El Salvador (12%), and Nicaragua (4%).
The analysis took as a reference the lowest officially reported minimum wage values in those countries where different minimum wage scales exist.
In Costa Rica’s case, the minimum wage varies based on occupational profiles.
For the first half of 2025, the amounts established in the Ministry of Labor’s salary list are:
¢367,108 colones monthly for unskilled occupations
¢413,023 colones monthly for skilled occupations
¢476,866 colones monthly for specialized occupations
¢653,427 colones monthly for individuals with a university bachelor’s degree
¢784,139 colones monthly for workers with a university degree
Q COSTA RICA — On July 29, Costa Rica joined five other Latin American nations (Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, and Uruguay) and more than 40 countries and international organizations in adopting the definition of antisemitism, which is a form of prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed against Jews.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) officially signed the Working Definition of Antisemitism.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center thanked President Rodrigo Chaves and Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco for this historic step.
Among the 40 nations are the European Parliament, the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Germany.
The definition adopted by Costa Rica, approved in 2016 by IHRA member countries, states that “antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews that can be expressed as hatred of Jews. The physical and rhetorical manifestations of antisemitism are directed at Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, the institutions of Jewish communities, and their places of worship.”
This framework also addresses contemporary expressions of antisemitism, including the denial of Israel’s right to exist and the application of double standards toward the Jewish State.
Q COSTARICA — Residents and activists in Santa Ana held a grand celebration Tuesday night after the City Council unanimously approved a modification to the Regulatory Plan that limits the land uses of the Lorne Ross Urban Natural Park to those defined in the Management Plan approved by the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC).
Specifically, the reform consists of the addition of Article 62bis to the Zoning and Land Use Regulations of the Regulatory Plan of the Municipality of Santa Ana.
The new text also provides that “said uses must be aligned with the Technical Study prepared by SINAC, which was endorsed by the National Council of Conservation Areas (CONAC) in December 2024, as well as with the provisions of Vote 2821-2002 of the Constitutional Court.”
Among the considerations included in the municipal agreement, it is noted that the “Lorne Ross Conservation Area has high ecological, scientific, scenic, and cultural value, the protection of which has been a long-standing demand widely supported by community and environmental organizations, residents of the canton, and this Municipal Council.”
Furthermore, it is “a new category of non-urban land use, created in the Zoning and Land Use Regulations of the new Regulatory Plan of the Municipality of Santa Ana, with the aim of protecting the natural and cultural resources of the former Santa Ana Conservation Center.”
This area “has the purpose of establishing the Lorne Ross Urban Natural Park. Its delimitation responds to technical criteria related to ecological conservation, forest cover, natural hazard prevention, and its location outside the buffer zone of the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM).”
It is notable that the Municipal Legal Advisory Office “recognizes the need to restrict certain uses, but maintains other uses incompatible with the environmental purpose of the site as permitted (such as sports centers, gyms, cycling trails, internet cafes, and adventure tourism infrastructure),” all of which “contradicts the spirit of conservation expressed” in the aforementioned SINAC Technical Study.
Local activist Gastón Vargas, president of the Valle del Sol Residential Neighborhood Association (Avasol), explained that the motion, unanimously approved by the Municipal Council, “will be incorporated into the Regulatory Plan, which is being revised by the INVU,” the initiative to protect the Lorne Ross PANU, and “with this, we are closing any loopholes for a potential water park or amphitheater.”
It has taken nearly three decades of struggle for residents and activists in Santa Ana to realize the initiative to create this natural park.
In recent years, the main obstacle has come from legislator Pilar Cisneros, the leader of the Chavista faction in the Legislative Assembly, who sought to promote what she calls a “water park” on the same site.
Cisneros even threatened in March of this year to “paralyze the plenary session for I don’t know how long” if a bill promoted by independent representative Kattia Cambronero to create the Lorne Ross National Unity Party (PANU), processed under file number 23,645, was advanced.
Cisneros’s threat was issued on Thursday, March 20, during the faction leaders’ meeting. Less than a week later, on March 26, a fire broke out at the site, which fortunately did not affect the forested area.
History
In brief, the Lorne Ross Urban Natural Park is a wilderness area of approximately 52 hectares of land, located in the Uruca District of Santa Ana, crossed by National Route 27, donated to the State in 1975 by Lorne Ross so that, after his death, it would be used for environmental conservation in Santa Ana.
However, in 1993, management was granted to the nonprofit foundation called Fundación Pro Zoológicos (Fundazoo), which managed the area for 30 years. The agreement expired, and the future of these lands remained uncertain.
Much of the land comes from a family legacy of the family of Robert Ross Lang, an immigrant of English origin. In 1869, Robert Ross acquired the property to install a sugar cane mill. It is known that the mill already existed at that time, so Ross took advantage of the facilities to sell the product to the National Liquor Factory. Over time, the property became the Hacienda Ross.
Robert Ross died in 1907, and his son Alexander took charge, planting rice, coffee, and sugar cane. In 1918, Alex was one of the largest producers of sugar in the country. Alex died in 1954, leaving the Hacienda divided among his three sons.
Q COSTARICA — Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves kept the public guessing about whether he would step down from his presidency until the very last moment when he revealed that he would not.
Despite speculation about his potential candidacy as a legislator in the 2026 elections, Chaves had actually made his decision long before making the announcement.
However, the decision to remain in the presidency seems to have been made way before last Wednesday’s announcement. Unbeknownst to the public, a “legal ambush” was waiting for the president if he had resigned.
According to the President, the Speaker of the Congress, Rodrigo Arias, was prepared to prevent him from running for Congress in the 2026 elections should he decide to resign.
“Since January 25 of this year, they had a report prepared from Rodrigo Arias’s assistants and secretaries, called the Technical Services of the Legislative Assembly,” Chaves denounced.
According to Chaves, the technical report was intended to block his resignation and, therefore, prevent him from seeking a legislative seat, which he described as a premeditated act on the part of Arias and his legislative advisors.
“They were ambushing me so I would resign and then not be allowed to run (for legislator). Don’t you feel disgust at the way that system works? This institutionality they call democracy, that’s what the people of Costa Rica want to overthrow,” Chaves added.
He harshly criticized Arias publicly and described his decision as “a sad and shameless act of pure arbitrariness.”
The decision by Arias that the President’s resignation, if he were to have resigned, and that of First-Vice President Stephan Brunner was to have to be voted on by the Legislative Assembly and would require 38 votes (a super majority), generated controversy.
That controversy was resolved on Wednesday (yesterday), when the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) – Supreme Electoral Tribunal, announced the cancellation of Brunner’s credentials as First Vice President and reiterated that it was not necessary for the Legislative Assembly to vote on the decision.
The decision by Arias was also questioned by Pilar Cisneros, spokesperson for the ruling party, who recalled that in 2007 and 2008, then-Vice Presidents Kevin Casas and Laura Chinchilla resigned without their cases being submitted to a legislative vote.
“They didn’t do it with them, so why are they doing it now?” Cisneros said, directly criticizing the political handling of the issue.
Chaves, for his part, interpreted this new legislative interpretation as a sign that his possible resignation for electoral purposes had already been anticipated and hindered since the beginning of the year.
“I have more to day, I have to tell you more,” warned the president, who has hinted on several occasions at his interest in remaining active in politics beyond his current term.
President Chaves will end his term on May 8, 2026. The upcoming presidential elections will take place on Sunday, February 1, 2026, during which Costa Ricans will choose a new president, two new vice-presidents, and a legislature made up of 57 members, to four year terms.
Voting is mandatory for registered citizens under Article 93 of the Constitution of Costa Rica, but this is not enforced.
Whoever said that Costa Rican politics are boring?
Q COSTARICA — Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves explained away on Wednesday why he believes the United States increased taxes on Costa Rican products by up to 15%, despite the “close” relationship he boasts about with the Donald Trump administration.
At his weekly briefing following a cabinet session, insisting on the supposedly privileged relationship between the U.S. and Costa Rican authorities, Chaves said that Costa Rica received this tariff increase due to its trade surplus with the U.S. market, regardless of friendships.
“This is not a matter of friendship, nor is it a matter of closeness or collaboration. They used a rule: we’re going to raise the tariff for those who sell to us more than we sell them and maintain it for those who sell more to them,” Chaves said when a journalist asked him about the decision announced last week by Donald Trump.
Despite this cold explanation about the measure, which is detrimental to Costa Rica, Chaves again appealed to the “close” bilateral relations, as he described them last week, to try to reverse the decision.
“We have all communication mechanisms open with our main ally,” he said after reporting that on Friday, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Manuel Tovar, sent a letter to Washington requesting a temporary suspension of the tariffs. However, there has been no response yet.
The Trump administration ordered this new tariff scale after announcing an initial 10% tariff in April, and Chaves reacted by saying that “it’s not catastrophic” nor does it put Costa Rica at a disadvantage compared to other countries, as that was the lower rate.
There are other countries with a less than 1% share of U.S. imports, the same as Costa Rica, with lower tariffs than what products from Costa Rica must pay.
For example, as of August 6, products from Latin American countries such as Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Honduras, Uruguay, El Salvador, Paraguay, Belize, and Cuba, have an imposed tariff rate of 10%.
Q COSTARICA — Behind the banking cyberfraud epidemic hitting Costa Rica, there are no independent criminals, but rather complex structures that operate as criminal enterprises, according to various experts who spoke to SemanarioUniversidad.com.
“We have been able to detect that they are coordinated structures. In many of these cases, they operate under the modality of organized crime, that is, an articulated structure, with leaders, middle managers, and low-level individuals or figures,” said Melissa Quirós, coordinating prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office against Cybercrime.
The prosecutor revealed, in an interview with the media outlet, that these are organizations with access to technological and economic resources that allow them to “operate on a large scale” in a business that has become “very lucrative”; so much so that authorities have detected that many ordinary criminals have been migrating to this modality: “It’s simpler, less risky,” the expert explained.
“We are in an era where seeing is believing is no longer enough. Even if you see and hear, you can no longer believe,” says cybersecurity expert Roberto Lemaitre.
This murky landscape in which cybercriminal groups operate has facilitated the growth of reports of banking cyberfraud—or electronic scams, as they are actually classified—by 668% between 2020 and 2024, from 942 to 7,235 cases, according to an analysis based on data provided by the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ).
In the first four months of 2025, Costa Rica’s judicial police, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), recorded 4,545 cases. Therefore, if the trend continues, the year will close with approximately 13,635 reports, almost double the number of 2024 and equivalent to one victim every 37.7 minutes.
Million-Dollar International Business
The prosecutor indicated that, during 2024, nearly ¢4.5 billion colones (US$8.75 million) were stolen from victims’ bank accounts, while the OIJ announced in a press conference that, for the first half of 2025, Costa Ricans’ losses exceeded ¢2.6 billion colones (US$5 million).
This multi-million-dollar illicit business has firmly established its tentacles in Costa Rica, but the structures transcend national borders. For Esteban Jiménez, a cybersecurity expert, the cyberattacks carried out against the country’s public institutions by the cybercriminal groups Maze (2020) and Conti (2022) put the country’s vulnerabilities on the radar of attackers.
Jiménez indicated, along the same lines as Quirós, that this isn’t just a “neighbor who’s connected to a computer with internet access,” but rather entire organizations, with an administrative structure and global deployments with affiliates: “In Costa Rica, there were no high-capacity local attack groups, that is, with financing or access to high-end technological resources. This developed as we observed this phenomenon of attack groups expanding their territories and seeking greater capitalization,” the specialist commented.
Just last May, the Cybercrime Prosecutor’s Office executed a series of simultaneous raids with Colombian authorities with the aim of dismantling an international cyber-fraud network that affected more than twenty clients of Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) following the cloning of the financial institution’s website.
Criminal incidence of computer fraud in Costa Rica 2019 – 2025
A Wide Range of Scams
Gathering sensitive data through fake websites (even those with security certificates) is one of the methods cybercriminals are most frequently using to defraud people, but there is a wide range of this type of fraud, explained Yorkssan Carvajal, head of the OIJ’s Specialized Section Against Computer Fraud.
The investigator noted that criminals also make calls to their victims, posing as municipal, bank, or other institution officials, with the supposed claim that they are trying to help with a procedure or service.
To do this, cybercriminals have access to large personal databases of financial institution clients. The Semanario says it was able to review one of these files, which contained more than a thousand records containing information such as full name, ID, date of birth, physical address (Tico-style addresses), occupation, employer, and up to six phone numbers per person, among other elements.
Another type of scam Carvajal highlighted is when fraudsters take advantage of people who list items for sale, such as cars, for example. The criminals pretend to be interested in purchasing the item, trick the victim into believing that a down payment (cash advance) is on the way, and send a fraudulent link as proof of the transaction: “The victim logs in, and obviously, the first thing the link will ask for is sensitive information such as a username and password, a dynamic key or token, and the victim’s email address, and that’s how they lose control of their bank account,” said the OIJ officials.
Along the same lines, an additional form of electronic fraud highlighted by both the head of the Computer Fraud Section and the cybercrime prosecutor is the one that occurs through the money transfer service known as the Sistema Nacional de Pagos Electrónicos (SINPE) – National Electronic Payment System. Criminals take advantage of the situation when a bank account is linked to a phone number, but the victim changes numbers without unlinking the account:
“Criminals buy lines in bulk and begin testing all those SIMs to see which ones are still linked. When they find one that is linked, they manage to withdraw the money. We have cases, for example, where they have withdrawn millions of colones because a person didn’t realize (the scam) because they were using that line associated with a savings account and it wasn’t their primary line,” Quirós noted.
The media outlet was also able to verify how a criminal impersonated an engineer, taking control of his social media and messaging platforms. Through the victim’s own WhatsApp, the criminal offered contacts dollars at low prices, intending to scam them.
“We are in an era where seeing is believing is no longer enough. Even if you see and hear, you can no longer believe,” said Roberto Lemaitre, a cybersecurity lawyer, computer engineer, and professor at the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
Only a handful of convictions
Although reports of cyber fraud are growing rapidly, the same is not true for the statistics on legal proceedings and convictions for this type of crime.
According to data provided by the Judiciary, in 2024, there were only 85 trials, in which 44 people were acquitted and 41 received sentences, most of them suspended, although seven people also received prison sentences between five and fifteen years.
Although the figures are low, there was an increase in the number of trials, going from just 20 in 2020 to 85 in 2024. In 2023, the highest figure, the number was 97 trials, of which 54 resulted in a conviction.
It should be noted that complaints filed in a given year do not reach trial within the same period. In fact, according to information provided to this weekly by the Judiciary, the average total time taken for all stages of a criminal process (preliminary, intermediate, and trial) for cyber fraud is 52 months and one week, or more than four years. In this regard, Lemaitre explained that the trial is the final stage of the criminal process, and not all cases reach this stage, as they can become trapped in the previous stages.
For the specialist, the disparity between the indicators for complaints and trials reflects that both the Cybercrime Prosecutor’s Office and other specialized areas need to be further strengthened in the investigation of these crimes, especially with more personnel.
This is because “the investigation of these types of cases is not as fast,” and criminals have realized that it is an effective criminal modality with a return on investment: “In the end, these are criminal enterprises, and the prosecution of these crimes is costing much more,” he insisted.
Q COSTARICA — For the country’s producers and productive sectors, the news that the United States has imposed 15% tariffs, higher than the 10% announced last April, is unexpected and disappointing, especially since the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex) had assured that negotiations were on track.
Business chambers were quick to express their concern and anger over the situation, which will affect the prices of their products and their sales to the country’s largest trading partner, the United States.
For example, for the National Chamber of Agriculture, the 15% tariffs affect sensitive products for national producers and make them even more vulnerable than they were, after seven months of poor results, according to the Monthly Economic Activity Report (IMAE) of the Central Bank of Costa Rica.
This worsens the situation for those struggling to sustain their productive activities.
“Costa Rica and the United States have historically maintained a good trade relationship. Unfortunately, today it is evident that our country has repeatedly yielded to the demands of US negotiators, hoping to maintain favorable market access conditions. However, this latest blow demonstrates that such concessions were given for nothing,” denounced Abel Chaves, president of the Chamber.
Chaves added that this U.S. decision also demonstrates that free trade agreements have been losing effectiveness and the legal protections with which the countries have signed.
Furthermore, he emphasized the urgent need for the government to provide clear explanations and, above all, to take concrete actions to defend the national agricultural sector from decisions that put it in an even more critical situation. He also emphasized the urgent need for the Ministry of Foreign Trade to reflect on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Pacific Alliance.
For his part, Gustavo Jiménez, executive director of the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFÉ), stated that they are conducting the corresponding analysis of the impact these tariffs will have on the coffee sector.
Comex reported that it was surprised by the Trump administration’s announcement of a new executive order establishing an increase in the tariff applied to exports of Costa Rican goods, from 10% to 15%. However, after analysis and conversations with U.S. authorities, it confirmed that the criterion that weighed the trade surplus between Costa Rica and the United States was the trade surplus. This occurs when the value of exports (what we sell) exceeds the value of imports (what we buy).
This change, as stated through the Communications Office, occurs in the context of a negotiation process in which Costa Rica has acted in good faith, decisively defending the restoration of improved access conditions for national exports. The government requested that U.S. authorities pause the implementation of the tariff increase while the corresponding negotiations continue.
In this regard, economist Luis Carlos Olivares explained that it is true that Costa Rica maintains a trade surplus with the United States in several key areas, especially in high-value niche export goods and services.
“Most importantly, at the aggregate level, for example, in 2024, the United States had a goods deficit with Costa Rica, meaning we exported more, by about US$2 billion. In services, the US deficit was also US$3.1 billion. But any type of negotiation must be understood within an asymmetric framework, in which Costa Rica is an actor with little bargaining power and definitely misses the technical nature of the tariff, which is rather arbitrary,” the expert indicated.
From his perspective, Costa Rica could adopt a series of unilateral measures complementary to good-faith negotiations, aimed at mitigating their economic and strategic effects, such as intensifying market diversification efforts to redirect exports to destinations such as the European Union, Asia, and Latin America, where there is demand for high-quality Costa Rican products.
At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the competitiveness of the productive sector by reducing logistics costs, facilitating procedures, accessing preferential financing, and improving the regulatory environment.
Q COSTARICA — “In an act shameful to history, the current Costa Rican government illegally deprived 200 foreigners deported by Trump, including 79 children,” writes Mauricio Herrera Ulloa, journalist, communications and human rights consultant, on his social media after being notified by the Constitutional Court or Sala IV on the full ruling on the habeas corpus petition he filed on March 7.
“May this ruling ensure that no one, national or foreign, is ever again imprisoned and detained without reason, and that we never again agree to collaborate with the human rights violations committed by another country,” says Herrera.
Among other things, this is what the Sala IV said in its resounding rebuke to Costa Rica’s immigration service, the Dirección General de Migración (DGME) and the government of Rodrigo Chaves:
“It is especially worrying to have found that a significant portion of the individuals whose liberty was restricted were children, thus exacerbating the group’s inherent vulnerability, as they are already eligible for special protection as migrants. Clearly, the deprivation of liberty by the Costa Rican authorities in question is arbitrary and excessive.
“…evidently, their deprivation of liberty lacked any support or justification. In other words, if the individuals had not even been defined for immigration purposes, it is even less understandable that the restriction of their personal liberty had the slightest support from the perspective of Constitutional Law and International Human Rights Law.”
But the most impressive aspect was the note to the ruling by Judge Fernando Cruz, which, among other things, states the following:
“In the twenty-first century, I ask myself many questions about the dignity of migrants. There is a tendency to think that, in their illegality, they become invisible beings, beings silenced by inhumanity. These are questions I cannot ignore when examining the “rendition” of more than two hundred foreign citizens by the US government.
“Something has changed, perhaps too much so, in a society that has held James Hamilton as its model for democratic and dignified coexistence.
“In the case examined by the Court, these questions have no answers. Authoritarianisms that ignore the dignity of people, regardless of their nationality, are returning. It seems obvious, but it is not, in any way. Migrants do not lose their eminent dignity for not having documents.
“What this case, decided by a court in a small, dependent, and vulnerable country, reflects is that migrants have not lost their identity and their dignity. They are still people, with dignity, even if they lack “documents.” Not even a clear and precise identity was given to each of the human beings sent from the USA. It was a “silent shipment” of the Earth’s poor, of whom there are many.
“After so many years in the Constitutional Court, I have never experienced a case that was so detrimental to the fundamental rights of people, especially their dignity and freedom. A group of unidentified people are brought into the country without further arguments, and the Costa Rican government assumes control, depriving them of their freedom. They were not people who entered the country voluntarily; their identity is unknown, and they are treated as if they lacked dignity and self-determination.”
On his social media on June 25, Herrera clarified what all this means:
“The therefore clearly implies that these deportees should never have been detained and that Costa Rica must assume the cost of their social care. Furthermore, the Court orders the Costa Rican State to pay costs for the damages caused to the individuals who were admitted to the country and imprisoned for more than two months. Foreigners deported and illegally deprived of their liberty now have the right to seek compensation from the Costa Rican State.”
The Constitutional Court reaffirms that in Costa Rica, no innocent person may be deprived of their liberty, especially if they have been deported to Costa Rica without their consent.
Among the comments posted on Herrera’s post:
“Yet another shameful act committed by two governments, that of the North and ours, who share a common desire for anarchy and trample on human rights. Thank you, Mauricio, for your initiative, strength, and clarity!”
“Without a doubt, a tremendously inhumane act, detrimental to human rights and shameful for the country.”
Q COSTARICA — Inter IKEA Systems B.V. confirmed the signing of franchise agreements with Sarton Group for Costa Rica and Panama.
IKEA also emphasized that this action seeks to strengthen its presence in the Americas and improve accessibility to its products in new regional markets.
“We are pleased to invite Panama and Costa Rica to become part of the IKEA family,” said Maria Johansson, Expansion Manager.
Johansson also stated that the agreement reinforces “the company’s long-term commitment, investment in the Americas, and the building of relationships with customers and suppliers.”
For his part, Tony Tavira, Retail Manager for Sarton Group, noted that this expansion “is incredibly exciting and important for our relationship with IKEA.”
Tavira also emphasized that their experience in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico has allowed them to “better understand the wants and needs in the region.”
For her part, Laura López, general manager of the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (Procomer), stated:
“IKEA’s arrival in Costa Rica is part of our efforts to attract projects that diversify our investment mix and generate opportunities for the national productive sector. At PROCOMER, we have worked closely to facilitate this process, convinced that initiatives like this can boost the economy, expand consumer offerings, and strengthen Costa Rica’s ties with global brands. We will continue to promote investments that contribute to sustainable development and the growth of new opportunities for the country.”
Currently, IKEA has 486 stores in 63 markets, combined with e-commerce and order collection points around the world.
IKEA reported more details on the exact opening times for stores in Panama and Costa Rica will be provided later.
IKEA is a multinational conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, household goods, and various related services, started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, and has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008.
The brand name is an acronym of founder Ingvar Kamprad’s initials; Elmtaryd, the family farm where Kamprad was born; and the nearby village of Agunnaryd, Kamprad’s hometown in Småland, southern Sweden.
Q COSTARICA — A mass of Polvo del Sahara (Saharan dust) will enter Costa Rica between Wednesday night and continue through Friday, causing an increase in environmental pollution and a decrease in rainfall across much of the country.
This was confirmed by Daniel Poleo, an expert from the national weather service, the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), who explained that this phenomenon will be combined with increased trade winds and the presence of dry air.
“Basically, starting Wednesday night, we will experience an increase in the trade winds, which is being driven by a mass of Saharan dust approaching the Caribbean Sea and entering the country,” the meteorologist explained.
According to Poleo, this mass will have two main impacts:
A reduction in rainfall across most of Costa Rica
An increase in air pollution
“Saharan dust will also contribute to an increase in environmental pollution. This will obviously adversely affect air quality both Thursday and Friday, mainly in the western Central Valley,” he added.
Less Rain
After a rainy start to the week in the country, a change is expected in the coming days. The IMN forecasts:
More isolated rainfall on the Pacific side
Occasional showers on the Caribbean side
Dry and hot conditions in the Central Valley.
Air Quality
According to the Índice Costarricense de Calidad del Aire (ICCA) – Costa Rican Air Quality Index, unfavorable air quality conditions will be observed at some stations in the Central Valley:
Thursday and Friday: Heredia, Belén, Santa Ana, and San José stations will be in the “unfavorable for sensitive groups” category, marked in yellow
Alajuela will experience unfavorable conditions (orange) on both days
For the rest of the week, air quality will be good at all monitored stations, including Cartago.
The ICCA’s yellow category indicates potential impact on people with respiratory conditions, children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups. The orange color represents a greater risk for the general population.
The IMN also highlighted that vehicle traffic during peak hours could cause a further increase in local pollution.
Why is Saharan dust so important?
Saharan dust is composed of very fine mineral particles of sand and clay, carried by the wind from Africa to the Americas.
When these masses reach the Caribbean and Central America, they can worsen air quality and impact people with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.
The phenomenon is also associated with hazy skies, decreased visibility, and an increase in fine particulate matter in the atmosphere.
“People may experience eye irritation, respiratory problems, and a higher incidence of asthma,” experts emphasize.
Recommendations include:
Avoid prolonged outdoor exposure
Wear a mask if respiratory symptoms occur
Keep doors and windows closed during peak dust concentrations
Consult a doctor if you experience respiratory difficulty.
Q COSTARICA — Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly approved on Tuesday the waiver of processing for case 25.079, which would allow search warrants at any time of the day and on private property, in extradition proceedings.
This request was made to legislators weeks ago by the director of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), Rándall Zúñiga, precisely amid the discussion of the case against former judge Celso Gamboa.
At that time, Zúñiga pointed out to the legislators the current legal restriction on this procedure, which requires the arrest of the accused individuals to be carried out in a public place.
“We have the limitation that we have to arrest any extraditable person in a public place. We don’t have the ability to conduct search warrants or use the same police tools we currently have to arrest them,” the director said at the time.
Shortly after, PUSC legislator Horacio Alvarado introduced the reform bill to the Extradition Law, which incorporates a new Article 7bis into the current legislation to allow search warrants under specific conditions.
For example, the search warrant must be authorized by a judge through a duly reasoned resolution, must be carried out in the presence of the judge, and must ensure respect for the rights of the person sought.
“With this proposal, Costa Rica will have more effective tools to execute arrests for extradition purposes, strengthening international cooperation and guaranteeing a process that respects due process and human rights,” said Alvarado.
The fast-track measure was approved with a unanimous vote of 38 legislators.
Can expanded extradition processes help Costa Rica curb drug trafficking?
The recent extradition agreement between Costa Rica and the United States brings the country, amid its growing role as a drug trafficking transit point, in line with other key nations in the region. However, questions remain about the effectiveness of this measure in the fight against organized crime, reported in June Insight Crime.
In May, legislators approved in final debate by a super majority of 44 votes in favor and and then signed by President Rodrigo Chaves a constitutional amendment allowing the extradition of Costa Rican citizens for international drug trafficking and terrorism offenses, following growing concerns about the Judiciary’s capacity to prosecute high-profile cases.
Extradition of Costa Ricans for organ trafficking, human trafficking, and homicide?
The Minister of Public Security, Mario Zamora, has stated publicly that he welcomes a multi-party initiative to expand crimes that would allow the extradition of Costa Ricans and calls for the inclusion of crimes such as international illicit organ trafficking, human trafficking for sexual exploitation, arms trafficking, migrant trafficking, and homicide.
According to Zamora, this would prevent criminals from escaping national or international law.
The minister described the initiative presented by representatives from different legislative groups, including the major parties the PLN, PUSC, PLP and the ruling PPSD, as a necessary step forward in criminal justice and security.
“It is important that there be a multi-party effort to expand and increase the types of crimes that are subject to extradition proceedings for nationals, and to include organ trafficking, migrant smuggling, and other related crimes,” the minister said.
“Costa Rica cannot be a haven for hitmen and murderers,” warned Zamora, who believes it is urgent that this type of crime also be included in the constitutional reform.
The idea of Costa Rica and Panama joining raises several complex considerations involving history, politics, economics, and national identity.
The two countries have distinct governments and national identities, making unification unlikely.
While the two countries share a border and have a history of interaction, including a brief conflict in 1921, the Coto War (Guerra del Coto) stemmed from a border dispute over the Coto region, a territory along the mutual border, over which both countries claimed, they have maintained their independence.
Here are some key points to consider:
Historical Context
Colonial Legacy: Both countries were part of the Spanish Empire, and their borders were drawn during the colonial period. The historical context has shaped their national identities and political boundaries.
Independence: Costa Rica and Panama both gained independence in the early 19th century, with Costa Rica becoming part of the Federal Republic of Central America and later declaring its own sovereignty in 1848. Panama became independent from Colombia in 1903.
National Identity: Costa Ricans have a strong national identity and pride. Merging with Panama would likely be seen as a loss of sovereignty.
Political Stability: Costa Rica is known for its stable democracy and lack of an army, while Panama has had a more tumultuous political history. Costa Rica may be wary of potential political instability that could arise from such a union.
Economic Independence: Both countries have distinct economies. Costa Rica has a strong emphasis on technology and eco-tourism, while Panama is known for its banking sector and the Panama Canal. Each country has developed its economic systems and policies that may not align perfectly.
Trade and Cooperation: Costa Rica and Panama already engage in trade and cooperation through various regional agreements. Joining together might complicate existing trade relations with other countries.
Cultural Differences: While both countries share some cultural similarities, there are also significant differences in customs, traditions, and social structures.
Public Opinion: The citizens of both countries would need to support such a move, which could be a significant barrier. National pride and attachment to sovereignty often outweigh potential economic benefits.
Potential Benefits
Increased Market Size: A union could create a larger market and potentially attract more foreign investment.
Infrastructure Development: Joint projects in infrastructure, tourism, and trade could benefit both nations.
While there might be theoretical benefits to a union between Costa Rica and Panama, the practical realities—historical, political, economic, and social—make it unlikely.
Both countries are likely to continue pursuing their own paths while maintaining cooperative relationships.
Costa Rica has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in San José. Both countries are members of the Central American Integration System (SICA), Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Organization of American States (OAS), and the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI).
Q COSTARICA — One fatality and three critically injured was the result of a massive multiple collision between a bus and five vehicles Sunday afternoon in Tárcoles.
According to the Costa Rican Red Cross, several people were ejected from the collision and fell approximately 50 meters into a cliff. In the incident occurring around 4 pm, another person was taken to the Monseñor Sanabria Hospital in urgent condition, and two more injured people were transferred to the Jacó Clinic in stable condition.
More than 30 people were treated in total, according to Red Cross regional operations coordinator Jorge Matamoros.
Matamoros reported that more than 60 Red Cross personnel, more than ten ambulances, two rescue trucks, and two operational vehicles were deployed for this emergency.
The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) issued a statement Monday morning regarding the fatal traffic accident, which detailed the cause of the incident.
According to the report, a bus traveling from Jacó to Orotina, while descending a slope in the area of Caletas, apparently lost its brakes and lost control, causing a multiple collision with several vehicles traveling in the opposite direction, resulting in one death, that of a 22-year-old man named Sebastián Barrantes Solano, son of Marisol Solano, deputy mayor of the Municipality of Garabito, who was apparently traveling in a pickup truck.
Q COSTARICA — It is the beginning of a new month, which comes with a hefty increase in the cost of diesel fuel, while super and regular gasoline will see a slight reduction.
In the coming days, which could be as soon as Wednesday, the price of diesel will increase by ¢32 colones per liter, while premium gasoline will increase by ¢2 per liter and regular gasoline by ¢8, according to an announcement by the regulatory authority, the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP).
The increase in the cost of diesel fuel will primarily affect freight transport and the productive sectors that depend on this fuel.
The increase will take effect the day following publication in the official government newsletter, La Gaceta.
These adjustments were calculated based on shipments processed by RECOPE (the Costa Rica refinery that refines nothing) between June 13 and July 10, 2025, and reflect international fluctuations in hydrocarbon prices, as well as the actual costs assumed by the state-owned company, according to Ana Carolina Mora Rodríguez, spokesperson for Aresep.
Q COSTA RICA – At noon on May 8, 2026, Rodrigo Chaves will step down as president and return to his personal life. However, if Laura Fernandez, the presidential candidate for the Pueblo Soberano party, wins the election in February, there is a possibility that Chaves may continue to serve in the government.
While nothing has been confirmed yet, Fernandez, who held positions in the current administration, has mentioned that she has considered Chaves for Minister of the Presidency (Chief of Staff) in her government.
Fernandez, who was Minister of Planning and Minister of the Presidency in the current administration, stated in an interview on the Canal Opa program El Octavo Mandamiento that she has thought about appointing Chaves as Minister of the Presidency, although she has not discussed this matter with him as they do not talk about future issues to prevent conflict.
“Yes, I would consider it. Yes, I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t spoken with the president about it because he and I don’t discuss future matters, as it could be belligerent,” Fernández said when asked about this topic on the Canal Opa program El Octavo Mandamiento.
The presidential candidate praised Chaves’ technical and political ability and made it clear that, if he doesn’t hold a formal position, she hopes to keep him as part of her inner team.
“I hope that if he’s not a minister, at least a close advisor. He’s a brilliant man, an economist, and someone I work with incredibly easily; so, it’s very easy to reach an agreement with him; we share a vision, we share ideas.”
The eventual incorporation of the outgoing president into a high-profile role within the new government could raise questions about who’s really in charge.
However, Fernández downplayed the situation.
“The opposition will say whatever it wants to say, even saying that I follow his orders as president; however, I would be doing Costa Rica a disservice by wasting any brilliant mind who wants to work for the good of the country, be it Don Rodrigo or anyone else,” she added.
Fernández was responsible for the so-called “Jaguar” bill, which sought a national referendum under the current government, but it failed due to concerns about its unconstitutionality and rejection by the Legislative Assembly.
Q COSTARICA — An executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 31 will increase import tariffs by 15%, from the previously announced rate of 10%, on products from Costa Rica, a decision that is part of a strategy by Washington, marked by trade protectionism and the review of multilateral agreements.
Furthermore, tariffs on Canadian products will rise further, from 25% to 35%, while Mexico has obtained a 90-day extension to negotiate a bilateral agreement.
In Costa Rica, the announcement has raised alarms among export sectors, which warn of adverse effects on the competitiveness of key products such as coffee, pineapple, textiles, and medical devices, amid an already challenging global market.
At the diplomatic level, the Costa Rican government is evaluating the implications and possible response measures, given the risk of losing preferential access and increasing shipping costs to the country’s main trading partner.
Roxana Morales, coordinator of the Economic and Social Observatory at the School of Economics of the National University (UNA), explained the potential impact this measure could have on the national economy, especially considering it is the most important market for Costa Rican exports.
“The United States has announced an increase in tariffs on several countries around the world, including Costa Rica. In our case, it will go from 10% to 15%. What does this mean? Now, our products will pay a tax in the United States of 15% of the value of our sales,” Morales explained.
Although the burden will be borne primarily by American consumers, there could also be an impact on domestic producers, she warned.
Negative Consequences
The main consequence, Morales indicated, is the loss of competitiveness of Costa Rican products, which would translate into a possible reduction in exports.
“If our products become more expensive for Americans, they in the United States may prefer to buy the same or similar products from other companies in other countries or within the same country,” she noted.
This could have a direct impact on national production and, consequently, on employment, both in the free trade zones and the definitive regime.
But the impact is not limited to the export of goods.
Morales warned of indirect effects on sectors such as tourism and foreign investment.
In the case of tourism, she noted that the majority of visitors come from the United States.
“If there is an increase in prices in the United States due to the tariffs it is applying to various products around the world, then Americans will have a reduced ability to travel,” she warned.
Morales also expressed concern about the potential impact this could have on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), given that the United States is the main source of this type of capital in Costa Rica. A loss of competitiveness could make the country less attractive for new investment.
“The Costa Rican government has begun negotiations with the United States to reduce or eliminate these tariffs on some products. However, no agreement has yet been reached,” he commented. As planned, the tariff increase would take effect on August 7.
The surprising decision to increase from a 10% to 15% tariff on imports from Costa Rica, has also raised alarm among domestic exporters grouped in the Costa Rican Chamber of Foreign Trade and Representatives of Foreign Companies (CRECEX).
“This measure deeply concerns us, but we are confident that the negotiating team from the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) will make significant progress in the ongoing talks with U.S. authorities,” CRECEX said in a statement.
The executive order signed by Trump also eliminates a policy that allowed for tax exemptions for small packages, i.e., merchandise under US$800 sent by mail, which will directly impact thousands of small international transactions. The elimination of this exemption will take effect on August 29.
The second edition of MERCO Talento Costa Rica revealed the leading companies in attracting and retaining staff in Costa Rica.
The Dos Pinos Cooperative takes first place, followed by BAC and Florida Ice and Farm Company (FIFCO) in second and third place, respectively.
Coca-Cola Femsa placed 4th in the ranking, followed by Banco Popular (5th), Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (6th), Grupo ICE (7th), Grupo Purdy (8th), Grupo INS (9th), and Banco de Costa Rica (10th) round out the top 10.
The ranking evaluates the reputation and attractiveness of companies in 34 different sectors, considering the opinions of workers, university students, and talent experts.
The survey involved 11,002 employees, 430 university students, and, as a new feature, 430 job seekers.
The survey included feedback from 2,200 individuals, as well as input from 125 HR managers, 43 leaders in the labor sector, and 52 professors and university lecturers.
Along with these evaluations, an analysis was conducted of the companies’ digital landscape, with 18,371 mentions analyzed.
In this second edition, the best human resources teams were also evaluated, with BAC leading the ranking in this category, followed by Dos Pinos and FIFCO.
Since 2006, the mission of the Monitor Empresarial de Reputación Corporativa (MERCO) is to identify the 100 most attractive companies to work for using an analytical methodology that integrates various sources of information.
Using this methodology, MERCO Talento seeks the opinions of employees and directors or human resources managers of the 100 companies that appeared in Merco Companies Costa Rica 2024, some of which are among the most important in the country in terms of market capitalization, number of clients, or number of employees, and, in all cases, based on their corporate reputation.
Merco currently produces Merco Companies, Merco Leaders, Merco ESG Responsibility, Merco Talent, Merco Society, Merco University Talent, Merco Digital and Merco Health (MRS).
It is present in Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, Portugal, Italy, Uruguay, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Honduras, El Salvador, and the United States, being the leading monitor in Latin America.
Q COSTARICA — A joint effort between the CCSS, the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, and the USNS Comfort team provided prompt and timely care to more than 1,500 people, helping to reduce waiting lists in the region and demonstrating the impact of international cooperation on the health of the Costa Rican population.
The care was provided both on land and aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort, a hospital ship operated by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, currently deployed to Latin America and the Caribbean, providing medical and surgical care to personnel deployed in war or other operations, as well as humanitarian and disaster relief support
The goal was to provide care to patients on the waiting list at the Tony Facio Hospital in Limón. For five days, nearly 1,000 military and civilian personnel worked alongside CCSS medical personnel to offer health services at the province’s port terminal.
The ship’s capacity and equipment provided general consultations, ophthalmologic and general surgeries, eye exams with the provision of lenses, dental treatments, veterinary care, and preventive medicine programs were provided. In addition, the ship’s technology made it possible to obtain radiology results in just 10 seconds, streamlining patient diagnosis and treatment.
According to Dr. Pablo Rodríguez, chief physician for the CCSS, approximately 400 people were treated daily at the medical center located at the Japdeva cruise terminal, while approximately 12 surgeries were performed on the ship each day.
Among the procedures performed were cataract surgery, hernia repair in minors, and the removal of lipomas and scars.
The mission provided general, pediatric, plastic, reconstructive, and ophthalmologic surgery services, as well as care in optometry, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, and other specialties.
Patients were also given free medications.
“It is a joy to see patients free of discomfort. This mission represents a great opportunity for the people of Limón to receive care and benefit from medical work,” said Rodríguez.
The USNS Comfort, retrofitted in 1987 and equipped with 100 stretchers, a CT scanner, a dental office, an optometry laboratory, and two oxygen production plants, is a critical resource in emergencies, natural disasters, and humanitarian missions around the world.
Q COSTARICA — A Costa Rica resident was sentenced in July to more than 15 years in prison for carrying out a years-long telemarketing scheme that defrauded victims in the United States from a call center in Costa Rica.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Roger Roger, 41, led a fraudulent telemarketing scheme in which co-conspirators, who falsely posed as U.S. government officials, contacted victims in the United States to tell them that they had won a substantial “sweepstakes” prize.
After convincing victims, many of whom were elderly, that they stood to receive a significant financial reward, the victims were told that they needed to make a series of up-front payments before collecting their supposed prize.
Co-conspirators used a variety of different methods to hide their real identities, such as utilizing Voice Over Internet Protocol technology to make it seem like they were phoning from Washington, D.C., and various other places within the United States.
Roger recruited and taught others how to mislead victims on the phone and convince them to send money from the United States to Costa Rica for non-existent prizes. The evidence at trial showed that Roger and his co-conspirators stole over US$4 million from their hundreds of victims.
In September 2024, Roger was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering, and two counts of international money laundering. At sentencing, Roger was ordered to pay more than $US3.3 million in restitution and to forfeit more than US$4.2 million.
President Rodrigo Chaves confirmed this afternoon that he will not resign as President, despite the rumors that he would be seeking a legislative seat in the 2026 elections.
Amid growing rumors about a possible resignation, Chaves said this afternoon that he would complete his which ends on May 8, 2026.
“Look, I thought about it (…) why am I going to lie to you, I thought about it. Then I asked God for wisdom (…) I came to the conclusion that I can next serve the country in either capacity (as president or legislator),” Chaves said.
“Rodrigo Chaves doesn’t need to run for a political campaign for a legislative position” (…) I think completing my term is the best thing for the country.”
However, Chaves confirmed the departure of seven members of the Executive branch, including the First-Vice President, four ministers and two executive presidnets
The members of the Executive Branch who submitted their resignations are:
Stephan Brunner, First Vice President
Juan Manuel Quesada, President of AyA
Angela Mata, Minister of Housing
Esmeralda Britton, President of the JPS (national lottery)
Nogui Acosta, Minister of Finance
Marta Esquivel, Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy (Mideplan)
Cindy Quesada, Minister of the Status of Women
The high-ranking officials are expected to seek election as legislators for the 2026-2030 term.
For months, political figures and analysts speculated about a possible resignation by Chaves, as required by law before July 31, 2025, for seeking a seat in the Legislative Branch of government.
The president himself fueled the doubts with ambiguous statements. In one, he even stated that he would only resign “to be president of the Legislative Assembly.”
This Wednesday, the stage was set: Rodrigo Chaves remains in the presidency.
Presidential resignation lacks a clear protocol
Although the Electoral Code leaders in government to resign before July 31 of the year prior to the elections if they wish to run for legislator, the procedure for a potential presidential resignation is not clearly defined in the legislation.
Even the current legislators acknowledged they were unclear about the process that would follow if Chaves had chosen to leave office ahead of his mandate.
If Chaves had resigned, it would have been a significant moment in Costa Rican history.
Pending criminal cases and presidential immunity
Chaves currently faces more than 100 criminal cases, but the most advanced is the BCIE-Cariñitos case, in which he is being investigated for the alleged bribery. This case is already before Congress, and the legislators will have to decide whether to remove his immunity so he can stand trial for allegedly pressuring a businessman to transfer US$32,000 to his friend Federico Cruz from funds donated to the state by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).
If Chaves renounced his immunity, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Fiscalia_ could investigate him and impose precautionary measures. Now they must wait for Congress to remove the presidential immunity that protects Chaves.
When seeking advice, be picky about who you listen to – the internet is full of so-called experts, and suddenly everyone from your cousin to your best friend thinks they’re a pizza business guru.
Even customers think they know what should or shouldn’t be on your menu.
But most of these people have never been in your shoes. They’ve never dealt with a blazing hot oven (450 Celsius) on a Friday night or the early Sunday mornings at the market.
They’ve never worried about making enough sales to cover payroll. They’ve never truly built something successful.
So, stop listening to those who haven’t been there. If you want real advice, talk to someone who has actually run a shop like the one you want.
The rest are just making guesses, and guesses won’t pay your bills.
PS, Hey, just venting here – not trying to advertise or anything. But if you’re on the hunt for the “best pizza in Santa Ana” according to my customers (especially the young pizza fans), swing by sometime.
Rico’s Q – Today, we unveiled the updated design of the Q. This marks the initial phase in the revamping process of QCostarica.com, featuring a more streamlined appearance.
In the coming days, we will be making further adjustments to the pages.
Thank you for your patience as we work towards our goal.
Q COSTARICA — At the weekly press conference today, Wednesday, July 30, President Rodrigo Chaves, may make history, as it would be the first time a sitting president leaves office voluntarily.
In the last several months, maybe more, the President has left open the possibility of implementing this measure, which has gained momentum in recent weeks.
At Casa Presidencial, there has been an air of mystery, announcing on Tuesday, on social networks, that a decision will be forthcoming today.
A question being asked in social circles is whether a President of Costa Rica could resign to run for a legislative seat.
For several months, Rodrigo Chaves has spoken about the possibility, leaving the question of whether he will or not.
The issue of the possible presidential resignation has direct bearing on the Legislative Assembly, where there are divided opinions regarding whether the resignation should only be announced or whether a vote should be taken to approve or reject it.
“As far as I know, and as I’ve heard from many analysts and specialists, it’s just a matter of knowing the resignation. No one is forced to work on something they don’t want to,” responded Pilar Cisneros, the leader of the ruling party in the Legislative Assembly.
“There may be one or two dissenters, but the rest insist it’s just a matter of knowing, not approving,” she added.
For his part, legislator Eli Feinzaig of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), who ran against Chaves in 2022, said publicly there is still “no defined or definitive criterion on the matter.”
Other legislators considered that if a vote has to be taken, they must accept the resignation.
Legal Criterion
From a legal point of view, constitutional lawyer Rubén Hernández, pointed out two elements regarding the possibility of a Presidential resignation: The first is that the president cannot resign.
This opinion is based on Article 136 of Costa Rica’s Constitution, which states that the president and vice presidents will take office on May 8 and will automatically cease to hold office at the end of the constitutional term, that is, four years later.
“In my opinion, the president cannot resign. The Constitution must be interpreted harmoniously. The 1871 Constitution allowed the president to resign, but the 1949 Constitution eliminated that possibility,” Hernández told Observador.com.
“If the people vote for a specific person, it means they will serve for the entire term, unless there is a physical or mental difficulty that prevents them from doing so,” he added.
The second element is that if the president ultimately resigns, the Assembly must hear the case and vote on whether or not to accept it.
“There is a 1992 case law in which the (Constitutional) Court, commonly referred to as the Sala IV, stated that it wasn’t enough to simply take note, but that the Assembly had to make a decision. If he submits it, the Assembly would have to vote on whether to accept it or not,” he said.
He asserted that if Congress rejects the President’s resignation, he could file an appeal for protection before the Constitutional Court.
“There should be no vote,” is the opinion of José Miguel Villalobos, the president’s personal lawyer.
According to Villalobos, the constitutionalist’s interpretation is flawed, firstly regarding the fact that he cannot resign, citing Article 121 of the Constitution.
“Don Rubén Hernández’s interpretation is completely flawed; it violates the letter of Article 121, paragraph 8 of the Constitution and the spirit of the law,” he stated.
On the Sidelines
From the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) – Costa Rica’s elections tribunal, there has not been an official statement on the matter, given that there is no recent history of a presidential resignation.
If Chaves resigns, it’s to be a candidate for deputy and become president of the Legislative Assembly, as he has stated on several occasions.
Could Chaves lose the option to run for legislator?
“I can’t say because it would be a pre-judgement of the criteria; This issue is addressed when assessing the registration of the candidacy,” said Andrei Cambronero, the TSE lawyer.
Arias could assume the presidency
Costa Rica’s Constitution establishes the line of succession in the event of the temporary or permanent absence of the democratically elected president.
According to Article 135, the vice presidents are the first to be called upon to replace the president. However, if none of them can assume the position, the responsibility falls to the president of the Legislative Assembly, in this case, Rodrigo Arias.
A similar situation occurred during Oscar Arias’ second term, when both vice presidents resigned before the end of their four-year term.
In conclusion, we will just have to wait for today’s announcement.
Q COSTARICA — Although the government of Rodrigo Chaves agreed to receive flights carrying migrants deported from the United States, the country lacked the minimum conditions to guarantee their care, according to a recent report by the Defensoría de los Habitantes (Ombudsman’s Office).
The Defensoría noted that since February 20, when the first flight from the United States landed, authorities were warned about deficiencies in the reception and assistance process for returnees, but improvements were implemented late and partially.
Defensora Angie Cruickshank Lambert criticized the fact that the care provided to the more than 200 migrants—including women, children, and adolescents—failed to meet national and international human rights standards.
“These people never intended to enter the country; they were forcibly transferred and detained, as a result of a migration agreement between two countries. I hope this unfortunate story does not repeat itself,” she warned.
Among the report’s main observations, the Ombudsman’s Office warned that migrants were treated “as a package,” without considering their personal and family circumstances or the complexity of their nationalities and political contexts.
Furthermore, it denounced that school-age children were unable to access their right to education while they remained at Costa Rica’s Temporary Migrant Care Center (CATEM-Sur), located in the southern zone, near the border with Panama, an area known for having significant infrastructure deficiencies, particularly in transportation and basic services. This lack of infrastructure impacts various aspects of life, including access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities for residents and tourists alike.
The Ombudsman’s Office document includes new recommendations to prevent similar situations from recurring in the future, emphasizing that any migration agreement must guarantee the comprehensive protection of human rights from the outset.
Q COSTARICA — On Saturday, the National Assembly of the Partido Acción Cuidadan (PAC) ratified Claudia Dobles Camargo as its presidential candidate for the 2026 national elections to be held on Sunday, February 1.
The PAC agreed to form a coalition with the Agenda Democrática Nacional (ADN) party.
In addition to formalizing the presidential candidacy, the assembly also elected the new party authorities for the 2025-2029 term.
Claudia Dobles Camargo is a Costa Rican architect and urban planner. Dobles, the wife of former President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, served as the First Lady of Costa Rica from 2018 to 2022.
She represents the PAC as the first female presidential candidate in the party’s history, in a political context where she proposes a transformative agenda focused on sustainable development, social justice, and state modernization.
Fotografía de archivo del presidente de Panamá, José Raúl Mulino, en el acto donde fue proclamado presidente en Ciudad de Panamá (Panamá). EFE/ Bienvenido Velasco
Q24N (EFE) Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino stated last week that during a visit to Japan next September, he will present the interoceanic Canal project to build a gas pipeline and another for a port in the Pacific to the government of that country, with a view to “finalizing an agreement to move them forward.”
Japan, the president explained when referring to the pipeline, is “an important user of the gas” that transits through the Canal “and that comes from the United States,” so “this project could be of great interest to them.”
“They have informally mentioned that they are very interested and perhaps they would be willing to participate as a business. But that is a very personal assessment that does not yet have much foundation,” Mulino said during his weekly press conference, confirming that he will make a four-day visit to Japan in early September.
Japan is the third largest user of the Canal, while 42% of the Japanese merchant marine flies the Panamanian flag and represents 32% of the 8,800 ships currently flying the Panamanian flag, according to statements made last May by the Central American country’s Foreign Minister, Javier Martínez-Acha, when announcing Mulino’s visit to the Asian country next September.
Through the international cooperation agency JICA, Japan is financing the construction of Metro Line 3 with a $1.036 billion loan.
A gas pipeline worth between US$4 and US$8 billion
The Panama Canal Administration, which is an autonomous Panamanian state, has already announced that it will put the gas pipeline project out to tender as part of a program to diversify its activities, although it has not provided further details.
But Canal Affairs Minister José Ramón Icaza has said that the bidding process could take place in 2026 or no later than 2027, and that the pipeline will cost between $4 billion and $8 billion, depending on the business model implemented.
“The pipeline would be highly reliable for liquefied petroleum gas (LGP) leaving the Gulf of Mexico and transported to Northeast Asia, so it would be an alternative route to the Panama Canal, which will have a capacity of one million barrels per day, depending on the business model approved,” Icaza stated in early July during his speech at the 10th International Financial Summit.
The pipeline will meet the demand for the LGP segment, which is expected to continue growing at least until 2045 and currently accounts for about 1,350 ship transits through the Canal per year.
Thus, the pipeline could handle between three and five transits per day, freeing up space for other types of cargo to cross the waterway, according to Minister Icaza’s explanation.
Meetings with shipowners and visit to the Osaka Fair
Mulino stated that in Japan he will speak “with important institutional and private players in the maritime and railway industries, as well as with all the shipowner groups, who represent more than half of the ships that come from there, loyal to our merchant marine registry for decades.”
Panama’s merchant marine is one of the largest in the world, with 8,814 flagged vessels and 243.7 million gross registered tons, according to data updated this Thursday by the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).
“I’ll be at the Osaka Fair for the last two days of my visit. I’m only going to Japan for four days. The Osaka Fair is going to be a major hub for trade and a great opportunity. Panama will have a stand there to showcase ourselves, to showcase the country in this new version we’re trying to outline and move forward,” Mulino added.
