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Mexico Clinches Group Control After Tense Win Over South Korea

Mexico became the first team to take full control of its World Cup group on Thursday night, beating South Korea 1-0 in Guadalajara and turning what had looked like a tense Group A fight into a clear statement from one of the tournament’s hosts. Luis Romo scored the only goal early in the second half after South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu failed to deal cleanly with the ball inside the box. Mexico then held on through a nervous finish, with goalkeeper Raúl Rangel making a late double save to protect the lead. The win moved Mexico to six points from two matches and, according to Sporting News, locked El Tri into the top spot in Group A and the Round of 32. The result mattered beyond Mexico. South Korea had also won its opener, making Thursday’s match the first real test of whether Mexico’s strong start against South Africa was enough to carry over against a faster, sharper opponent. It was not a fluent performance. The home crowd booed Mexico at halftime after a flat first h...
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Costa Rica President Evacuated After Loud Blast During Crucitas Visit

President Laura Fernández was rushed out of the Crucitas mining area Friday morning after a loud blast interrupted her official visit to the Finca Vivoyet property, where she had taken lawmakers to see the damage caused by illegal gold mining . The sound was heard at about 8:10 a.m. while Fernández was touring the site with members of her administration, governing party lawmakers and some opposition deputies. Security officers immediately activated presidential protection protocols, ordered people nearby to get down, and moved the president to a vehicle as reporters and other members of the delegation were pulled back. Authorities had not confirmed by late morning what caused the sound. Local outlets at the scene described it as a powerful detonation or a sound similar to an explosion. Security teams began sweeping the surrounding area to determine whether it came from an explosive, gunfire or another source. The scare turned a highly political field visit into a visible d...
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Costa Rica Sportfishing Industry Presents Roadmap for Coastal Communities

Costa Rica’s sport and tourist fishing industry has presented a new strategic roadmap aimed at strengthening coastal economies, improving coordination with public institutions and promoting more sustainable use of the country’s marine resources. The Ruta Estratégica de Pesca Turística y Deportiva de Costa Rica was presented by the Federación Costarricense de Pesca Turística, known as FECOP , with support from the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica through the Central America Regional Security Initiative, or CARSI. The roadmap is the result of a two-year consultation process that included dialogue sessions, territorial meetings and collective work with communities and fishing-related businesses on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. FECOP says the industry attracts more than 150,000 international visitors a year, generates about $520 million for the Costa Rican economy and supports roughly 33,000 jobs connected to coastal value chains. Those jobs extend beyond boats and captains to...
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Costa Rica Ends Papagayo Building-Rights Transfer Rule

Costa Rica as thrown out a contested building rule at the center of a court fight over development in the Gulf of Papagayo . The rule had let developers combine their construction rights across separate plots of land. Executive Decree 45823-MP, signed by President Fernández and Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Chaves Robles, was published Tuesday in the official gazette La Gaceta (Alcance No. 76 to Gazette No. 110). It removes the “density and coverage compensation” rule from the regulations covering the Golfo de Papagayo Tourism Pole in Guanacaste. The change takes effect right away, and there is no grace period for permits or applications already filed under the old rule. The rule being scrapped, created in January 2024 under former President Chaves — who now serves as Fernández’s minister of the presidency — let a developer with more than one plot of land in the tourism zone move leftover building allowance from one plot to another, even if the two plot...
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Costa Rica Researchers Study Rare Meat-Eating Vulture Bees

In the forests of Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, some bees are drawn to something far different from flowers. They visit decaying animal remains, feed on carrion, and in some cases cut small pieces of meat to carry back to their colonies. Known as necrophagous bees, or vulture bees, these insects are changing how researchers understand bee behavior in tropical ecosystems. A recent study in northern Costa Rica documented at least 13 species of stingless bees that use decaying animal tissue as part of their diet. The research is part of the project Vulture Bees in Costa Rica: Detection, Ecology, and Behavior, led by Carolina Esquivel Dobles of the School of Biological Sciences at the National University, with Laura L. Figueroa Amaya of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The study was carried out in the San Juan–La Selva Biological Corridor, one of Costa Rica’s most important biological corridors. Researchers worked across 20 sites, including primary forest, secondary forest, and a...
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Birdwatching Becomes Major Growth Area for Costa Rica Tourism

Birdwatching is becoming one of Costa Rica’s most valuable tourism niches, as travelers seek trips built around wildlife, local guides and rural destinations rather than the country’s traditional beach-and-volcano circuit. Known in the tourism field as avitourism, the activity centers on travelers who visit reserves, farms, forests, wetlands and highland areas to see and photograph birds in their natural habitat. For Costa Rica, that is a natural fit. Costa Rica has more than 900 known bird species in a small area with Caribbean lowlands, Pacific dry forest, cloud forest, mangroves, wetlands and highland oak forests all within reachable distance. That concentration has helped Costa Rica build a reputation as one of the leading international birdwatching destinations. For serious birders, it offers rare targets such as the resplendent quetzal, scarlet macaws, toucans , manakins, hummingbirds and regional endemics. For casual travelers, the activity can be as simple as a guided...
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Costa Rica’s New Lake Arenal Tourism Law Draws Conflict-of-Interest Questions

A governing-party lawmaker promoted and voted for a new law legalizing tourism and commercial activity around Lake Arenal without disclosing that her family owns a lakeshore lodge that stands to benefit from it. Cindy Murillo Artavia, a deputy for President Laura Fernández’s Pueblo Soberano party, spoke in favor of bill 22981 and voted for it in two floor debates, the first on May 28. The measure, which is now enacted, authorizes low-impact productive and tourism activity in and around the Lake Arenal reservoir, a zone that until now sat in legal limbo because much of it falls inside a protected area. For the roughly 700 families who have built hotels, restaurants and tour operations along the lake over the years, the law is meant to end that uncertainty and give their businesses a clear legal footing. It was pushed by the Executive Branch, backed by business and tourism chambers, and supported by the municipalities of Tilarán and San Carlos. President Fernández placed it...
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