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Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and the Costa Rica Sloths Named After Them

As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce draw global attention around a reported wedding celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York, Costa Rica’s role in the story is not a secret honeymoon, a private estate or a surprise beach visit. It is two baby sloths in Manuel Antonio. There is no confirmed public record of Swift and Kelce visiting Costa Rica together. Their clearest Costa Rica tie appears to be a lighthearted wildlife rescue story from The Sloth Institute, a Manuel Antonio nonprofit that named two orphaned sloths Taylor and Travis after the celebrity couple. The first, a baby two-fingered sloth named Taylor, was rescued on November 18, 2025, after hotel staff in Manuel Antonio found her clinging to an older three-fingered sloth. The pairing was unusual because two-fingered and three-fingered sloths are different species. With no mother nearby, and the baby too young to survive alone, the organization took her into care. Taylor needed round-the-clock feeding and close...
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Landslides Keep Costa Rica’s Route 32 Closed

Route 32, the main highway linking the Central Valley with the Caribbean province of Limón, remains closed in several sections after landslides triggered by the heavy rains of Tropical Wave No. 19. The same system flooded communities, forced evacuations and left damage across the Caribbean region and the Northern Zone. The closure has affected the Cerro Zurquí sector since Thursday night, with additional blockages at kilometers 107 and 109 (miles 66 and 68), near Siquirres, where crews and heavy machinery are working to clear debris. The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) has not given an estimated time for reopening the road. The first landslide at kilometer 107 has already been cleared, but crews then shifted to another point where a fresh slide is blocking the highway in both directions. Heavy-truck drivers have been stranded since Thursday afternoon, and some described watching the mountainside give way onto the road. Two tractor-trailer cabs were struck by...
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Costa Rica Women’s Tennis Team Wins Billie Jean King Cup Group

Costa Rica’s women’s tennis team won the Billie Jean King Cup Americas Group III title after defeating Barbados 2-1 in the final and finishing the tournament undefeated. The victory also secured Costa Rica’s promotion to Americas Group II for the next competition cycle, giving the national team a step up in the regional structure of women’s international tennis. Costa Rica completed a perfect week at the Polideportivo de Ciudad Merliot in El Salvador, where the team beat Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Jamaica and Panama in the group stage before meeting Barbados in the final. The championship tie came down to doubles after Costa Rica and Barbados split the singles matches. The Costa Rican team won the deciding doubles point to close the series and complete its unbeaten run. The national team was made up of Ariana Rahmanparast, Lucía Gallegos, Allison Blanco and Valentina Obregón. Andrea Brenes captained the squad. The Billie Jean King Cup is the main international team competit...
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Costa Rica Reviews PriceSmart Site After Archaeological Material Found

Work at a PriceSmart construction site in Santo Domingo de Heredia could be temporarily stopped after archaeological material was found during earth movement, prompting the National Museum of Costa Rica to ask environmental authorities for an immediate suspension while specialists inspect the property. The request was sent to Setena, Costa Rica’s environmental review agency, after material of possible archaeological value appeared at the site where the new PriceSmart Santo Domingo project is being developed. The National Museum said no more earth movement should take place until a museum archaeologist carries out a technical visit and issues a report on the find. The case puts a familiar Costa Rican tension back in the spotlight: major development moving across land that may still hold traces of our pre-Columbian past. The Culture Ministry said the project already had environmental viability, granted by Setena on Nov. 3, 2025, under resolution No. 1622-2025-Setena. The pro...
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Costa Rica’s Water Crisis Deepens as AyA Loses Half Its Supply

Costa Rica’s national water utility is under renewed scrutiny after officials warned that more than half of the water produced by the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados ( AyA ), in the Greater Metropolitan Area failed to become billed consumption between 2019 and 2023. AyA’s unaccounted-for water rate in the GAM remained between 53% and 58% during that period. The rate was 53% in 2019, reached 58% in 2022 and closed at 56% in 2023, meaning that between 53 and 58 of every 100 liters produced in the metropolitan system did not generate billed revenue. The situation has been described as a structural problem for AyA’s finances and for the delivery of potable water service. Unaccounted-for water includes water lost through leaks, pipe failures and other physical losses, but it also includes commercial losses such as meter problems, irregular connections and water that is used but not billed. Even when that water is not charged to customers, AyA still pays to c...
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Costa Rica Carries Out Second Mass Deportation Flight

Costa Rica carried out its second mass aerial deportation of foreign nationals today, sending 26 people to Colombia and Ecuador in an operation coordinated by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería and the Policía Profesional de Migración. The Air Panama aircraft arrived at the San Jose Airport early this morning before the deportees were escorted from official vehicles to the plane by migration police. The flight left Costa Rica with Colombian and Ecuadorian nationals who, according to migration officials, either had committed crimes in Costa Rica or were in the country with irregular migratory status. Authorities said 19 of the deportees had criminal profiles or had completed criminal processes in Costa Rica. The cases included offenses related to narcotics, cocaine distribution, drug sales, attempted homicide, aggravated resistance, domestic violence and robbery. The remaining deportees were Ecuadorian nationals who had been detected in irregular migratory status...
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Costa Rica’s Ethanol Gasoline Plan Faces New Delay

Costa Rica’s plan to begin selling gasoline mixed with ethanol is still moving forward, but drivers may have to wait longer than expected before seeing the new fuel at service stations. The Ministry of Environment and Energy(MINAE), still intends to mix gasoline super with 10% ethanol as part of a broader effort to reduce vehicle emissions. But the start date is no longer certain, and officials have not confirmed whether sales can begin in 2027 as previously expected. The delay centers on Recope, Costa Rica’s state fuel company, which has been designated as the entity responsible for making the blends. Recope has told energy officials it will need to make acquisitions before carrying out the project, a process that could push back the start of sales. Once the government publishes the first decrees, Recope is expected to prepare a roadmap with clearer deadlines. MINAE expects to publish two initial decrees during the second half of 2026. One will define the institutions involve...
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