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The U.S. dollar has slipped below ₡450 again in Costa Rica, continuing a trend that has steadily reduced the spending power of foreign residents who earn their income in dollars and increased pressure on the tourism industry. The dollar closed yesterday at an average of ₡449.24 in Costa Rica’s Monex foreign exchange market, down from ₡450.03 in the previous session. It remains close to the record lows reached in August , including ₡448.96 on August 14. For those North American and Canadian retirees, remote workers and other foreign residents receiving income in U.S. dollars, the impact is that the same number of dollars now buys noticeably fewer colones. At the beginning of 2026, the Monex dollar rate stood at about ₡497. By Tuesday it had fallen to ₡449.24, a decline of nearly 10% in eight months. As an example, take someone living in Costa Rica on a $3,000 monthly pension or other dollar-based income. Using the Monex rate simply as a benchmark, $3,000 was worth about ₡1.49 milli...

A court in Limón ordered the release of the wife of extradited trafficking suspect Edwin López Vega today, rejecting a prosecution request to hold her for a year in preventive detention and imposing lesser restrictions instead. Prosecutors have appealed the ruling and the woman, identified by the surnames Smith de la O, is under investigation on suspicion of money laundering and unlawful association. She has not been tried, and the accusations against her remain allegations to be established in court. The Deputy Prosecutor’s Office against Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture had asked the Limón penal court for a year of preventive detention. The court declined and set lesser conditions. Under the terms imposed, she must sign in every 15 days, surrender her passport and is not allowed to leave the country. Her defense lawyer, Andy Jack Sánchez, confirmed the conditions after being notified of the resolution this morning. The Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had a...

Agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), acting under the functional direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, detained two judges and a judicial agent from the Pococí courts, in the Caribbean province of Limón this morning. The Deputy Prosecutor’s Office for Probity, Transparency and Anti-Corruption identified the three as suspects in the alleged offenses of procuring impunity, bribery, corruptor liability and misuse of public property. None has been charged, and all are presumed innocent while the investigation proceeds. In a written statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said the conduct under investigation took place between 2023 and 2026, when the accused apparently used their positions to collaborate with a group dedicated to drug trafficking. Investigators are examining whether they accepted gifts and neglected their duties in order to use their offices for personal ends. The three were identified by the surnames Rojas, a woman, Va...

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investing heavily in technology capable of unlocking and getting information from cellphones seized during criminal investigations, as police increasingly confront cases in which critical evidence is stored behind passwords and encryption. The agency has purchased Cellebrite Inseyets, an Israeli-developed digital forensics system used by law enforcement agencies to access and analyze data from mobile devices. Public procurement records show that the OIJ made two purchases related to the technology in September 2025 totaling nearly $700,000. Another contract worth $382,700 was being processed in August 2026. The purchases include software licenses as well as powerful computers, storage systems and equipment used to connect different phones and SIM cards. For investigators, the basic purpose is straightforward: when police legally seize a cellphone as evidence, the technology can help them get past a locked screen and recover i...

A sudden surge of water swept two people down a river in Barú de Pérez Zeledón on Sunday afternoon, and about 40 others who were crossing with them are still waiting to get out. The Costa Rican Red Cross said the group was in the middle of a guided excursion when rain upstream sent a cabeza de agua — a wall of water that arrives without warning — down the channel. Two members of the group were carried away. One of them was the excursion’s guide. The rest of the group was split by the surge. Some are stranded on the far bank with no safe way back across. “The group is divided and several people remain on the other side of the river, unable to leave the site given current conditions,” the Red Cross said. Two basic life support units are working the scene. The Red Cross has also sent a first-response unit from its National Emergency Response Directorate, along with specialists from its urban search and rescue team and its water rescue team. As of mid-afternoon, ...

Heavy rain, flooded fields and the spread of a damaging plant disease are putting growing pressure on Costa Rica’s banana farms, particularly in the Caribbean region. Some plantations have remained underwater for as long as 36 hours following recent downpours. The hardest-hit areas include Matina, Guácimo, Siquirres, Pococí, Limón, Talamanca, the Valle de la Estrella and Sarapiquí. Between August 15 and 16, parts of Matina, Guácimo and Siquirres received up to 280 millimeters, or about 11 inches, of rain. That is more water in two days than a banana plantation normally needs during an entire month. Banana plants can withstand Costa Rica’s tropical weather, but their roots struggle when the soil stays waterlogged for too long. Even farms with good drainage can have problems when rain falls faster than the water can escape. The effects may not appear immediately. Damage caused by excessive rain can take 10 to 12 weeks to show up as weaker plants, fewer leaves and a smaller numbe...