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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...

A small ray the color of a gold coin turned up in shallow water off Guanacaste, and researchers say nothing like it has ever been recorded in its family. The animal was a juvenile female blotched round ray, a common bottom-dwelling species along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. Rays of this kind are normally sandy brown with dark spots scattered across the disc. This one was a deep, saturated yellow. The condition is called xanthism, and it works in a way that is easier to picture than the name suggests. Ray skin carries different types of pigment cells stacked together. When the cells that produce dark pigment fail to develop, the yellow ones underneath are no longer masked, and the animal comes out gold. The dark spots on this individual survived, which is why researchers describe the case as partial. That detail turned out to matter later. The ray was caught and photographed twice at Playa Manzanillo, near the community of El Jobo in La Cruz, during a monitoring program run...

Playa Dominical has a well earned reputation as one of Costa Rica’s premier surfing spots. Its powerful and consistent beach break draws riders from all over the world. It regularly hosts stops for the official Costa Rican Surf Federation National Surf Circuit (Circuito Nacional de Surf) and also has its own highly competitive local tourneys. It is also one of Costa Rica’s most dangerous beaches, with violently crashing waves, hazardous rips, and a topography underfoot that goes quickly from shallow to deep. The Rio Baru empties into the sea at the north end of the beach, adding to the turbulent mix. While experienced surfers navigate the challenging conditions, the ocean is not forgiving to those who venture in unprepared. In the first half of the 1990s, Dominical averaged a startling twenty drownings per year. An untrained samaritan attempting to rescue a swimmer caught in the merciless rip sometimes resulted in a double tragedy. As Dominical’s popularity grew t...

One of the South Caribbean’s biggest cultural celebrations returns Saturday as the Wolaba Parade fills the main street of Puerto Viejo with music, dancing, colorful costumes and more than 30 participating groups. The 12th edition of the parade begins at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Supermercado El Diamante. Participants will travel along Puerto Viejo’s main road before finishing at Super Puerto Viejo, near the entrance to the community. This year’s theme is “BIG PARADE – Feel the Vibes,” with groups and delegations from different communities taking part in a celebration centered on Costa Rica’s Afro-Caribbean heritage. Visitors can expect music, dancing, traditional and creative costumes, and performances throughout the route. A community float will close the parade. The event comes during Costa Rica’s Historical Month of Afro-Descendant People and just two days before Costa Rica marks the Day of the Black Person and Afro-Costa Rican Culture on August 31. For Puerto Viejo, however, Wol...

Hilton has signed an agreement for its first LXR-branded property in Costa Rica, a seven-story luxury resort paired with 116 private residences on a beachfront estate minutes from our most visited national park. The company announced the signing of Maravé Manuel Antonio, LXR Hotels & Resorts yesterday. The property is scheduled to open in 2029. The site covers roughly 16 hectares (40 acres) and descends from a rainforest ridge to about 198 meters (650 feet) of Pacific shoreline. Hilton describes the land as rare, titled beachfront. The resort component will hold 57 accommodations, made up of 42 ocean-view guest rooms and 15 bungalows set on the hillside, each with its own plunge pool. The residential component adds 66 villas, 46 oceanfront condominiums and four penthouses, bringing the total to 173 accommodations. Hilton said construction should finish in late 2028, with sales of the residences opening this fall. The resort was designed by Costa Rican firm Carazo Arquitect...

The Wall Street Journal published a report Thursday arguing that Costa Rica’s rise in drug killings has fractured the political system, setting President Laura Fernández and her governing party against the judiciary in a conflict the paper describes as a political civil war. Reported from Limón, the piece traces the surge to the 2019 opening of the Moín container terminal outside the city, which it says gave criminal groups the capacity to move cocaine at a scale they had not managed before. It cites the U.S. State Department’s assessment that Costa Rica has been the leading transshipment point for cocaine heading from South America to the United States and Europe since 2020, the year after the port opened. Its headline figure is a 50 percent rise in homicides since 2020, which the report says has brought Costa Rica’s murder rate close to Mexico’s. That baseline holds up against the official record. The Judicial Investigation Agency counted 570 homicides...

Two popular places people like to visit in the Turrialba area have reopened after being closed for more than a week because of heavy rain and concerns about uncertain conditions. Turrialba Volcano National Park and Guayabo National Monument reopened yesterday after officials determined that weather conditions had improved and access roads were safe for vehicles. The Ministry of Environment and Energy and the National System of Conservation Areas ( SINAC ) closed both sites beginning August 18 as Costa Rica dealt with heavy rainfall associated with Tropical Wave 33 and an orange weather alert. At the time, saturated soil raised concerns about landslides, falling material and other problems that could put visitors and park employees at risk. Officials said inspections carried out before the reopening found that the two most recent tropical waves had not caused significant damage in the area. Roads leading to the attractions have also been cleared for traffic. The reopening is welcom...

Costa Rica is fighting an uphill battle against two mosquito-borne diseases this year, with dengue cases climbing sharply and malaria showing signs of resurgence after a period of dramatic progress toward elimination. The Ministry of Health reported this week that dengue cases have reached over 3,400 through epidemiological week 32 of 2026, a 30 percent increase over the same period last year, when 2,405 cases had been recorded. The Central North region has logged the highest raw number of cases, while the Central Pacific region carries the heaviest burden relative to its population, with a rate of 240.2 cases per 100,000 residents. At least five people are currently hospitalized with dengue, one at Hospital San Rafael in Alajuela and four at Hospital Víctor Manuel Sanabria. What makes this year notable is not just the case count but the trajectory. Costa Rica actually started 2026 behind the previous year’s pace, with an 8 percent reduction in cases reported through earl...

More Canadians are flying to Costa Rica this year than at any point on record, and the gap between them and every other market is widening fast. New figures from the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo ( ICT ) show that from January through July arrivals from Canada up 25.1% compared with the same seven months of 2025. No other country came close. The Netherlands ranked second at 16.5%, and Spain third at 13.9%. The North American market as a whole, which includes the United States and Mexico, grew 7%. Across every source country, 1,853,430 travelers arrived by air in those seven months. That is also a 7% increase on last year, which tells you how much of the growth is being carried by a handful of markets rather than spread evenly. The tourism institute credits a targeted advertising push in Canada aimed at filling seats on direct flights. On its own numbers, the campaign is working and that matters more than a marketing win. Where visitors come from decides which airports g...

Residents of Playa Panamá marched on Sunday, calling for stalled tourism projects in the Gulf of Papagayo to move forward, saying the delays are costing their community jobs and business opportunities. The peaceful march was organized by the Playa Panamá Integral Development Association(ADI). Participants walked from the roundabout near El Mangroove hotel to Plaza Playa Panamá under the slogan “Walking Together for Sustainable Development.” Organizers said families in the area depend on tourism, construction and the small businesses that serve workers and visitors. They argued that development and environmental protection can happen at the same time if projects follow Costa Rica’s environmental rules. The protest comes more than four months after Constitutional Court Justice Fernando Cruz issued temporary restrictions while the court reviews a challenge to development rules in the Papagayo Tourism Development Area. The April 17 order placed a moratorium on new tree-cutting per...

Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo has unveiled 10 new one-bedroom suites as part of a larger renovation of the luxury resort on Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast. Reservations are now open for the Papagayo Suites, with the first stays available beginning December 17, 2026. Each suite covers 112 square meters, or 1,206 square feet, and includes a king bedroom, a separate living room and a large terrace overlooking Papagayo Bay. The layout is intended to feel more like a private vacation home while keeping guests close to the resort’s restaurants, spa and recreational facilities. The suites can accommodate up to three adults or two adults and two children, according to the resort’s booking information. Their design focuses on indoor-outdoor living, with natural wood, stone and colors inspired by the surrounding coastline. Other features include custom furniture, curved soaking tubs, marble bathrooms and large openings that bring in natural light and fresh air. “These...

Costa Rica has long promoted itself as the most literate country in Central America, and by the numbers it is. Government statistics put the literacy rate among people 15 and older at roughly 98 percent, a figure repeated in tourism brochures, investment pitches and international rankings for decades. But a closer look at how that number is produced, and who it leaves out, suggests the real picture of who can and cannot read and write in this country is considerably worse than official statistics admit. The core problem is that Costa Rica’s literacy figure comes from self reported survey answers, not from any actual reading test. When a census worker or household survey interviewer asks someone whether they can read and write, the person answers for themselves, and there is no verification. Illiteracy carries deep social stigma, particularly among older adults and in rural communities, so people frequently say yes even when they can do little more than sign their name. Th...

Certain things are guaranteed when camera trapping in Costa Rica. Some things are magnificent, for instance, with enough time and even the smallest patch of forest, you’re going to record an ocelot. Other things are downright infuriating, for example, with enough time, working in just about any forest in Costa Rica, your camera trap is going to get stolen. I haven’t kept track, because some statistics are too heartbreaking to tally, but I must have had over thirty cameras stolen over the last eight years or so. Theft is simply something that needs to be factored into any wildlife monitoring project using camera traps and its effects are manyfold. First, and for me most devastating, is the loss of data. If I sit and think about the content of the SD cards on all my stolen cameras, a single tear begins to form in the corner of my eye. Then there’s the loss of the equipment, the associated cost, and the difficulty in acquiring replacement gear. Each of my cameras, with the suppor...

The Rincón de la Vieja volcano erupted twice today and the Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica ( Ovsicori-UNA ) reported no ashfall and no lahars from either event. The larger of the two came at 7:38 a.m. and lasted under a minute. Ovsicori classified it as moderate. A smaller eruption had already occurred at 12:30 a.m. Neither eruption was visible on the observatory’s webcams. Cloud cover sat over the summit all morning, so nobody got a look at the column. That happens often during the rainy season, and it is one reason the seismic and infrasound networks matter more than the cameras this time of year. The volcano stays at caution, which is level 3 on Ovsicori’s four-step scale. Ovsicori moved it up from level 2 in early August after counting 48 eruptions in roughly a month, including 23 in a single week. Volcanologist Cyrill Müller said at the time that a volcano at level 3 can produce eruptions, lahars and ashfall — a plain description of the r...

Residents of Aserrí are facing prolonged water shortages that have disrupted homes, schools and businesses, while the local government considers handing control of its struggling water system to Costa Rica’s national water utility. The municipality has acknowledged that the problem has existed for years but says it has become worse during the current dry period. Water rationing has been in place in different parts of the canton since April, with some residents receiving water for only a few hours, often early in the morning. Families have responded by filling bottles, barrels and storage tanks whenever water becomes available. Residents who cannot afford storage equipment are more exposed to the outages and depend heavily on municipal water trucks. Schools and local businesses are also feeling the effects. At least one public school has asked children to bring drinking water from home and has occasionally suspended lessons when its stored supply runs out. Hair salons, barber s...

Costa Rica has some of the best solar radiation conditions anywhere in the world and already runs on nearly 100 percent renewable electricity. Yet solar power contributes less than one percent of the national grid, a gap that has little to do with sunshine and everything to do with law. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute, known as ICE, has held a legal monopoly over the commercialization of electricity since 1949, and it remains in force today. Private generators face a hard ceiling, limited to 30 percent of total generation capacity, with foreign investment inside that private share separately capped at 65 percent. Any generation project larger than five megawatts must connect through ICE’s own transmission network and receive ICE’s authorization, since ICE owns every transmission line in the country and is the only entity permitted to trade electricity in the regional market. Private companies are, in effect, limited to generation only, and are mandated to sell...

Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber will examine whether some tourism projects allowed on state-owned forest land should continue to be classified as low-impact activities. The case challenges rules covering canopy tours, hanging bridges, observation platforms in trees, rappelling areas, campsites and tourist lodges. These projects can currently be authorized on certain public forest properties located outside national parks and other protected areas. The challenge was filed by the Asociación Cívica de Hermosa, a community organization based in Playa Hermosa. It argues that the government regulations make it possible to build tourism infrastructure on environmentally sensitive public land without enough legal or scientific support. The court accepted the case for review on Friday, August 21. It gave the Ministry of Environment and Energy, known as MINAE, and the Attorney General’s Office 15 days to submit their positions. Accepting the case does not mean the court agrees with ...

The appearance of two fishing boats in the Puntarenas estuary has led a Costa Rican ocean conservation advocate to ask authorities for more information about the vessels, their owners and why they entered the area. Jorge Serendero Hülssner, director of Fundación For the Oceans and a member of the Marine Commission of the Presidential Council on the Ocean, raised the concern in a recent opinion column. Serendero described the two boats as being of Chinese origin and identified one as TUNG HAI 168. However, he did not accuse either vessel of illegal fishing or any other crime. Instead, he asked authorities to clarify who owns and operates the boats, where they came from, what permission they had to enter the estuary and whether they had previously fished or transferred catches elsewhere in the region. Public vessel-tracking information reviewed after the alert adds an important complication. Global Fishing Watch and commercial tracking services list TUNG HAI 168 as operating und...

The Ring of Fire–the 25,000-mile horseshoe-shaped belt that runs from Southeast Asia up the Pacific Coast to far Northeast Russia, over to Alaska and down the coast all the way to the tip of Chile– is in a turbocharged state, tectonic plates crashing and subducting, wreaking havoc on the earth’s surface far above. First Venezuela and now Colombia. Since April, Indonesia, the Philippines, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia and Indonesia again, all rocked by quakes measuring over 7 on the Richter scale. Locally, the Colombia earthquake received major notice, partly due to the sheer number of videos showing the quake from all angles as it shook for roughly two minutes, collapsing buildings onto streets full of frightened onlookers who prayed, screamed and moved frantically to avoid being swept up in the debris. This quake was at a depth of 100 kilometers, meaning that the collision of the plates must have been especially violent. By comparison, the double 7-plus quakes that hit Vene...