On May 23, 2018, Italian fruit exporter Salvatore Ponzo was found dead in a pool of blood, in front of the Italian Embassy in San Jose. Two gunmen had pulled up on a blue dirt bike as Ponzo and his girlfriend were exiting. Ponzo was felled by six bullets, his girlfriend was seriously wounded. This January, Italian courts shed light on who Ponzo really was: a cocaine smuggler who had stolen a shipm...

Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD) detected during one of their routine revisions at APM Terminals in Limon a total of 954 kilograms of cocaine inside a container carrying a legal load of banana pulp with lemon concentrate. According to the information released by the Ministry of Public Security, the 20 feet container had Belgium as its destination. Agents of the PCD detected 29 briefcases h...

The area of Tortuguero in Limón is working on promoting the practice of Olympic rowing in Costa Rica with the idea of attracting more tourists interested in this sport while and forming athletes that can represent the country. Olympic rowing is not something new in the country, Costa Rica has participated with success in tournaments and it won silver medals in the Central American Games. Tortug...

The Technical Council of Civil Aviation (CETAC) and the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) will invest over $10 million USD in important works to improve the international airport of the province of Limon and the airfields of Guápiles and Tortuguero. “This is a country effort to promote economic reactivation, tourism, production, commerce and connectivity, staying in line with the mis...

Back in March, Jacó beach in Puntarenas inaugurated a 63 meter long ramp built with recycled plastic and that gives access to the beach to people with disabilities, Jacó became then the first fully accessible beach in Central America. Now, the Cahuita National Park in Limón became the first National Park to be accessible for people with disabilities thanks to the project “Cahuita Accesible”. ...

Cruise ship visitors arriving in Limón will soon enjoy a new experience when they debark at the Hernán Garrón Salazar port terminal, which welcomes the 193,000 cruise ship passengers who come to the Costa Rican Caribbean each year. “We want to take their breath away right from the first glance, so that they will go on to fall in love with the flavor, natural surroundings, music, culture and bea...

Mexican company Mexifrutas S.A. of C.V. announced that it will open a modern fruit pulp processing plant in Siquirres, Limón, through its Costa Rican subsidiary Inversiones Corymex MCR, S.A, with an investment of $20 million dollars. In its first stage, this investment will generate direct and formal employment for more than 130 people living outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GMA). The ...

Embassy San Jose announced the upcoming Consular outeach for U.S. citizens in Puerto Viejo, Limón. The Consular staff will be on hand to provide routine services and answer any questions. To RSVP for passport renewals, notary services, and federal benefits inquiries, you must indicate your preference by writing to [email protected]. Any applicable fees must be paid in cash. No checks or doll...

APM Terminals now has access to the most modern container scanner in Latin America which will be used to verify all the loads traveling to the United States and in this way help battle illegal contraband of weapons, drugs, cash, radioactive materials, plagues, etc. ¨We have the capacity of scanning all the containers going to the United States. All operators have been trained, we trust that thi...

The company Maderotec was awarded the construction of the new passenger’s terminal of the Limon airport; the company will be in charge of presenting the design inspired on Caribbean architecture, and will have to get all necessary permits to begin the construction work which is expected to begin in October this year and should conclude by February 2020. The construction of this terminal has a c...

The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), organized an event to analyze the new opportunities that Limón offers from a logistic perspective for multinational and national companies, thanks to the most recent investments in the area. All this in the framework of the inauguration of the new container terminal operated by APM Terminals. Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of CINDE, explai...

The Moín Megaport, APM Terminals, officially began operations this Thursday, February, 28, 2019 with the promise of putting Costa Rica at the head of the region in port services. The container terminal began operations partially back in October 30, 2018 working at a minimum capacity with the purpose of testing procedures and preparing personnel. The official inauguration of the megaport, which...

Just a quick flight away from the United States and Canada many foreigners choose Costa Rica to retire, the reasons are many, from great weather and amazing scenarios to peace and stability, but one of the main reasons is also the fact that living in Costa Rica is still considerably cheaper than the United States. Once again, International Living has included Costa Rica, in a report that highli...

The former four time National Champion, Gilbert Brown López took the win at the Marley Cup on the second stop of the Kolbi National Surf Circuit in Puerto Viejo, this past weekend and after five years since his last win. In the female division it was Paulina Summers, also a local of Puerto Viejo, who took the Open and Junior. Brown also took the Masters category, the 37-year-old managed to b...

McDonald’s was the first fast food restaurant to arrive to the province of Limon at the beginning of this 2019, and now it is KFC that plans to open a restaurant in the Caribbean in the upcoming months. McDonalds opened doors December 31st and generated close to 50 direct jobs, “This is the first opportunity of employment for many young people in the area, we are happy to contribute with the e...

Officers of the National Coast Guard Service and the Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security intercepted a boat in the Caribbean carrying 946 kilograms, 477 grams of marijuana, 385 grams of marijuana cocoons as well as several containers filled with fuel. Four people were arrested, three of them with prior criminal records, a 40 year old man of last name Hartley Cristopher;...

The company Standard Fruit Company in Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Dole, closed their work-center in the province of Limon, which included an operations department, terminal and workshop, affecting a total of 240 employees. The reason of the closure is due to the fact that the operations handled by this division are now offered by APM Terminals with a rate that is more convenient for the company...

With an investment of $1.5 million USD, McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in the center of Limón, motivated by the opening of the Moín Container Terminal, and the new opportunities in business that this represents for the province. The opening of the restaurant generated 50 new jobs, it has a total area of 425 square meters (4,575 square ft.) plus the parking area, having a capacity for 15...

The Center for the Investigation of Sea Science and Limnology (Cimar) informed that they have received reports on the presence of Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis) in beaches of the Costa Rican Caribbean. This animal is a marine hydrozoan, similar to a jellyfish, but it is Not a jellyfish, its long tentacles deliver a painful sting. Contact with them should be avoided, if seen floa...

The local government of the county of Talamanca in the Costa Rican Caribbean has officially banned the use of plastic straws in all its districts and communities. Through a press release given by Yorleni Obando, from the Municipality of Talamanca, they certify that this region will be free of plastic straws in order to protect nature and wildlife, this will apply in the tourist areas of Cahuita...

Photo Credit: Reiner Montero A light aircraft crashed and burned this Tuesday in the area of Pococí, Limón. The initial information released by authorities explain that the airplane had landed at a private airport in Lomas de Sierpe where it stayed for about 20 minutes and then took off again, it was precisely during the take off that the plane plunged into a banana field and immediately exp...

After several days of search, the body of the kayak guide, Pablo Rodríguez, was found five nautical miles from the place where he went missing in Manzanillo, Limón. A group of fishermen alerted about the presence of a body, National Coast Guard Service proceeded to recover the body which was in advanced state of decomposition but has the characteristics of the kayak guide, who was dragged by th...

After two days of searching for the kayak guide that was dragged by the current in Manzanillo, Limon on Friday afternoon, the rescue teams of the Costa Rican Red Cross, members of the search and rescue team of the Fire Department, Public Police Force, and air surveillance, had no positive results. The search covered the area between the rivermouth of the Sixaola River in Gandoca, Sixaola all th...

Members of the Costa Rican Red Cross, the National Coast Guard Service and Public Force Police continued the search  throughout Saturday for the kayak guide that was dragged by the current Friday in Manzanillo, Limón, however, there were no positive results. The strong swell complicated the search. The missing man has been identified as 32 year old Pablo Rodríguez Rojas. He was in the compan...

A Costa Rican kayak guide is missing after he was dragged along with two tourists in Manzanillo, Limón. The two tourists, a woman native of England and an Austrian man, were dragged close to 1.5 miles from the coast by a big wave. They managed to stay afloat and a group of locals spotted them and helped them out of the water with the use of a small boat. The kayak guide however was not found...

A boat carrying cocaine was intercepted this Sunday November 11th this time, in waters of the Costa Rican Caribbean. The work was the result of a joint collaboration between national Coast Guard Service and the USA Coast Guard Service. The situation took place 9 miles from Moín, Limón when during the evening hours of Saturday the authorities detected a suspicious vessel which they approached, t...

A group of neighbors from the South Caribbean known as CicloVida presented a proposal to the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation for the creation of a bike line of almost 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Hone Creek to Manzanillo in route 256. The group started promoting this project in August of 2017, as an option to create a safe area for cyclists to transit this area, in communities kn...

The Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) celebrated the start of operations of the Moin Container Terminal (APM Terminals) since it considers it the first step to the reaffirmation of the efficiency of the concession model in the country and the economic reactivation of the province of Limon. “AmCham recognizes the seriousness and commitment of the concession company APM Terminals ...

The Container Terminal in Moin, Limon, began operations this past week in a first stage, although officially it won’t be inaugurated until February 2019. The terminal expects to be servicing an average 10 vessels a week by the start of 2019, increasing gradually the number of services offered. “The start of operations of the Moin Container Terminal broadens the scene of our international com...

Cahuita National Park in the Costa Rican Caribbean will become the first “inclusive beach” with a ramp that will facilitate access for the disabled population through the building of walkways on the sand made of recycled plastic bottle lids. The structures made of recyclable material will make Costa Rica the first country with accessible beaches in the Central American region, but most importa...

As of this coming Friday, the Moin Container Terminal in Limón will be ready to receive commercial boats as its first berth is ready to operate. The Moín megaport, is built over a 40 hectare artificial island,it will be equipped with six port cranes which are unique in the country and will allow Costa Rica to provide for the first time services to Post-Panamex vessels with capacity for 8,500 +...

The Costa Rica Surf Federation released the news on how 8 year-old surfer Ricardo Ferri Lara, was able to rescue a 6 year-old girl who was dragged out by the current in Playa Cocles in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica. Apparently the 6-year-old French girl was enjoying the beach with her family, her parents and two sisters, but in a quick moment the girl was dragged by the current towards the ...

The Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica intercepted two motorboats the evening of this Tuesday and early hours of Wednesday in waters of the Caribbean loaded with marijuana. The Coast Guard Service of Barra del Colorado was in charge of the operation along with agents of the Drug Control Police. The boats were located at open sea, when the Coast Guard Patrol signaled them to stop they sp...

The employees on strike working for the Atlantic Zone Development and Port Administration Group (JAPDEVA) has been deemed illegal, determined Judge Francisco Vargas Ramirez who considered that the services offered by JAPDEVA are essential and that the conciliation alternatives were not exhausted. “Paralyzing the services offered by the Limon and Moin ports, implies the suspension of an essentia...

Despite the current difficult social climate in the Costa Rican Caribbean as a result of the ongoing labor strike, the third cruise ship of the season, the Carnival Fantasy, arrived to this port on Saturday with a total 2,064 tourists and 872 crew members. This ship, operated by US-British company Carnival Cruises, is the third of 110 cruise ships expected to arrive to Limon this season and whi...

In the midst of general labor strike that had the goal of paralyzing the country, the second cruise ship of the season docked at the Limon port with no problems; the Carnival Miracle, arrived with 2,031 passengers aboard originating from Tampa, Florida. “We are supervising that the cruise activity carries out normally”, stated Marlon Clarke, Manager of the Atlantic Zone Development and Port Adm...

The seventh edition of the Lionfish Capture Tournament in Gandoca, Manzanillo, Limon, will take place September 29 and 30th and registrations are now open. This event is organized by the Association of Artisanal Fishermen of the South Caribbean through the Area of Conservation Amistad Caribe (ACLAC) and other institutions. The purpose of the activity is to help control the invasive species, a ...

Limon will receive a total of 110 ships that will arrive at the Hernán Garrón terminal the cruise season 2018-2019 which begins August 23 with the arrival of the Sea Princess. The Atlantic Zone Development and Port Administration Group (JAPDEVA) will receive over 224 thousand passengers throughout the entire season, this will have a positive impact in the economy and development of local touri...

The Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security, seized a total of 133 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a pineapple cargo. The authorities got an anonymous call to their confidential line (1176) in reference to possible drug transportation case, the agents arrived at the Moin Port in Limon to confirm the report. The drugs were found in a container which was supposedly carrying...

A Nicaraguan man of last names Castillo Chavez was arrested today by Officers of the Operational Support Group (GAO) of the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica, as suspect raping a German tourist in Tortuguero, Pococí, Limón. “On Sunday, August 12, the tourist took a tour and after the same the man invited her to go out on a boat ride in the area of San Francisco, that’s when the act took...