Photo provided by South Korea's Yonhap news agency showing U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert. EFE/File Seoul, Mar 4 (EFE).- The U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was wounded on Thursday, local time, when he was attacked by a knife-wielding man who said he was against the joint military maneuvers being staged by Washington and Seoul this week. The suspect, identified as...

Around 40 percent of the mahogany and cedar that Peru exports to the United States is logged illegally, a 2010 study by the Environmental Research Agency, or EIA, said. EFE/File Lima, Feb 24 (EFE).- Peru's permanent Commission for the Fight against Illegal Logging is considering installing GPS devices on river boats in the Amazon basin in order to halt the transport of lumber from illegal logg...

Moterrico. Source: Wikimedia Commons Guatemala City, Mar 1 (EFE).- The body of a Swiss woman was found Sunday on a beach on Guatemala's Pacific coast bearing knife wounds, emergency authorities said. Fire Department spokesperson Cecilia Chacaj told Efe that Erika Verena Jenni, 57, was found on the Monterrico beach in Santa Rosa province. Chacaj added that emergency authorities were alert...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A woman from Costa Rica is facing eight felony charges of bank fraud in the United States. According to a report by California television station Channel 10, Gabriela Carter has many years of experience as a real estate broker in the Golden State, but her troubles emerged from a time when she was acting as a mortgage loan officer. Ms. Carter could face a prison term o...

Pixabay Commons The United States is offering a $3million reward for information on a Russian hacker charged with bank conspiracy and fraud. Russian citizen Evgeniy Bogachev is charged with running computer attacks that diverted more than one hundred million dollars. He was indicted in Pittsburgh last year on serious charges of bank fraud and conspiracy. The FBI has released pictures of Evgeni...

Brazilian law enforcement agents said the cocaine was hidden in a truck and they had acted on a tip from a taxi driver who apparently was a member of the band of drug traffickers. EFE/File .- Brazilian police seized about 1.5 tons of cocaine in an operation in Mato Grosso do Sul state, which borders on Paraguay and Bolivia, the largest confiscation of the drug in the past 10 years in Brazil, a...

Servando "La Tuta" Gomez Martinez, the reputed head of the Caballeros Templarios drug cartel, is seen in this 2009 file photo provided by Mexico's Public Safety Secretariat. EFE Morelia, Mexico, Feb 27 (EFE).- Mexican authorities early Friday captured the reputed top leader of the Caballeros Templarios drug cartel, Servando "La Tuta" Gomez Martinez, the National Security Commission told Efe. ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Agents assigned to the Alajuela Regional Delegation of the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) are investigating the death of a 53-year old man who was found dead upon landing in Costa Rica. The 53-year old man has been identified as a Costel Comana, a wealthy Romanian citizen. In an institutional communique, OIJ agents provided preliminary in...

EFE New York, Feb 25 (EFE).- The FBI on Wednesday arrested three New York residents who allegedly were planning to join the jihadist Islamic State and commit terrorist acts in the United States, officials with the agency and the Justice Department said. Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev and Abror Habibov, both citizens of Uzbekistan, and Akhror Saidakhmetov, a citizen of Kazakhstan, are facing ...

Source: Fuerza Publica From oceanic creatures to sports car logos and from mythology to astrology symbols, the imagery used by drug cartels in their packaging of illegal drugs has been on the rise in the last few years. In Costa Rica, this practice is known as troquelado, and it involves the creative use of logos and packing materials when shipping their products, particularly powdered cocaine...

Source: OIJ Detectives from the Kidnapping and Abductions Unit of the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish: OIJ) in Costa Rica have not been able to ascertain whether Canadian expat Ryan Piercy, who went missing from family for more than 30 days before returning home in a taxicab, was actually snatched and held under threat of harm. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star: On W...

Source: OIJ Although Canadian businessman Ryan Craig Piercy Bate is reportedly back in the safety of his home in Heredia, there seem to be more doubts than conclusions related to his month-long disappearance. Some news sources reporting on this mysterious case in Costa Rica mention the possibility of a kidnapping event which came to an end after a ransom payment was made to alleged captors; ho...

RCMP crest The strange case of missing Canadian entrepreneur Ryan Craig Piercy Bate, who was reported missing and possibly kidnapped in Costa Rica a little more than a month ago, has finally yielded positive news for his family. According to two news media outlets in Costa Rica, Mr. Piercy arrived in his home in Heredia, where he arrived around midnight on a Saturday via a red taxicab. Nati...

K-9 Officer Lyra After a dangerous shootout that left two policemen wounded and an alleged robber dead in the eastern suburbs of San Jose, a tactical unit was tasked with looking for an armed suspect who fled the scene. It all happened during the morning rush hour of Thursday in the municipality of Curridabat, and the Directorate of Special Units became resolute on finding the suspect on the r...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A Costa Rican citizen will spend the next three years incarcerated in a federal prison in the United States. Maxim Chukharev is a Russian man of Uzbek ethnicity who arrived in Costa Rica in his late teens and later became a naturalized citizen. He was indicted in 2013 by the United States Attorney General for his participation in the Liberty Reserve case. As previo...

Pixabay Commons CANCUN, Mexico--(Business Wire)--For several years, the Kaspersky Lab Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) has been closely monitoring more than 60 advanced threat actors responsible for cyber-attacks worldwide. The team has seen nearly everything, with attacks becoming increasingly complex as more nation-states got involved and tried to arm themselves with the most advanc...

Tamarindo Beach A group of foreign squatters who had unlawfully broken into a home located in Tamarindo Beach, province of Guanacaste, were removed under the watchful eye of officers from the Municipal Police of Santa Cruz. The eviction took place on Friday, February 6th, and the squatters were reported to be from various countries, including: The United States, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and the...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The relentless and protracted fight by the United States Justice Department against sports wagering operations based in Costa Rica shows no signs of slowing down. Even as various jurisdictions in that North American nation are considering legalizing and regulating this industry, U.S. prosecutors and law enforcement agents continue to pursue those involved in operating...

News media outlets in Costa Rica are beginning to provide details on the highly controversial Swiss Leaks scandal involving millions upon millions of dollars stashed away in deposit and investment accounts at the controversial HSBC bank in Switzerland. Allegations about the involvement high-profile business people and politicians were reported by the press in Costa Rica, but initial investigations...

RCMP crest An update on the case of missing Canadian businessman Ryan Craig Piercy Bate was recently reported by a daily tabloid. As reported by Manuel Estrada of Diario Extra, Mr. Piercy's family has made a payment 136 million colones (more than $250,000) to the alleged kidnappers. This payment was allegedly made in exchange for proof of life, and could signal an upcoming release of Mr. Piercy....

Cody Dial The information herein mostly comes from the GoFundMe online fundraiser set up by the parents of Cody Roman Dial, a college student from the United States who arrived in Costa Rica with adventure in his mind. Cody intended to hike across Corcovado National Park in our Southern Pacific region; he has been missing since July of 2014. For the purpose of style and flow of prose, The Costa...

Preferred weapon of guerrilla fighters. A daily tabloid from Costa Rica and an online publication run by journalists from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have recently published troubling reports of guerrillas operating in northern Nicaragua. Although both reports present some discrepancies, they both stress the issue of obfuscation by the Nicaraguan government, thereby leavin...

An alleged fraudster from the United States has reportedly spent the last nine months in the prestigious CIMA Hospital near San Jose, where he is supposed to be in the custody of officers from Fuerza Pública, the national police force of Costa Rica. The suspect was remanded to a correctional center by a criminal court back in May of 2014. Cyrus Anoushirvan Sepher, a 51-year old male with Irania...

The students, faculty, and staff of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego have prepared a petition to President Luis Guillermo Solís asking that the Jairo Mora loved to teach children about nature. Wikimedia Commons mishandling of evidence during the trial of Jairo Mora Sandoval's alleged killers be investigated and also that protection for enviro...

Amanda Hellman A few days ago, The Costa Rica Star reported on an incident whereby a photojournalist on assignment for Diario Extra was viciously attacked by a tour operator in the Sarapiqui River. Reporter Alfonso Gatjens was investigating the tragic death of Amanda Hellman, a woman from the United States who lost her life during a kayaking tour of the river, which had been subject to incleme...

Source: Focus Features A penetrating film that deals with a very delicate, yet factual and historic, Cold War narrative, is now available on DVD. Kill the Messenger was modestly released to regional audiences in the United States last year; it has received positive reviews thanks to actor Jeremy Renner's powerful performance as the late journalist Gary Webb. Kill the Messenger is based on t...

Source: Ricardo Retana - Twitter The participation of a top-level public official in the recent march in memory of Jairo Mora has become the subject of political controversy. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star: With picket signs, banners, slogans, songs, and a general feeling of indignation, a march in memory of slain environmentalist Jairo Mora took place in San Jose on Thursday, ...

Source: Spot Serving Costa Rica as a park ranger is a task that can be fraught with peril, particularly when it comes to being assigned to wild nature preserves such as the Corcovado National Park, located in the Osa Peninsula of our country's Southern Pacific coast. The dangers at this pristine, yet dangerous, national park include: snake bites, twisted or broken ankles, exhaustion, dehydrati...

Source: Flick Commons Carry a beer, lose your gun. In essence, such is the gist of a new rule promulgated by the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica. According to a news report filed by Jason Torres of online news daily CRHoy.com, the new rule calls for law enforcement officers in Costa Rica to confiscate weapons and the actual permit to bear arms from individuals are determined to be in...

Source: Ricardo Retana - Twitter The senseless murder of environmental activist Jairo Mora Sandoval in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica has shaken up the country no only due to its gruesomeness but also because justice has failed to bring closure. As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, the seven men believed to be responsible for the killing of Jairo Mora Sandoval in late May 2013 were...

The Sarapiqui River A journalist investigating the death of a woman from the United States was physically assaulted by an entrepreneur who provides river rafting tours in Costa Rica. Such was the report published by Diario Extra, the daily tabloid which assigned Alfonso Gatjens to look into the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Amanda Hellman, a woman from the U.S. who died in the ...

Source: Ricardo Retana - Twitter With picket signs, banners, slogans, songs, and a general feeling of indignation, a march in memory of slain environmentalist Jairo Mora took place in San Jose on Thursday, January 29th. Demonstrators were united by a common sentiment and desire to see justice prevail in Jairo's memory. Jairo Mora was 26 years old when he was killed by a group of poachers in...

Jairo Mora loved to teach children about nature. Wikimedia Commons Some of the mobile phone conversations and text messages between the seven men suspected of being responsible for the killing of environmentalist Jairo Mora in Costa Rica prove that they should not have been cleared of their murder charges. Such is the report published by tabloid and muckraking daily Diario Extra, which has obt...

RCMP crest On Wednesday, January 21st, the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) began looking into the disappearance of Canadian businessman Ryan Craig Piercy, who is believed to have been taken hostage by captors demanding 272 million colones as ransom payment, which is more than $500K in today's currency exchange rate. Yesterday, daily tabloid Diario Extra reported th...

In the coastal town Source: Wikimedia Commons of Playa Sámara, province of Guanacaste, a homeless man was relieved of his pet boa constrictor by officers from Fuerza Publica, Costa Rica's national police force. The act of confiscation was conducted in response to calls from several neighbors in Playa Sámara who were concerned that the large snake could slither away into the community when t...

Jairo Mora's supporters The following press release on the ongoing controversy surrounding the Jairo Mora Sandoval murder trial was kindly provided to The Costa Rica Star by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. VERDICT ISSUED IN JAIRO MORA CASE: COURT COULD NOT CONDEMN THE MURDERERS, BUT WE ALL KNOW WHO THEY ARE January 27th, 2015 — COSTA RICA — Sea Shepherd Conservation Society deeply...

Jairo Mora loved to teach children about nature. Wikimedia Commons A deplorable investigation and mishandling of evidence have been cited as the key factors in the decision by a Criminal Tribunal in Limón, in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, to relieve seven male suspects of homicide charges filed against them by inept prosecutors in the Jairo Mora Sandoval murder case. To understand this...

Jairo Mora Sandoval The seven men charged with the gruesome murder of environmental activist Jairo Mora Sandoval, who was killed while exercising his passion of protecting the sea turtles that massively arrive in Costa Rica during their nesting season, have been cleared of homicide. The murder occurred in late May 2013, and an organized gang of sea turtle poachers was believed to be behind the...

Tourism Police Assisting Backpackers. Source: Fuerza Publica Over the last two months, Fuerza Publica officers assigned to the special branch of Tourism Police have been reviewing their operations and strengthening their presence in Guanacaste and other regions of Costa Rica that welcome a high number of visitors during the high season. According to a press release recently published by the...

Three elderly tourists from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom have lost their lives at sea while enjoying a catamaran cruise off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Acting President Ana Helena Chacon, who is currently in office as President Luis Guillermo Solis is on an official trip to China, held a press conference during which she indicated that 106 passengers were rescued after the...