Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Nobel Peace Laureate, Kofi Annan, passed away at age 80, as a result of an illness he had been suffering, the announcement was made by his family and foundation this Saturday, August 18. Kofi Annan, was a native of Ghana, and served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from January 1997 to December 2006. We was awarded the Nobel Peace P...

The Nicaraguan government announced that the Working Group of the Organization of American States (OAS) is “not welcome” in their territory. “They are not welcome in our country, and for this reason they will not be received in our Nation’s soil”, stated the release read by chancellor Denis Moncada during a government’s act. The Working Group, formed by representatives of 12 countries, among...

Famous American singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul”, passed away this Thursday morning at her home in Detroit at the age of 76. Franklin, who is regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time, lost a long battle to pancreatic cancer; the artist had announced her retirement from the stages last year, her last live show was in November 7, 2017 when she performed at the C...

Costa Rica joined the Organization of American States (OAS) Working Group on Nicaragua, "whose mandate is to contribute to the search for peaceful and sustainable solutions to the evolving situation in Nicaragua, including through consultations with the Government of Nicaragua." The Working Group for Nicaragua is composed of a representative of each regional group and other Member States and mu...

The crisis that continues to affect Nicaragua has left 70,000 people out of jobs according to Lucy Valenti , President of Nicaragua’s National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR). After almost 4 months of violence in the streets, several hotels have been forced to closed their doors due to the decrease in the number of clients. Back in June Volaris Airlines had announced the suspension of its flights ...

Recently, the General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica had to implement a call center service to handle the large number of appointments for refugee applications, the majority of which come from Nicaraguan citizens. Even though, the Director of Migration, Raquel Vargas and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Epsy Campbell have stated in different occasions that the situation is still not con...

The United States strongly condemns the ongoing violence in Nicaragua and human rights abuses committed by the Ortega regime in response to protests. After years of fraudulent elections and the regime’s manipulation of Nicaraguan law – as well as the suppression of civil society, opposition parties, and independent media – the Nicaraguan people have taken to the streets to call for democratic refo...

(Press Release - US Embassy Managua) On Thursday, July 19, the celebration of the Sandinista Revolution will take place in Managua. The event is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m. at Plaza la Fe, although attendees will likely gather before noon. U.S. Government personnel have been advised to remain in their neighborhoods during the celebration. Road closures and traffic disruptions are expe...

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) presided by Ambassador of Costa Rica Rita Hernandez approved a resolution condemning the acts of violence in Nicaragua and called on all parties to participate “actively and in good faith” in the National Dialogue and urged the Government “to support an electoral calendar”. The resolution approved by the Permanent Council with 2...

The tourism industry in Nicaragua is one of the most affected as a result of the crisis that goes now on three months and has left close to 350 people dead and thousands injured. During the month of June, Volaris Airlines had announced the suspension of its flights from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, and hotels such as Mukul Auberge Resorts Collection in Rivas, the Seminole Hotel and the Teodolinda M...

Emojis are those fun, cute cartoon symbols we use in texts and add to social media posts. Today we celebrate all 2,800 of them, from the over-used face with tears of joy, to the seldom-used person playing water polo. World Emoji Day was founded in 2014 by Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge. The purpose of the celebration is to “promote the use of emojis and spread the enjoyment that they bring to ...

“The Government of Costa Rica strongly condemns the use of violence in students and citizens on the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAM)”; the Costa Rican government made the statement this Sunday when ten people were killed and dozens more wounded in clashes in Nicaragua. “For decades Costa Rica has dedicated to promoting peace and liberty, democracy and development, for this rea...

Under the slogan, “Together we are a Volcano” (Juntos somos un volcán) thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets of Managua this Thursday, July 12 to demand the resignation of President Daniel Ortega. The march is the first of three days of scheduled protests against the Nicaraguan government, this Friday protesters call for a national strike and on Saturday a civic caravan. Ortega however, ref...

The world is watching as more than 1,000 emergency rescuers free a youth soccer team and their coach trapped in a remote cave in northern Thailand. However they all got into this predicament does not matter now. What matters is these young lives matter. Life is precious. When the news broke around the world that 12 boys from 11-to-16-years old and their 25-year old coach went missing in a dark ...

Thousands of supporters of the government of President Daniel Ortega marched this Saturday in Managua, Nicaragua to chants of “He stays, my commander stays!”, “We want peace!”. President Ortega finally broke silence with regards to the demands of early elections made by protestors and ruled out this possibility, speaking to supporters and state employees, he stated: “The rules here are set b...

PRESS RELEASE Reconsider travel to Nicaragua due to crime, civil unrest, and limited healthcare availability. On July 6, 2018, the U.S. government ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel. The U.S. Embassy remains open to provide emergency services for U.S. citizens. Heavily armed, government-controlled parapolice forces in civilian clothing, sometimes numbering i...

The number of deaths as a result of the crisis in Nicaragua continues to grow, while the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights estimates the death toll of some 285, other unofficial sources put the number way over 300. This Wednesday thousands of Nicaraguans formed a human chain in a main road that connects Managua to Masaya, to demand that President Daniel Ortega leaves the Government and ...

Photo Credit: US Embassy in Costa Rica The United States embassy in Costa Rica began the celebration of the 242 years of independence the evening of July 3rd with a formal gathering with personnel of the American Embassy and representatives of the Costa Rican government. “The United States was built in the principles of freedom, democracy and liberty and its these founding principles that stre...

A group of U.S. citizens living in Costa Rica, gathered in front of the US embassy this Saturday to manifest against Trump’s immigration policies. Chanting “What is democracy? Resisting is Democracy!” and “We are ashamed!” while holding signs with messages like “Liberty for children in the boarder”, “No to families’ separation”, “They are refugees, please help them”, “Stop tearing families apar...

A new report released today by the non-governmental organization, Nicaraguan Pro Human Rights Association (ANPDH in Spanish), confirms that the total number of victims that the conflict in this country has left since April 18 is 285, while 2500 have been injured, 156 are missing and 42 are permanently disabled; the report also details that among those who lost their live are 20 minors, 1 journalis...

The crisis that has affected Nicaragua since mid-April and that has left over 200 deaths, including a 1 ½ year-old baby, according to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), has affected the Central American country not just socially but also economically. Commerce both in imports and exports has been affected as well as the tourism industry. Today Volaris airlines, for instance, an...

After two months of conflict in Nicaragua and a death toll of close to 200 people, violence continues in the streets of the Central American country as the protests against the government of Daniel Ortega and its repression seem unlikely to come to an end soon. The national dialogue resumed last Friday but it advances at a slow pace. The Government accepted this Friday the presence in the coun...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) concluded after an investigation that Venezuelan national Diosdado Cabello Rondon (Cabello) has used his influence to personally profit from extortion, money laundering and embezzlement, and has used countries such as Costa Rica for his money laundering activities. Along with Cabello, his wife Marleny Josefina Contrer...

The Bureau of Consular Affairs of the United States Department of State issued a Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) advisory for Nicaragua due to “crime, civil unrest and limited healthcare availability”. Nicaragua has been facing a serious crisis that began in April 18, when college students took to the streets to protest the revocation of the social security and pension reforms approved unilaterally...

The Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy of Nicaragua called for a national strike this Thursday, June 14, to demand the end of repression and violence which has caused the death of at least 150 civilians. “This is a civic and peaceful strike that covers the entire country and all the economic activities”, explained the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy of Nicaragua which gathers bus...

After almost two months of protests and violence which has left, according to the latest data from the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), 139 fatal victims, Nicaraguans in Costa Rica and other parts of the world continue so show their support to the protesters through pacific manifestations. This Sunday, Nicaraguans gathered in San Jose, they marched from from the Central Park to the ...

Road blocks in several areas of Nicaragua, particularly 52 kilometers North from Managua, in the area known as Las Maderas have had hundreds of trailer and cargo trucks from different Central American countries stuck for days. According to Francisco Quiros, executive director of the National Chamber of Cargo Drivers, close to 100 trucks from Costa Rica have been stuck for almost a week now in...

The Guatemala airport has remained closed since yesterday after the eruptions of Volcan de Fuego; the eruptions of the volcano which stands at 3,763 meters and is situated 35 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City caused the death of at least 25 people. International Airport of La Aurora remained closed for several hours due to the emergency and currently is operating irregularly causing the di...

Violence in Nicaragua continues, and this Saturday it left another three fatal victims, among them, a United States citizen. The death of the three men occurred in confusing circumstances during conflict between mobs. The American citizen was identified by Nicaraguan authorities as Sixto Henry Vera, 48 years of age and it was attributed to “delinquent groups that operate in the area with fi...

Photo: Archives The crisis continues in Nicaragua as the government and the opposition fail to come to terms. According to EFE, the Nicaraguan Health Minister Sonia Castro confirmed Thursday that 15 people have died and 199 have been wounded over the past two days of protests around the country. While the Nicaraguan Center of Human Rights (CENIDH) detailed in a preliminary report that enco...

Across the pond, Prince Harry and his Hollywood-dream-girl Meghan Markle stole the spotlight off Washington, DC -- giving us a break from you know what – all the lawyers, politicians and investigations. It’s nice to see a young couple obviously in love about to embark on their public life. At 36-years-old Miss Meghan shines bright in the spotlight. Mainstream media began doing live remotes from...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Costa Rica, stated through a press release on Sunday evening, their position regarding the presidential elections that took place in Venezuela that same day. “Costa Rica does not recognize the legitimacy of the electoral process carried out this Sunday, May 20 in the Republic of Venezuela”. Costa Rica considers the election processed lacked transparency sinc...

1,276 Venezuelan citizens are registered to vote in Costa Rica, however, the majority chose not to cast their vote and this was evident in the movement at the Venezuelan embassy in San Pedro were very few made an appearance. Even though they preferred not to vote, members of this community gathered at the Plaza de la Democracia in San Jose to protest against this election process/ “None of us ...

The crisis in Nicaragua continues after one month despite the initial attempts of a national peace dialogue that took place this week. The confrontation between the Nicaraguan government and the protesters has left so far over 63 deaths. Nicaragua is the fourth commercial partner of importance for Costa Rica, where exports reach close to $500 million a year. The repercussions of the crisis...

“Costa Rica expresses its solidarity to Nicaragua and regrets the events that have caused the loss of human lives which harm fundamental aspects related to the dignity and physical security of the people”, this is part of the statement made by the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in relation to the tension and violence that Nicaragua has lived in over the past three weeks. “Costa Rica su...

Tension continue in Nicaragua where after three weeks the protests against the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.    The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) has the death toll raised to 50, however, other humanitarian organizations register as many as 63 dead. The protests are led by the group “April 19 Student Movement” formed by university students which has also receive...

Iranian fanatics were on full display after President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the United States of America was going rogue pulling out of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal spearheaded by former President Obama and former Secretary of State John Kerry. Right there on the floor of the Iranian Parliament government leaders were jumping up and down screaming “Death to America” while burning an Amer...

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) awarded 20 public and private organizations in Costa Rica the seal “Living Integration”, in recognition for their support to refugees or those who are applying for their condition as refugees in Costa Rica. The seal Living Integration certifies the commitment, through concrete actions that the organizations have implemented in the last year with this po...

Photo by Andy Mann / Waitt Foundation Facebook The expedition between Galapagos Island National Park in Ecuador and Coco Island National Park in Costa Rica took place April 2 through April 13 with the purpose of identifying marine migratory species that use this route and to quantify their distribution, abundance and diversity of their predators. The expedition was possible thanks to the joi...

According to a report by the New York Times posted this Wednesday, the Washington Redskins cheerleading squad revealed that they could have been victims of sexual exploitation during a trip to Costa Rica in 2013. The group of women apparently traveled to Costa Rica for a calendar photo shoot which took place at the Occidental Gran Papagayo Resort in Culebra Bay, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Some ...