Former two time president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Oscar Arias Sánchez, was a guest this Thursday evening in the anniversary of TV show Camilo, a space directed by Cuban journalist Camilo Egaña and which airs on Spanish CNN; the ex-president made strong statements regarding President Trump. “I believe he is since the time of Washington (George), the most uncultured, the leas...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.    Waiting the wings of Congress are the upcoming U.S. Senate confirmation hearings of FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray for a 10-year term as leader of America’s top law enforcement agency -- the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This subject...

The U.S. State Department found significant improvement in Costa Rica's governmental efforts to prosecute human traffickers, protect victims and prevent this heinous crime, according to the agency's 2017 Report on Trafficking in Persons published last week. In the case of Costa Rica, the government's efforts showed notable success when compared with the 2016 study, allowing country to rise a le...

Mr. President, it’s time you learned how to be president of the United States of America. All we have to go on are the histories of 44 past presidents dating back more than 200 years that were stewards of this experiment in democracy. Some were great but most were political duds. But sir, you take the cake. A new-type president with a smart phone connected directly to the American peo...

Spirit Airlines opened on Saturday, July 1, a new sales and customer service office in Costa Rica to better serve local customers, said the airline. The office will be open Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. - 12 p.m. Phone queries can be made via (506) 4032-9449, where Spirit representatives will assist customers, "with the kindness and courtesy you deserve." With ove...

National Geographic Kids and LEGO City are collaborating on a special partnership to inspire children to explore, discover and learn about jungles and the importance of their preservation. As part of the initiative, LEGO City & National Geographic Kids will launch an exciting new competition on July 1 to win a National Geographic Family Expedition to the jungles of Costa Rica in Central Ame...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Is this news story real or fake? For CNN the past week has been a nightmare for the once-great Cable News Network started in 1980 by media-trail-blazer Ted Turner. News icons Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite would be ashamed of today’s mainstream med...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  As the healthcare debate rages in Washington over repeal of the Affordable Healthcare Act and its replacement the American Healthcare Act it’s obvious the new plan proposed by President Donald Trump and U.S. Senate Republicans needs more work – the details...

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, entered the following statement into the Congressional Record earlier this year to recognize Costa Rica’s strategic role as a democratic partner in the Western Hemisphere: “Mr. President: I rise today to recognize the productive partnership between the United States and Costa Rica. I recently had the cha...

Get ready for some great hoop in August when the University of Nevada men's basketball team arrives in Costa Rica for a week of matches. The Wolf Pack will take on the Costa Rican national men's basketball team and also squads from Canada from August 18 - 26. “We are so excited to take our foreign tour trip this year to Costa Rica in August,” said Eric Musselman, head coach, in a press relea...

The Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks is celebrating five years of operations in Costa Rica this week, and has announced its continued expansion both locally and in the rest of Central America. The chain has 35 stores in the region with 11 in both Costa Rica and El Salvador, seven in Guatemala, and six in Panama. Starbucks' first outlet in Costa Rica opened at Avenida Escazú. This year it ...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  For Georgia’s 6th Congressional District Democrats it’s all over but the crying. Their multi-million-dollar-backed candidate 30-year-old political novice Jon Ossoff lost to Republican veteran Karen Handel by 3.8 percentage points. She will become Georgia...

A U.S. native by the last name of Baylor was refused entry into Costa Rica on June 15 for traveling with a stolen passport, reported local Channel 7 Teletica TV news. The man somehow managed to evade security checks at the country's main Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela near the capital city, and entered the country anyway, said the report. Police then issued an alert, and a...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Tuesday’s special Congressional election in Georgia’s Sixth District -- north of Atlanta -- is now the most expensive in the history of the United States House of Representatives, coming in with a whopping estimated price tag of $40 - $50 million, and eclipsing ...

The Butterfly Palace & Rainforest Adventure in Branson, Missouri announced big plans for increasing conservation efforts for butterflies in 2017, including a major land purchase in Costa Rica. “We are committing $90,000 over this next year to help save butterflies and the rainforests they call home,” said Butterfly Palace owner, Bruce Herschend, in a press release. The money will go towa...

Costa Rica's Imperial Silver has launched the sale of its beer in the U.S. state of Colorado and the makers of Cerveza Imperial will join hands with statewide water conservation campaigns as part of its larger commitment to environmental sustainability, reported the company to Businesswire. “We have committed to a revolutionary concept of being the world’s first and only ‘water positive’ be...

President Donald Trump announced today he is nominating Florida's Sharon Day as ambassador to Costa Rica, reported the Tampa Bay Times this morning. Day has been a Trump campaign loyalist, appearing at numerous rallies in Florida, and is a key figure in Republican politics, having spoken at last year's Republican National Convention in Cleveland. She has also served as co-chair of the Republ...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  A lone shooter took aim at the U.S. Government early Wednesday morning in an act described as “political terrorism” injuring Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise -- a high-ranking Republican -- plus a staff member of Texas Rep. Roger Williams and two Capitol Pol...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Taxpaying voters are seeing the real U.S. Congress in action -- stalled out on the tarmac in Washington … sputtering along like a blown engine at a NASCAR race. Even Ray Charles can see it. You don’t have to be blind to see partisan politics is getting nothing...

Researchers from Costa Rica's Tropical Agronomic Research and Teaching Center and the non-profit Conservation International published findings on the impact of climate change in Latin America. Climatic Change magazine's special edition in March, Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystems, Agriculture and Smallholder Farmers in Central America, detailed the negative impacts of climate change in Centra...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Fireworks erupted over Washington as Former FBI Director James Comey admitted under oath that he leaked his own memo about White House meetings – through a friend – to Washington Post and New York Times reporters. This high-drama revelation came during Comey’s...

Costa Rican authorities arrested five men suspected of operating in a scam from Costa Rica through a call center operation. Initially Channel 7 news  in Costa Rica informed that the United States police was after the trace of 12 US fugitives and 1 Costa Rican: Donald Harold Dodt, Dino Nastasi, Thomas Sniffen, Sabrina Joy Mommers, Stephen Fink, Jordan Gavin, David Fairchild, Barry Harmelin, Patr...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson The worldwide uproar over President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the USA out of the United Nations sponsored Paris Climate Accord is mostly due to two reasons – one the loss of trillions of dollars overtime to help other countries c...

- United States Embassy in Costa Rica celebrates sexual diversity month with rainbow flag. "In previous years we have displayed this flag at the entrance to our embassy, ​​but starting last year, we hoisted it along with the United States flag, so that Costa Rica can see this powerful and symbolic demonstration of our commitment to tolerance, acceptance and equal rights for all citizens, regard...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  It’s hard to put most people’s first reaction to comedian Kathy Griffin’s -- video and photos of a fake beheaded President Donald Trump -- into words. Who would have known that for a moment satirical Griffin would bring together Democrats, Republicans and her ...

An American citizen wanted by authorities in Texas on charges of pedophilia was arrested Friday in the northern Chiriquí region of Panama near the Costa Rica border, according to Panama national media. The American has been identified as Carl Anthony Barroso, 68. After his arrest by the Panamanian national police he was sent to immigration authorities for his deportation to the U.S., said the S...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson President Donald Trump wrapped up his 9-day trip to cheering sailors at Sigonella U.S. Naval Air Station in Sicily, Italy, on Saturday -- his first trip overseas as president. He started this trip in Saudi Arabia – where he belted out ...

The consular section at U.S. Embassy in San José announces a consular outreach event in San Ramón on Wednesday, May 31. "Embassy staff will be available to accept adult passport renewals, perform notarial services, and take your inquiries on federal benefits and voting," said the consular section in a statement. "Got questions? ACS Chief Ben Peracchio and representatives of the con...

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis inaugurated Saturday a US$2.5 million Coast Guard Station in the country's south Pacific. The station was donated by the United States military's Southern Command (Southcom). The president's office said in a statement that the station, located in Golfito, Puntarenas province, was inaugurated by President Solis, Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata, Na...

The U.S. Peace Corps program in Costa Rica is searching for local talent to fill a new position. The program manager would be responsible for, "Building a Response Corps program of 10-15 Peace Corps Response Volunteer positions per year. Work in close collaboration with other PC Staff and local organizations to support Peace Corps/Costa Rica programs. Train and oversee the Peace Corps Response ...

Whereas last month, meteorologists saw a possible El Niño effect slowing down the formation of storms in the Atlantic-Caribbean region, they now say the probable lack of development of the phenomenon may bring on a heavier than usual hurricane season. Last year brought the unusual late season hurricane - Otto - the first to touch land in Costa Rica in recorded history. For the Atlantic, 2016...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  No sooner had President Donald Trump spoken about the continuing threat of radical Islam in Saudi Arabia – the heart of Islam -- a lone suicide bomber walked right up to a pop-music concert in Manchester, England and blew himself up along with 22 others, mostly ...

A Costa Rican court today sentenced a Costa Rican man named José Enrique Ríos Pérez to 10 years in prison on finding him guilty of raping a female Canadian tourist on March 31, 2016. On the day of the incident, the man and the tourist, whose identity was not disclosed by officials, met and talked in a bar, and then went to the defendant's house where she was going to pick up some coconut oil, a...

The U.S. dollar continues to gain strength against the Costa Rica colón with a 4.1 point rise over the weekend, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR). Monday's dollar-colón exchange rate of sale averaged ¢590.57 after strong currency trading, reported the country's business daily El Financiero. The purchase exchange rate stood at ¢577.98. The last time such ...

Ariana Grande, the Italian-descent singer from Florida, U.S. is scheduled to perform at Parque Viva in La Guácima, Costa Rica on July 9. The concert's official Facebook page hinted at the possibility of a cancellation, but had no specific information in the wake of the violent UK incident that took the lives of at least 19 people, and injured at least 50, according to international press reports. ...

Are you due for a U.S. passport renewal in 2017? If so, better get going on it soon. The U.S. State Department is expecting a tsunami of applications for either renewals or new passports this year. Why the hordes of people? No, it’s not due to the Trump presidency. U.S. passports last for ten years, and it was ten years ago that rules were changed requiring Americans traveling by air to Mexico,...

U.S. conductor, Arthur Fagen, will lead six functions in Costa Rica of "La Traviata" (literally, The Fallen Woman), the most performed opera in the world. The 3-act opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, will be performed by the Costa Rican National Lyric Company (CLN) at the Melico Salazar Theater in downtown San José in July. Fagen serves as the p...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson On his first trip abroad President Donald Trump sure had the entire world’s attention Sunday, including all the terrorists, when he addressed 55 leaders of Muslim-majority counties, representing more than 1.5 billion Muslims -- at a go...

Costa Rica and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have agreed to develop a joint groundwater exploration and evaluation project to improve resource management and minimize the impact of climate change, reported the Spanish news agency EFE last week. The Costa Rican Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) said in a press release that the Geological Survey expert, Saud Amer, who carried o...

The Rangers on Cocos Island need a fast patrol vessel and Sea Shepherd can supply that need. Sea Shepherd arrives in Costa Rica today with an offer to assist the Central American country in controlling illegal fishing in the waters surrounding its Cocos Island National Park. The non-profit, anti-poaching conservation society has offered to deploy the M/V John Paul DeJoria, a 110-foot...