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German Resident Found Killed on Guanacaste Farm as OIJ Investigates

Tico Times - June 29, 2026

Crime

Debate Reignited Over Ayahuasca as Shamans Face Arrest in Mexico

Costa Rica

Costa Rican Police Arrest 10 in Sagrada Familia Raids

Costa Rica

The Battle for Drug Routes in Costa Rica: Sinaloa, Jalisco and Colombian Traffickers Compete

German Resident Found Killed on Guanacaste Farm as OIJ Investigates

Tico Times - June 29, 2026

A German woman who lived in Costa Rica was found dead with stab wounds inside a farmhouse in the canton of Santa Cruz, and...

Debate Reignited Over Ayahuasca as Shamans Face Arrest in Mexico

AFP - April 16, 2024

Wearing a necklace of jaguar fangs and a green feather headdress, shaman Claudino Perez is back home in Colombia overseeing an ayahuasca ceremony after...

Costa Rican Police Arrest 10 in Sagrada Familia Raids

Tico Times - April 26, 2023

Costa Rican police have arrested ten people in the Sagrada Familia sector of San José, following eleven raids carried out by the Narcotics Section...

The Battle for Drug Routes in Costa Rica: Sinaloa, Jalisco and Colombian Traffickers Compete

Tico Times - April 24, 2023

The United Nations Global Cocaine Report has revealed that the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, along with Colombian drug traffickers, are competing for...

Police in Costa Rica protest over fewer days off for anti-crime operation

AFP - April 21, 2023

Several demonstrations of off-duty police officers took place on Thursday in Costa Rica in protest against the reduction of rest hours imposed by the...

Murderer of Costa Rican Indigenous Leader Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison

Ileana Fernandez - February 2, 2023

Juan Varela Rojas was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the murder of Brörán de Térraba indigenous leader Jehry Rivera in February 2020. The...

Alleged Leader of MS-13 gang from El Salvador captured in Costa Rica

AFP - January 21, 2023

Costa Rican authorities arrested on Friday a Salvadoran man who they identified as the alleged "leader" of a clique (cell) of the MS-13 gang...

Autistic child assaulted at a Costa Rican school

Ileana Fernandez - June 18, 2022

A 10-year-old boy was assaulted at the Tranquilino Saenz Rojas School in Santa Barbara de Heredia by one of his classmates, on Tuesday. The...

Jill Biden learns about Costa Rica’s Sembremos Seguridad Project

Ileana Fernandez - May 24, 2022

Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, visited the Alajuelita canton on Monday to learn about the progress of “Sembremos Seguridad”, a drug...

Costa Rica to Punish Hate Crimes with up to 35 years in Prison

AFP - April 26, 2022

Costa Rica will punish "hate crimes" with prison sentences of between 20 and 35 years crimes according to a law enacted Monday and welcomed...

From Target to Enforcer: Honduras Minister Vows ‘surgical’ Cartel Fight

AFP - April 7, 2022

Forced into hiding after targeting a drug cartel with alleged ties to the then-government, Honduras's hounded police chief-turned interior minister has vowed to extract...

7 People in Costa Rica Found Dead with Shots to the Head

AFP - March 3, 2022

7 people were found dead Wednesday with gunshots to the head in Limon, Costa Rica's Caribbean province, authorities said, in an apparent dispute between...

Knife Assaults account for 15 percent of homicides in Costa Rica

The Tico Times - March 1, 2022

Unfortunately, crime is increasing in Costa Rica and tourists are frequent victims. While petty theft is the main problem, armed robberies have been known...