Chief prosecutor to give
explanation to magistrates


Another scandal is brewing, and the characters are well-known:

Rodrigo Arias Sánchez, the brother of the former president who has his own aspirations for the next election,

Jorge Chavarría Guzmán, the new fiscal general and a long-time executive in the Poder Judicial,

José María Tijerino, the security minster.

La Nación, the daily newspaper, revealed Friday that prosecutors canceled an interrogation session to which Rodrigo Arias had been invited. Chavarría, who had been confirmed but had not yet taken office, appears to have been the person who caused the prosecutors to back down. The session, called an indagatoria in Spanish, is a formal aspect of an investigation here. It carries much more weight than a simple questioning.

Tijerino said in a statement that Rodrigo Arias asked him to intercede with Chavarría but that he declined to do so because he respects the division of powers. He did say he made calls to another prosecutor.

Chavarría who was selected by magistrates of the Corte Suprema de Justicia Oct. 4, only took office Oct. 16. The questioning of Rodrigo Arias was supposed to take place Oct. 8. The new fiscal general has been summonsed to give his version to the full court today.

The investigation, which is believed to have been started again, involves the activities of Rodrigo Arias when he was his brother's minster of the Presidencia. Then he and his brother authorized contracting a number of workers with funds from the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica. The contract agreements were outside the budget and the contracts did not have the review that government agreements receive.

Many of the jobs were designed to advance the approval of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Legislative  opponents of that agreement already are calling for Chavarría to resign.


René Castro carries case
of Río San Juan to Spain


René Castro, the foreign minister, is in Spain today seeking Spanish support as Costa Rica continues to seek relief from the Nicaraguan invasion at the Isla Calero.

Castro has been to England, Germany and Norway with the same message.

He went to Europe primarily to participate in the case before the International Court of Justice where Costa Rica seeks a restraining order against the Nicaraguan regime and the work on the island and in the Río San Juan, which runs across the country's northern border.

Costa Rica was seeking quick action from the international court, which is an agency of the United Nations. Now some are not sure. Nicaragua appears to have presented a case much stronger than expected.

The latest round came last week when the Nicaraguan judicial delegation was asked to provide written answers to questions from the court magistrates. Then Costa Rica had a chance to comment in writing on the Nicaraguan responses.

Meanwhile, dredging and digging activities continue on the Isla Calero. Nicaragua is seeking to install a direct mouth of the river to the Caribbean to circumvent the existing meandering river course. That will open the river to tourism and for development in the adjacent area.

Those who live in the northern area fear that a mouth of the Río San Juan sufficient to shipping will divert water from the Río Colorado, which is totally in Costa Rican territory. Costa Ricans also complained in the Hague-based court that Nicaragua had done major environmental damage.

The Nicaraguan invasion has given Costa Rican officials an incentive to beef up the security of the border. Nicaragua claimed that the island and nearby parts of Costa Rica were being used by international drug smugglers. There is some truth to this claim. The Costa Rican Defensoría de los Habitantes traveled to the area and reported on difficulties that police have in patrolling the zone.

Costa Rican officials have authorized the construction of some roads along the San Juan to help patrol the area. The river is totally Nicaraguan, and armed Costa Rican police are prohibited from traveling by boat, which so far is the preferred method of transport in the area.


Blaze ravages top floor
of Ciudad Quesada hospital
 

Fire Saturday night destroyed the third floor of the private Hospital Cooperativo San Carlos Borromeo in Ciudad Quesada.

There were no injuries reported, but the blaze gutted administrative offices, an ophthalmology section and other areas with expensive medical equipment.

Firemen got the call about 6:26 p.m. The first truck was at the scene four minutes later, and eventually units came from Pital and Zarcero as well as Ciudad Quesada.

Fire officials said they were successful in keeping the flames from reaching a pharmacy on the second floor. Firemen also had to remove some oxygen tanks from the scene to avoid an explosion.

Fire officials said that on arrival they began a search of the structure to see if there were any individuals still inside. Then they attacked the fire, which had made headway.

The entire third floor was spouting flames at the height of the blaze.

The private hospital is near the public hospital in the community.