WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking sponsors in Congress for new federal "sex tourism" criminal penalties. 

The proposed amendments would allow federal prosecutors to prosecute any American who goes abroad and engages in statutory rape or sexual abuse of a child, or pays a minor to engage in sex.

The penalties have not yet been determined, according to congressional sources, but the procedure is for administration officials to locate representatives and senators who agree to present the measure as a proposed law in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate

Meanwhile, the United Nations has announced "the entry into force" of a new international accord designed to thwart the trafficking and sexual abuse of children. The accord, called the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, calls on governments to ensure that adults involved in the exploitation of children are punished. The protocol, which sets an "international norm" for how children should be treated, has been signed by the United States and 88 other countries. The United Nations said 16 countries have ratified the measure, more than enough to put it into force. 

The proposal for new U.S. penalties for overseas sex tourism was released Thursday by Richard Boucher, the spokesman for the U.S. State Department when he talked about the  President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

The statement was a joint one from the Department 
 

President George Bush signed an executive order Wednesday establishing the task force, which  "seeks to strengthen coordination among key agencies working to fight this terrible scourge and to identify opportunities to bolster our efforts to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent future trafficking," in the words of Boucher. 

The Task Force was established by the President, as mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to ensure coordination among the various U.S. government agencies in anti-trafficking in persons initiatives. 

According to the State Department more than 700,000 persons, especially women and children, are trafficked every year throughout the world. Deprived of the most fundamental human rights and subjected to threats and violence, these modern-day slaves are made to toil under horrific conditions in brothels, sweatshops, homes, and fields, Boucher said.

Much of the activities of the task force will be to monitor human trafficking within the United States. In addition there are many grants and programs being provided to organizations that support the goals.

Among other actions, the United States has established a special visa to be awarded to persons who are victims of such activity.

This country has better uses for $35,000 than to help support a television show that pushes a Costa Rican sexual fantasy, said Bruce Harris of Casa Alianza. 

That’s why his child welfare group joined with the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Publicos to criticize the sponsorship of a Fox Network show by the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, a government agency.

The show is Temptation Island II, and the tourism institute was thrilled when Fox located the show on the Nicoya Peninsula, even though the peninsula is not exactly an island.

Harris complained that the fantasies generated by the show are "totally based in sexuality" and may encourage people to perceive Costa Rica as a sex haven to exploit children.

The reality-based show is typical Fox: Couples are depicted testing their faithfulness to their partner when confronted by attractive members of the opposite sex in romantic locations and interludes. The couple that resists temptation the longest wins money.

The money would have been better spent on getting youngsters off the street and into decent housing, he said.

Harris and his organization have been leading advocates against the sexual exploitation of children here and in other Central American countries. And he said he believes that many tourists who come here specifically seeking underage companions are suffering from mental problems that might be made worse by the fantasies of Temptation Island II.

The tourism institute has not yet responded to the complaint. Its public relations firm Porter-Novelli of Barrio Escalante is believed to be working on a press release for later today.

Harris said he has seen snippets of the television show, and he notes that two-thirds of the patrons of underage prostitutes are Costa Ricans. But it is one-third who are foreign tourists, he said.

Ralph Stumbo said Thursday he has four U.S. clients who have lost children to Costa Rican spouses.

Stumbo is the U.S. citizen who himself is engaged in a battle to gain custody of his son, 3 1/2, who was taken from the United States to Costa Rica last Aug. 1 by the boy’s Costa Rican mother.

Stumbo announced Jan. 6 that he was opening up the North American Consul for Justice, an organization that will assist parents in their custody battles. He said his firm is representing four persons, one of whom is a U.S. mother who seeks custody of her child from a Costa Rican father.

Meanwhile, the aggressive and sometimes abrasive Stumbo said that some U.S. government officials are

That he has four persons seeking his services suggests to Stumbo that many more persons are facing the same problems. "This is the tip of the iceberg," Stumbo said by telephone Thursday. "Each one is telling me that they have been in touch with other people" who have the same problem.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman has discounted a 

Stumbo said that he thinks embassy personnel are simply trying to maintain the status quo with Costa Rica and are unwilling to confront Costa Rican officials on what he sees as inadequacies and favoritism in laws here.

"I feel it is our responsibility to warn North Americans about the danger of having your child kidnapped," he said.

Typically, a male U.S. citizen loses a child to the Costa Rica woman when she takes the child and returns home. The citizen then faces the job of fighting the case in Costa Rica under Costa Rican laws. Frequently the father has an inadequate understanding of Spanish.

The situation will not go away. Several businesses, including MyTica and Spanish Eyes, advertise their role of helping U.S. citizens, mostly men, find life companions among the women of Costa Rica. Statistics say that many of these unions will end in divorce and the woman is likely to return home to the support of her family.

Stumbo said Thursday that he is serving as a spokesman for his organization which has yet to be incorporated. The actual legal work, he said, is being done by two lawyers who are on contract.

Under certain circumstances removing a child from the jurisdiction of a U.S. court to a foreign land is a federal crime of international child abduction, which is the topic of a diplomatic convention.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The French Olympic team head has denied a report quoting him as saying the French judge in Monday's pairs figure skating competition was manipulated. 

An Associated Press report quoted Didier Gailhaguet as saying his country's judge was, in his words, put under pressure to "act a certain way." But Gailhaguet has issued a denial, saying, again in his words, that he completely rejects the interpretation of his reported remarks. 

The French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, cast the deciding vote that gave Russian skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Kikharulidze the gold medal over Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier despite a clear technical error by the Russians. 

The decision has unleased a firestorm of criticism and an allegation from the U.S. official in charge of the event that one of the judges acted improperly. The International Skating Union has not revealed the nature of the allegation or the identity of the judge in question. 

Ms. Le Gougne is under orders from the International Skating Union not to say anything. 

In the latest Olympic results, Canada's Catriona LeMay Doan has won the gold medal in women's 500-meter speedskating. German skaters Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt and Sabine Volker took the silver and the bronze. 

Earlier, Johann Muehlegg of Spain won the gold medal in the men's cross-country skiing pursuit competition. Two Norwegian skiiers, Thomas Alsgaard and Frode Estil, were each awarded silver medals after a photo-finish tie for second. 

In the women's alpine combined skiing competition, Janica Kostelic of Croatia took the gold, with Renate Gotschl of Austria winning the silver and Martine Ertl of Germany taking the bronze. 

Late Wednesday, in the Woman's 1,500-meter short-track speedskating, Ko Gi-Hyun of South Korea took the gold, followed by compatriot Choi Eun-Kyung with the silver medal. The bronze medal was won by Bulgarian Evgenia Radanova. 

Bush, aides still unsure
of next step in war

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Top Bush administration officials have said again that Washington is keeping its options open on dealing with Iraq and North Korea, including the right to act against them on its own.  U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says no decision has been made on Iraq. But he says the White House will consult closely with its allies before any action is taken. 

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that North Korea is selling very dangerous ballistic missiles to just about anybody with the money to buy them. Ms. Rice said Washingtion is still interested in dialogue with North Korea, but only on specific issues and not just, for what she termed, "the sake of dialogue." 

U.S. citizen dies
on street in Quepos

A man identified as a U.S. citizen died in what may be a traffic accident in downtown Quepos late Thursday night, according to the Judicial Investigating Organization.

Investigators identified him by the last name Merkohfer and said he was 62 years old. An initial report said the man was down in the street about 11 p.m. and a driver of a car could not avoid him.

An autopsy will determine if he was the victim of an accident or of some other incident, investigators said.
 

Embassy closed

The U.S. Embassy in Pavas will be closed Monday to mark President’s Day, a U.S. holiday. Normal hours resume Tuesday, a statement said.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — President Eduardo Duhalde warns that democracy here is threatened by the nation's severe economic crisis. 

Thursday Duhalde said Pope John Paul was correct when he said recently that democracy in Argentina is in danger. On Tuesday, the pontiff condemned the deadly rioting that swept through Argentina in December. The Roman Catholic leader also said mismanagement and corruption is to blame for the crisis. But President Duhalde says he is optimistic, and he says a public work plan should be announced by the end of February. Argentina suffers from an unemployment rate in excess of 18 percent, and its national currency has been plummeting in value. 

Argentine officials say they have had positive meetings this week in Washington with the International Monetary Fund and U.S. Treasury Department. Argentina wants to borrow up to $23 billion from the International Monetary Fund to prop up its currency value. The IMF says it is too early to discuss specific loan amounts. This week's meetings were aimed at restarting loan negotiations with the IMF. Earlier talks broke down in December after the institution refused to clear a loan payment to Argentina, saying the government failed to control spending. 

IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler described this week's talks as positive, saying there was broad agreement on the analysis of the economic and social situation in Argentina. 

Last week, President Duhalde introduced a national budget that drastically reduced the cost of government. Officials also freely floated the Argentine peso, a move seen as a key element for obtaining IMF aid. Argentina is in the midst of a four-year recession and recently defaulted on a $141-billion debt. 

Bush offers new pact
on global warming

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Bush is offering an alternative to the Kyoto global warming treaty he rejected last year. 

Thursday Bush proposed a voluntary plan to slow the growth of heat-trapping gases blamed for warming the Earth's atmosphere. U.S. companies would get incentives to cut gas emissions and find alternative, non-polluting sources of energy. 

The Kyoto treaty calls for mandatory limits on gas emissions. Critics say the Bush plan does not go far enough. Congressional Democrats say the White House prefers helping big corporations over actually reducing gas emissions that boost global warming. 

Environmental groups say the Bush plan will put more pollution in the atmosphere, not less. 

But U.S. officials say they hope nations angered by the earlier U.S. rejection of the Kyoto treaty will see this new plan as a "thoughtful approach" of equal merit to the Kyoto treaty. 

President Bush discussed the proposal Thursday morning with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar, who holds the European Union's rotating presidency. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice also placed calls to world leaders on the matter. 

President Bush, who leaves Saturday on a trip to Japan, South Korea and China, unveiled the plan during a news conference at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outside Washington. Japan and China are major negotiators in the climate-change debate. 
 

Water going to be off
in western area

If you live in Escazú, you better take your shower early Saturday. Ditto in Santa Ana, Allajuelita and Desamparados. Workers for the water company, Acueductos y Alcantarillados, will be cutting the supply to work on some pumps, they said Thursday. The water will be off from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.