Television reports about a religious group in San Gerardo de Higuito de Desamparados resulted in a major police raid Thursday morning and the arrest of two men presumed to be the leaders.

Officials said they found evidence that the group used marijuana but they did not find what they thought would be a number of such plants being cultivated.

Officials blamed the television news reporters for beating them to the site of the raid and by their presence warning the residents in the compound of the impending raid. A press release said officials think the members of the group destroyed the cultivated plants before the raid.

The 10 male and five female members of the group, called the Boboshanti, included three minors. The arrested individuals, identified by the last names and ages of León Chinchilla, 25, and Villalobos Quesada, 19, face investigation on allegations of providing drugs to minors.

In their earlier appearances on television, the turbaned members of the group were seen chanting and wearing Oriental style clothes. Most appeared to be Costa Rican. The turbans worn by the men are believed to conceal dreadlocks.

Also participating in the raid were agents from the Policía de Control de Drogas and the Patronato 

In all there are six dwellings in the compound that were raided. Members of the Fuerza Pública tactical squad showed up in force but there was no resistance from the residents, although several yelled at police after two of their number were arrested.

In addition to photos of members posing with marijuana plants, police said they found various marijuana pipes, seeds and cigarette butts.

The three minors, teenagers, were turned over to the child welfare agency.

A release from the ministry de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública said that authorities were concerned by the fanaticism that characterizes this type of group and the damage that some members might cause. This was the explanation for sending an overwhelming force on the raid. 

The Boboshanti Order is based in Kingston, Jamaica, and is a branch of the Rastafari, which is a faith and also a movement mainly among blacks. Rastas generally believe that Emperor Haile Sellassie I of Ethopia is an immortal messiah. Smoking marijauna frequently is part of the religious rites.

Those at the compound Thursday would not be described as black and their actual religious faith was not discussed.

The former owner of the well-known Hotel Petit Victoria in San José was set upon by motorcycle gunmen while he drove in San Francisco de Heredia Thursday evening.

The man, Guglielmo Proietti, an Italian citizen who has lived here about 12 years, took a bullet in the chest but managed to drive his vehicle into the gunmen, killing one. The second fled.

Proietti was said to be carrying money to make a deposit.

Investigators are still uncertain if the incident was a robbery, an effort to hijack Proietti’s car or an assassination attempt. The shooting and subsequent accident took place just before 7 p.m.

The victim went to Hospital San Vicente de Paúl in Heredia.

A receptionist at the hotel confirmed Thursday night that Proietti had sold the business, located on Calle 28 a block south of the Paseo Colón Pizza Hut.

Two from Fischel firm
ordered to be jailed

The president of Corporación Fischel, Walter Reiche Fischel, and the company lawyer, Randall Vargas Pérez, were jailed Thursday as the investigation widened into the relationship between the medical supply firm and the Caja Costarricense de Seguros Social.

Agents arrested Reiche at his Escazú home. Vargas was arrested in Curridabat. Both face allegations in the possible destruction of documents, intimidation of a witness, and the preparation of a false document, said a spokesperson for the Poder Judicial.

The documents in question are believed to relate to the ownership of the Santa Ana home rented by Eliseo Vargas, the former executive president of the Caja, the nation’s main social security and health agency.

The home is owned by a Panamanian corporation headed by Reiche.

Vargas quit his Caja job when the relationship with Fischel became known.

Environmental festivals
planned for weekend

Saturday is World Day of the Environment and several organizations will be putting on a concert and promoting environmental themes in the Plaza de la Cultura from noon until 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, at the Museo Nacional, as part of the Festival Madre Fértil Tierra Nuestra a show by Deirdre Hyde will be open to the public. The show, some 40 paintings dedicated to water, will run until June 30, a museum spokesperson said.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday at what is now called the Antigua Aduana in Barrio California. A number of stands will show projects in sustainable development. This event is sponsored by the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo.

Saturday night the festival will present the group Malpaís at the Teatro Melico Salazar at 8 p.m.

Man held on coke count

Police arrested a man Thursday morning in Palmita de Cariari near Pococí and said he was carrying a briefcase containing three kilos of cocaine.

He was identified by the last names of Ampié Solano. Officials said the arrest was made based on information supplied by police at the Barra del Colorado station.

In Costa Rica:                    From elsewhere:

A.M. Costa Rica                  Consultantes Río Colo.
Apartado 12909-1000          SB 11 
San José, Costa Rica           P.O. Box 025292
(506) 223-1327                   Miami, FL 33102-5292

My name is Robbie Felix. I am the president and founder of Fundación Roberta Felix in Manuel Antonio. We are a foundation whose primary purpose is to help handicapped children and their families in the counties of Aguirre and Parrita to improve the quality of their lives. We have built classrooms in public schools in the area for handicapped children and are completing construction of a center for said children that will offer therapy, training and other services.

The reason I am writing this letter is that because a mistake was made at Mailboxes Etc. in Pavas with regard to shipping costs, many of these children will not be receiving donated wheelchairs and therapy equipment. 

He called a week later and said it would be $680. We responded that we could pay the $680 but we really didn't have funds to pay any more than that.

The boxes arrived in San José last week. We received a call saying that the "guy in charge" had quit his job and that the shipping was $3,000 plus a customs fee of $150.

As I mentioned, we only authorized the shipping because we thought we could cover the expense. Now the wheelchairs and equipment are here, and basically CANNOT be sent back and we cannot afford $3,000. 

The manager of Mailboxes Etc has offered the equipment to us for $2,500, which is still far out of 

Had we known that the shipping was so expensive, we could have paid to have the boxes shipped back to the sender and re-shipped through a less costly service. At present we have no options. The equipment is here and cannot be shipped back, we cannot afford the shipping and they are not willing to offer us any affordable option that would make it possible to acquire the stuff.

We are in a bind. A group of 16 doctors and therapists are coming from the States to evaluate all of the handicapped children in our area June 21. We are also expecting a large number of Costa Rican students and therapists to attend the children in the same large clinic. There are about 80 kids which were to be given a thorough evaluation by physical, occupational and speech therapists on those dates, and this equipment was to be a major part of that clinic offering.

Basically our wheelchairs and equipment have been kidnapped and we cannot afford to pay the ransom! 

It is a pity as these children are generally rural poor with no resources available to them. Just getting suitable wheelchairs has been an overwhelming task and we were counting on donated materials to run our center . We found the donors and the equipment, and now it will not be available to us. Few of these families have cars, phones or other "luxury items" and have been possibly one of the most marginalized groups in this country. To be further deprived of the benefit of badly needed services is a sad state of affairs. 

I don't know if you can help with this, but we would surely appreciate any efforts on your behalf. On the part of about 100 handicapped children in the area, I thank you in advance for anything you might be able to do for us.

Warm wishes from Manuel Antonio,

Another Country Day School masterpiece, "Little Shop of Horrors" combines rock and roll, a science fiction "B" movie with some classic Broadway love ballads. 

Kevin Glass, the British and, dare we say, eccentric theatre director and principal of Country Day School high school, has gathered together a group of students and parents and turned them into one of the most dynamic and cooperative teams to ever create such a show in such a short time.

The show they have created together satirizes not only science fiction flicks of the era but musical comedy itself. The team has worked tirelessly to delve deep into each and every character — no matter how strange or clichéd it may be. The plant, "Audrey II," is a series of increasingly large and complex puppets that are wonderfully colorful, but creepy and scary too. They have been designed and built by professional artist and sculptor Margreet Wielemaker and are not to be missed.

This captivating musical begins on the rundown, urban street Skid Row and in Mr. Mushnik's rundown Skid Row flower shop. His down-at-heel shop boy, Seymour Krelbourn, discovers a new and odd (some would say, ALIEN) breed of plant that he names "Audrey II" after his secret love and co-worker in Mushnik's shop, the lovely Audrey. 

The plant has strange appetites and a very odd personality and soon grows to do some terrible 

deeds. The street girls look on and lead us through
life on Skid Row and the horrors that begin to unfold inside its flower shop. The songs are unforgettable and the hilarious dialogue keeps the plot rattling along like an express train.

"Little Shop Of Horrors" is a true testament to the high school principal’s love of drama and theater. These feelings are shared by the cast and company alike. The musical theater event of the year is here and can be seen tonight and tomorrow night at Country Day School in Escazú. 

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and costs 1,500 colons for students and 2,500 colons for adults. Tickets can be bought in advance from the Country Day School high school office. Call 289-4905.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The authors are student members of the cast. Miss Jampol is Audrey, and Mr. Liebembuk plays the voice of the alien plant.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a $387,492 grant to El Salvador in order to pay for technical assistance that will help the Central American country develop a national import processing system, according to a press release.

In keeping with the goals of the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement signed May 28, the grant "will make a difference in the ability of El 

The grant "reflects the agency's commitment to support trade capacity-building projects that expand a developing country's ability to engage in international commerce," the release said.

CARACAS, Venezuela —  Electoral officials say the opposition has collected enough voter signatures to trigger a recall referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule.

Senior National Electoral Council official Jorge Rodriguez said Thursday that, based on a preliminary count of voter signatures, Chavez opponents will have collected more than the 2.4 million required for the referendum.

Recall supporters say they collected nearly 3.5 million signatures during their petition drive, but the Chavez government had said it was only able to verify fewer than two million signatures. Late last month, recall supporters turned out at voter stations to reconfirm disputed signatures on the petitions.

President Chavez Tuesday accused his opponents of using fraud during their campaign to confirm the signatures. He alleged that some opposition voters may have used false identities and that the names of dead people appeared on the voter rolls.

Electoral officials have said that any referendum will be held in August. The Organization of American States and Atlanta-based Carter Center monitored the petition effort.

Meanwhile, gunmen here have attacked the office of the city's mayor as tensions flare over the recall effort.

Police say the assailants opened fire Thursday on the office of Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena, an opponent of the Venezuelan leader, Chavez. One police officer was slightly hurt by flying glass as the bullets shattered windows and lights. 

Groups of rioters, many of them with their faces covered, set fire to cars and trucks in Caracas near the offices of Venezuela's electoral council. They also used public buses painted with pro-Chavez slogans to barricade several streets. 

Elsewhere, Chavez sympathizers fired on the headquarters of the local Radio Caracas Television station while protesters threw stones at the windows. 

Also, attackers mobbed and severely beat opposition lawmaker Rafael Marin in downtown Caracas Thursday. He was rushed to a local hospital with head injuries.

The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago says that as of now, the twin-island nation will not contribute troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations in Haiti.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning told reporters Wednesday that there is no shortage of troops going into Haiti. He said the best way to help Haiti is through financial aid, education and opportunities for its people.

Manning made his remarks one day after some 8,000 U.N. troops and civilian police began arriving in Haiti. They are assuming command from a U.S.- led multinational force, which was rushed to Haiti after an armed revolt forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign and flee the country in February.

The U.N. troops will be under the command of Brazilian Lt. Gen. Augusto Ribeiro-Pereira. Brazil has committed 1,200 troops to lead the operation. The U.N. forces will try to disarm gangs and rebels who threaten security in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

In a related development, Jamaica is urging Haiti to facilitate the return of hundreds of migrants who fled their country following the armed revolt that forced Aristide out of office.

Jamaican officials say 100 Haitians were to have been repatriated earlier this week, but the trip was canceled because Haitian authorities did not make arrangements to receive them. 

Jamaica has been housing and caring for about 500 illegal Haitian migrants who landed on the island's shores after the February uprising. About 200 have applied for political asylum and are awaiting word. 

The U.S. Coast Guard says 122 Haitians have been repatriated to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The Coast Guard said in a statement Wednesday that the repatriation took place three days after the Haitians were rescued from an overcrowded vessel south of the Turks and Caicos Islands.