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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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 Ministerio de Gobernación
Policía y Seguridad Pública photo
Couple wanted in Grenada
detained by agents here By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Agents from the International Police Agency and police tactical squad members arrested a Nicaraguan couple suspected of murder in their home country. The arrest took place in Paso Ancho Friday, according to an Interpol press release. The suspects, Mauricio Pilarte Romero and Norma Alemán Romero, are wanted in Granada, Nicaragua. They along with two of their four children, were detained without resistance in a taxi in which they were riding, according to the release. The Nicaraguans are suspects in the April 13 murder of 63-year-old Matilde Alberto Berroteran Silva. They are also suspected of stealing $2,000 from the victim. Two other suspects, Pilarte Romero and Sandino Alemán, were arrested earlier in connection with the same crime, said Interpol. The body was discovered in a vacant lot the day after his murder, his hands and feet tied, according to the release. The couple had been detained May 1 in Linda Vista de Patarrá by the Policía Especial de Migración officials, but Nicaragua had not yet applied for a provisional arrest and extradition warrant, so they were released. The couple's four children were placed into the custody of the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia following the initial arrest in May, but the suspects, who constantly changed addresses to evade authorities, eventually kidnapped the minors from the family they had been placed with near Tres Ríos, the release said. The suspects are now under the authority of the Tribunal Penal de San José. The two children with them at the time of the arrest are back in the custody of the national children's organization. Officials of the Judicial Investigating Organization are attempting to recover the remaining two children, according to the release. Our reader's opinion
Reader wants to havename of criminal judges Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Almost every day we read another article about a judge in Costa Rica releasing an alleged criminal so that he can return freely to his criminal activities on the street. Or we hear of a judge who has released another drunk driver without even suspending his license to drive. Or a judge who has permitting another miscreant to continue to drive his truck or automobile even though he has killed someone while recklessly driving. In many of these news stories reporting crime, the last name only of the alleged criminals is given — fairly useless information, wouldn't you say? And another way Costa Rican-style justice protects the country's growing population of criminals. What is conspicuous in its absence in all of these news reports is the name of the judge who has permitted another criminal to go free — the CORRUPT judge. (Let us call it what it is!) I suspect this reticence in publicizing the names of corrupt judges is because of the fear of libel laws. Well, we all know how likely it is for that law to be changed in Costa Rica, so I do not expect to read the names of these corrupted judicial officials any time soon in any media. However, is there not somewhere one can go (preferably on the Internet) to find a list of the names of the judges in this country? Do we, the citizens and residents and tourists of Costa Rica, not have the right to know the names of our corrupt neighbors? Can we not — at the very least — hold these corrupt scoundrels up to ridicule and the disgrace that they deserve by secretly whispering to our friends and neighbors, "See that guy over there. He is a judge. So, of course, he is totally corrupt! Do not befriend him or assist him in any way. Avoid him and his entire family at all costs!" Lair Davis
Grecia de Alajuela EDITOR'S NOTE: We cannot accept the notion that the bulk of the judges here are corrupt. There are many reasons criminals are released. The concept of "innocent until proven guilty" has been a guiding theory in American-Anglo jurisprudence as well as the Napoleonic code here. And the truth is that the prisons are overcrowded.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| Suspect
would be surprised at how they got this evidence |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Here's the downside of being a drug smuggler: If they catch you, there is a chance that your internal organs will show up in a police press release. That is what happened to a 25-year-old man with the last names of Rodríguez Sibaja. The Alajuelita native was on his way to Havana and then Paris and Barcelona Friday morning when something he ate did not agree with him at the Juan Santamaría airport. Investigators say that what he ate was a series of small packages of liquid cocaine. Agents said that he began showing signs of drug intoxication at the airport, and when they interviewed him, he threw up three 10-gram packages of the drug. Smuggling drugs by ingesting small amounts usually wrapped in condoms is a frequent event at any major airport. But the Policia de Control de Drogas said this is the first time they have seen cocaine in a liquid form being transported this way. They are taking credit for saving the life of the 25-year-old. As soon as police suspected what was going on, they took Rodríguez to a hospital. Surgeons operated and a security ministry photographer shot the operation from start to finish. The photos then |
 Ministrio De Gobernacón,
Policía y Seguridad Pública photo
All of these packets of a suspected drug
were taken from the interior of a drug-smuggling suspect.
were e-mailed to newspapers along with the report of the arrest. A check of local Spanish-language newspapers shows that none used the very graphic photos of surgeons digging deeply for the drugs. In all, the medical team extracted 86 packages. Police estimate that the drugs recovered will be nearly a kilo or 2.2 pounds. The ministry said that Rodríguez could spend 20 years recovering. He will face an allegation of international drug smuggling, the ministry said. |
| Foundation
plans a march against prostitution in Jacó Friday |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Fundación Rahab plans a march Friday in Jacó to draw attention to the trafficking of humans in Central America. The organization said the march will begin at 9 a.m. in front of the Best Western Hotel. Marchers will end at the municipal building in the south end of town, an announcement said. The foundation launched an anti-prostitution program in the Jacó area in 2006, in part with money provided by the U.S. Embassy. The project is “Prevention, Protection, and Direct Attention for Victims of Human Trafficking in the Central Pacific Region,” the foundation said. Regarding the march, the foundation said in a release: "We |
desire for
this to be a collaborative effort of the community in order to show our
unified protest against absurd violations of human rights, so we invite
you to join this effort in the capacity that you feel able." The organization also said it was seeking donations and volunteers to help with the effort. Jacó is a center of prostitution in Costa Rica, although most of the sex workers there seem to be doing so willingly. In San José the foundation works with former prostitutes to provide them with marketable skills. Rahab is a biblical figure who lived in Jericho and helped the Israelites invade the city and then gave up her profession. |
| Fake
passport with photo of prisoner causes officials to suspect a jail break |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The photo of a Mexican detained a year ago in Rohrmoser showed up in a fake passport in the possession of a woman last week, leading officials to think that something might be afoot. The woman, identified by the last names of Sandoval Doñán is now in preventative detention for two months, according to the Poder Judicial. The man involved, who was detained in May 2007, has the |
last name of Malaña. He was
arrested in the same police action that
resulted in the confiscation of some 2.2 tons of cocaine. The Poder
Judicial said that the woman was involved with the Sinaloa drug cartel
in México. Officials speculate that the woman and some associates were in Costa Rica in an effort to free the man from prison. Jail officials took the precaution of moving the man to a more secure location, they said. Although the passport had the photo of Malaña, all the other details, including the name, were false, officials said. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica fourth news page |
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California man sent to U.S.
in Costa Rica child sex case
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Cuba's Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores said Saturday that the country has turned over to U.S. authorities a man wanted as a suspect for sex crimes in Costa Rica. Cuban officials identified the man as Leonard B. Auerbach.
According to court documents filed in the case, during those searches, agents discovered computers and thumb drives containing images of Auerbach with a minor female in various stages of undress. Data embedded in those digital images indicated they were taken as early as September 2004, when the child was only 12 years old. The girl is now 16. Auerbach is 61. Cuban officials said that Auerbach arrived May 7 from |
México. They said there was
no evidence that he had committed any crimes in that country. Auerbach was declared a fugitive April 17. Auerbach was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, California, for arraignment April 9, 2008. He never appeared for court and his whereabouts were unknown. The case affidavit also includes excerpts from conversations that were secretly recorded in July 2007 in which Auerbach refers to his "girlfriend," acknowledging her age and having sex with her. In those conversations, Auerbach also comments on pictures he took of the girl when "her clothes are off or half on." "This case is yet another reminder that pedophiles mistakenly believe they can evade detection and prosecution by committing sex crimes outside the United States," said Mark Wollman, special agent in charge for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of investigations in San Francisco. He made the comments when the agency went public and asked for the help of the public. Cuban police arrested Auerbach May 7. Officials there said that the allegation against the man were grave and involved a crime against which Cuba was fighting aggressively. Traveling internationally for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a minor by an American citizen is a crime U.S. officials prosecute even if the act happened overseas. |
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Chavez says he will visit
Havana today to see his friend Fidel
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez says he plans to visit his close friend and ally Fidel Castro in Cuba today. Chávez made the announcement during his regular Sunday television and radio programs. The reason for his visit is not known. |
Chávez last met with the
former Cuban leader in March. That visit took
place shortly after Castro turned over power to his younger brother,
Raúl, after nearly 50 years. Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since July 2006 when he underwent intestinal surgery. He has, however, appeared in videos and photographs, and articles attributed to him have been published in the state-run media. |
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U.S. politicians
wrestle with crude oil options By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Amid record-high gasoline prices, America's energy future has emerged as a major issue in this year's U.S. elections. Democrats and Republicans are offering markedly different plans to address the issue. Like people in many countries, Americans love their cars and the freedom to travel wherever and whenever they please. But a surge in gasoline prices is squeezing family budgets and forcing many people to alter their driving habits. With anger rising across the country, U.S. politicians are responding with a flurry of proposals. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's plan focuses on increasing U.S. oil production by authorizing drilling in, among other places, an ecologically-sensitive region in Alaska. She is a Texas Republican. Speaking on the Fox News Sunday television program, she argued that, at a time when global oil output barely matches demand, it makes no sense to forgo opportunities to boost crude supplies. President George Bush has also urged expanded drilling in Alaska, but leaders in the Democratically controlled Congress say it would take years before the initiative actually yielded oil, and the added production would only marginally boost domestic supplies. More fundamentally, Democrats say the long-term key to addressing America's energy needs is not to scour the earth in search of finite reserves of fossil fuels, but to stress conservation while redirecting consumption towards alternative energy sources. Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota also appeared on Fox News Sunday. "We have got to address renewable in a very significant way. Yes, we should produce more, we should drill more, but you cannot drill your way out of this," said Dorgan. "We have to have a different energy mix because 60 percent of our oil now comes from off our shore. This is all about change." Gasoline prices have continued to rise, despite a leveling off of U.S. consumption as Americans drive less and rely more on public transportation. That fact has led some to argue the real culprit behind the current spike in oil prices is speculation by energy investors. Some lawmakers in Washington are calling for stricter regulations on energy trading markets as well as new taxes on oil companies that are enjoying record profits. The presumed presidential nominees of both major U.S. political parties oppose expanded Alaska oil drilling and say the United States must change its energy consumption habits. In addition, Republican John McCain is proposing a temporary lifting of federal gasoline taxes to ease the strain on Americans' wallets. Democrat Barack Obama says the savings would be minimal and would rob the government of funds needed for road construction and other infrastructure projects. Instead, Obama has proposed a $1,000 tax cut for middle-income earners. |
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