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| A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
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Our readers' opinions
Honduran army didcorrect thing for country Dear A.M. Costa Rica: President Manuel Zelaya was kicked out of his country and brought to Costa Rica moments after trying to imitate the sneaky habits of some of his colleagues from Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. He is trying to change the nation's constitution to benefit himself by allowing himself to be reelected indefinitely just like President Chávez did with his country. The people from Honduras who are well known for defending their ideals, their democracy and their freedom did not allow their president to become a dictator. The national army immediately was able to recognize the worries of their citizens and act accordingly without delays. The military did good in removing the president in his pajamas and kicking him out of the country before it was too late. It is clear that Honduras will not tolerate wannabe dictators. Some leaders start out well and then fall in love with power and their political job and don´t want to let go, trying to make their will more important than the will of the people who elected them. The Honduran army is defending the freedom, the constitution and won´t allow anyone to break there laws, even if it´s the president who thinks he is above the law. Too bad the Venezuelan army doesn´t have the balls that the Honduran army has. Gregory Kearney Lawson
San José Colombia will not return abducted man's daughter Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I'm appalled, disgusted, shocked the fact that Nicole Kater kidnapped the 7-year-old daughter from the father in the middle of a custody battle and Costa Rica didn't abide by the Hague convention. My former wife tried to kidnap our daughter to Bogota, Colombia, when she was 7. She's now 13 and was born in Florida. Thank God I was home to get a call to confirm reservations for our daughter and my wife at that time. Then I took our daughter to a motel, calling her mother everyday while I was filing for my divorce and I put a red alert on our daughter's American passport. When our daughter was 11 my former wife with me went to mediation court for our daughter to be with her Colombian family for a vacation signed by the mediator, my former wife, myself plus the judge. My former wife lied on that paper with a false address and phone number. Then I was calling and e-mailing the American Embassy. Finally they contacted the Colombian government, giving me the real phone number, but my wife hung up the phone during my conversation with our daughter. In that e-mail from the American Embassy it was written when the taking parent is Colombian in most cases the Hague convention was ignored. Nicole Kater then had another child. Both of her children have fathers. One is American living in California. Where are his rights? Ed Fulmer
Cape Coral, Florida Organized crime measure may facilitate extortion Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Let me get this straight: under the new organized crime bill, "most crimes could be categorized as organized crimes if two or more persons participate." So if my neighbor and his son steal my pig, they could be prosecuted as organized criminals like the Colombian cartel kingpins? Who's going to decide whether my neighbor/his son are really organized or just high on guaro and jonesin' for some fresh chuletas? The nature of the law suggests to me that the wealth of the alleged criminals may well turn out to be the primary determinant, rather than the severity of the crime that's committed. As A. M. Costa Rica pointed out, this law is wide open for potential abuses because "the bill also will allow various police agencies and the Instituto Costarricense Sobre Drogas to share in the confiscated goods or money." Starving government agencies, many of which are corrupt to begin with, should not be given the authority to seize properties in this fashion or to benefit from seizures because (1) they will undoubtedly go where the money is, and that means foreigners/foreign investors, and; (2) given the dysfunctional and corruption in the court system, an illicit seizure validated by false or inflated evidence could take years to rescind, creating personal and financial disaster for the unfortunate persons in the crosshairs. Extortion directed at property/business owners could run rampant under this law. One might presume that anything is better than not having a single law on the books against conspiracy to commit a crime, which is the way it is here now. But this is just preposterous, not to mention ominous! Combined with the threat of violent and often well financed bands of squatters attacking property/property rights with impunity and greedy Ticas exploiting the laws against domestic violence to steal homes, passage of this law could well be the knockout blow to the security of foreign property owners and investors as well as future investments from abroad. Can't those pinheads in San Jose do ANYTHING without shooting themselves in both feet? I'm thinking that the good folks at National Lampoon are in the midst of a hearty standing ovation right about now. Dean Barbour
Manuel Antonio
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 A.M. Costa Rica photo
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| Union
members, student Communists and members of Frente Amplio and even some
Hondurans rallied in favor of Honduran President-in-exile José
Manuel Zelaya at Casa Amarilla, the foreign ministry, at lunchtime
Wednesday. José Merino del Río, a legislator, |
and others urged Zelaya's quick reinstatement. Many motorists urged the quick completion of the rally because it tied up Avenida 5 for 10 blocks west and dumped lines of extra traffic into the downtown. Our story on Zelaya today is HERE! |
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Police gearing up for midyear
vacation exodus from cities
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Policía de Tránsito will be putting 800 officers on the highways to keep an eye on vacationers, starting Saturday. Public school children go on midyear vacation Friday, and traditionally families go to the beaches or mountains. Tourism operators are hoping for a bump in their income as a result of the vacation, and many are offering special prices for residents. The museums will be active during the vacations for youngsters who do not go out of town. The Museo Nacional has two weeks of workshops and the Museos del Banco Central kicks off the holiday with kites, clowns and |
balloons Sunday starting at 10 a.m.
on the Plaza de la Cultura. The transport ministry said that traffic officers will be looking for reckless drivers, speeding, use of alcohol, use of cell phones and the absence of car seats for youngsters. The extra police presence will continue until July 19 when vacation ends, said the ministry. Police will establish a command post in Naranjo and keep watch on the routes that lead to vacation spots, said the ministry. The boost to tourism is usually moderate for midyear vacation because many Costa Ricans stay with family members who live at vacation spots. |
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Wave of extortions at
Limón hospital called inside job
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
For more than a year medical professionals at the Limón public hospital have been getting threats from individuals who knew a lot about their personal lives and families. The physicians and health workers were told that unless they paid up, some action would be taken against them or their families, perhaps even their children. Some paid up. Others quickly left their job and the Caribbean community. All worked at Hospital Tony Facio. In some cases, the only practitioner in a certain specialty |
pulled out,
leaving the hospital unable to care for some patients adequately. The Judicial Investigating Organization now says that the data on the health care professionals was gathered by someone working at the hospital. They arrested a surgical nurse and said he was the source of personal information that was used by the criminals. They also arrested two other persons in a sting operation with marked bills. There is every indication that the criminal organization is much greater than the trio detained this week. The Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, which operates the hospital, has expressed continual concern. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica fourth news page |
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An analysis of
the news
Broad brush to paint human trafficking is not very helpful |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
When law enforcement officials and politicians talk about human trafficking, they seldom are very specific. But there is a big difference between an individual migrating voluntarily from one country to another and someone being forced against their will into slavery. Frequently the many types of trafficking are blurred by legislation and statements by politicians. A 2006 change in Costa Rica's immigration law criminalized the business of being a coyote, a person who helps people immigrate. A Costa Rican in Guanacaste who gave two illegal Nicaraguans a lift in his car found himself being charged with that crime. That may have been a routine business deal for the man, but he's still a long way from being a slave trader. Both immigrants from Asia and Colombian prostitutes traditionally live in substandard conditions. Both are seeking to reduce living expenses. For many the decision is voluntary. If one visits the houses of ill repute in San José, no chains are seen. The majority of the prostitutes are here of their own free will. Dominicans, Nicaraguans and Colombians dominate this trade. There also are East European sex workers. A young Colombian prostitute once explained that working in a San José pickup joint was her life's ambition. She lived in rural Colombia and had a bleak future. Her older sister managed to make her way to San José and was sending money home from her work as a prostitute. The younger woman explained that there was no future in her hometown, a wide spot in the road. An early marriage, early pregnancies and probably an early death was her fate, she said. She longed to visit and work with her sister. This woman became someone to actually realize her life's ambition. She was not pushed. She was not coerced. She was not chained. But there are those who were. Working in the same pickup joint was a young Russian woman who later moved to Jacó to take advantage of the boom times there in 2005. She ended up being dumped with a bullet in the back of her head. Friends said she wanted to go back home and those who had paid for her air ticket were unhappy. But a North American who knew her said that the situation was more complex. Drugs may have been involved. The topic of trafficking is in the news now because the United States has issued its annual human trafficking report. Each year the U.S. State Department puts out a congressionally mandated report summarizing what is called human trafficking in countries around the world. Of Costa Rica this year the report said: "Foreign women and girls from Nicaragua, the Dominican  |
Republic,
Guatemala, Colombia, Russia, and Eastern Europe have been identified in
Costa Rica as victims of forced prostitution. The government recognizes
child sex tourism as a serious problem, particularly in the provinces
of Guanacaste, Limón, Puntarenas, and San José." Honored this year as an example was Mariliana Morales Barrios, the founder of the Fundación Rahab that cares for former prostitutes. However, the bulk of the individuals who become involved with this faith-based organization are prostitutes trying to get out of the business. That did not stop Hillary Clinton, the U.S. secretary of State, from railing against what she called modern slavery. The report, of course, was written by diplomats who ride a desk and seldom venture into the dark world of prostitution. Here are some different categories of trafficking that should be handled separately, both criminally and socially: Free-lance prostitutes: Costa Rica's tradition of not prosecuting prostitution is a big attraction for men and women elsewhere, and they come to Costa Rica mostly to pursue tourist dollars. Organized prostitutes: Those individuals who are involved in a ring offering sexual services, be it a pension or even a house of ill repute on wheels that makes periodic deliveries in this country. There is a certain compulsion to make quotas, and a portion of the money goes to the manager. Enslaved prostitutes: Be the chains of metal, of drugs or financial there are prostitutes who are bound to their profession against their will. Such a situation surfaced last month when two Costa Rican woman sought police help in the Yucatan and said they had been tricked into traveling to México and forced into prostitution. Minors: Within the above categories can be found prostitutes who are minors. The teens who cluster outside popular tourist bars are the most obvious. But there certainly are other cases. There has been only one well-publicized arrest of someone who may have organized minors as prostitutes. That case resulted in just one conviction despite extensive telephone taps and observations of government cars picking up youngsters for a night out. The truth is that in Costa Rica sexual abuse of minors frequently starts in the home and the minors graduate to the neighborhood bar. Laborers: Trafficking individuals to a foreign country for work is common. In the colonial United States these were called indentured servants. Those who do this break many rules because they offer substandard pay, unreasonable hours and frequently bad living conditions. Slavery: Actual slavery is not uncommon in the African countries and in some Middle Eastern nations. Some cases have been discovered in the United States. These cases ranged from restrained sex slaves to youngsters working all their waking hours as a domestic servant. Such cases probably exist in Costa Rica but there are few vehicles to protect a victim who complains. Forced marriages: Some characterize reluctant brides as trafficked individuals. This is uncommon in Costa Rica, but that situation might change with the arrival of more national groups. Babies: Selling infants is big business, in part because designated social and governmental agencies operate slowly. That is true in Costa Rica. There have been cases prosecuted here of individuals trying to arrange First World adoptions for babies. In most cases, the mothers are in agreement, but there always is the danger of baby snatching. Generally descriptions of trafficking include some form of physical or psychological coercion or trickery. Clearly, the U.S. State Department does not use this definition and lumps together separate categories. Being a little more specific on the various categories of human migration might help focus the problems. |
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| Zelaya delays his return to coincide with deadline By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Deposed Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya traveled Wednesday to Panamá, after he delayed plans to return to his own country where he faces the threat of arrest. The reason was the inauguration of incoming Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli. The Organization of American States early Wednesday threatened to suspend Honduras from the regional grouping if the coup leaders do not restore Zelaya to power within three days. Zelaya was planning to return to Honduras Thursday, but postponed the trip to coincide with the Organization of American States deadline. Authorities in the interim Honduran government, led by Roberto Micheletti, have vowed to arrest Zelaya. Meanwhile, they suspended five rights, including the right to assemble and to be secure at home. Leaders say the abrogation of constitutional rights is temporary. Soldiers forcibly expelled Zelaya from Honduras Sunday, the day he had planned to hold a referendum on reforming the country's constitution. Critics said he wanted to alter the constitution so he could run for another term — a charge he denies. Zelaya says when he returns to Honduras, he will be accompanied by the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador, as well as the heads of the Organization of American States and the U.N. General Assembly. The interim government's attorney general, Luis Alberto Rubi, said Zelaya is accused of 18 offenses, including treason and abuse of power. Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez told CNN en Español that he would also be charged with drug trafficking. In an address to the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday, Zelaya called his ouster undemocratic and illegal. He said he intends to finish his term, which ends next January. There have been protests this week in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa both for and against the coup. The city is under a night-time curfew. The United States has joined other countries and the United Nations in condemning the coup, and calling for the Honduran president to be restored to power. Spain announced it is withdrawing its ambassador from the Central American country in protest, adding to a list of countries that have recalled their envoys. Also, the United States announced it is suspending joint military activities with Honduras. Interim President Micheletti, appointed to the post by parliament, says the only way Mr. Zelaya will return to power is by force. In Tegucigalpa, Micheletti said his government will not bow to outside pressure, and that he is not fazed by the overwhelming negative reaction from foreign governments. The interim leader said he is confident that Honduras will not be isolated for long, and that other countries will begin to understand how the new government has saved the country. He added that God is with the new government to help it resolve the crisis. He said officials from the new government were beginning to reach out to Washington and other foreign partners to offer details on why Mr. Zelaya was removed from power. Officials have announced a criminal investigation into the ousted leader, who is accused of 18 offenses including treason and abuse of power. |
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| Latin
American news digest |
Latulippe ordered by judge to return to Costa Rica By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A U.S. federal judge has ordered the extradition of Gerald Joseph Latulippe, according to the Poder Judicial here. He is facing a fraud charge. He is the major figure in the failed Principal Services S.A. where up to 150 individuals, mostly North Americans, lost significant sums of money in what he had described as a hedge fund. The U.S. Department of Justice gave this information to the Poder Judicial last week, but Latulippe, who was detained in New Hampshire a year ago, still has another possible appeal, the Poder Judicial said. Worker killed by electricity By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A 30-year-old worker at a hotel in La Palma de la Fortuna de San Carlos, near Volcán Arenal, died Wednesday when a new radio tower touched a major electrical transmission line. The Judicial Investigating Organization identified the man by the last name of Ávila. He was one of four men trying to erect the tower when the accident happened. The other three suffered burns and were hospitalized, said officials. Help given to fix big hole By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The transport ministry is lending machinery to the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados to aid in the repair of a massive hole that has developed in La Uruca. Sunday a water line broke under the Heredia-La Uruca highway, and the giant hole that developed cut off two lanes. The damaged road is south of the bridge over the Río Virilla, said the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad. Officials urged motorists to try to avoid the usually congested route. Another immigration delay By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Lawmakers become hung up on competing texts of the proposed immigration law and had to send the package back to a committee Wednesday. The bill is expected to be voted on today, but lawmakers are going on vacation. So a second and final vote will not come for several weeks. |
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