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| A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 155 | |||||||||
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trade treaty with Panamá By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
President Óscar Arias Sánchez is scheduled to sign a free trade treaty with Panamá at 5 p.m. today in a ceremony in the Hotel Real Intercontinental in Escazú. The treaty was reached by negotiators of both countries during the last week in June. The signing ceremony is a preliminary to ratification in the Asamblea Legislativa. The treaty is expected to be less controversial than the agreement with the United States that has divided the nation for three years. The battle against that treaty is fueled by anti-American sentiment. However, the Panamá treaty also provides for an opening of the telecommunications monopoly here. Firms from Panamá will be able to offer telecommunication services, and the Instituto Costarricence de Electricidad will be able to offer services in Panamá. The institute's unions are very sensitive to competition. Under the agreement some 93 percent of industrial and agroindustrial products will have free access. Other industrial products will have a period of from five to 11 years as the customs duties gradually diminish. Some agricultural products will have schedules for reduction of duties as long as 16 years. Arias probably hopes that the treaty is not as controversial as the one with the United States. The president went to sleep Monday night with the sounds of protesters in his ears. Anti-trade treaty demonstrators said they came to his Rohrmoser home to serenade him Monday night. Esquipulas 20th anniversary will be marked Wednesday By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Four other Central American presidents will visit the country Wednesday and meet to mark the 20th anniversary of the Esquipulas peace accords that began to end hostilities in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The meeting will be in the Auditorio Nacional of the Museo de los Niños, and the chief executives are expected to reflect on the development of the area since then. President Óscar Arias Sánchez was awarded the Nobel peace Prize for his role in forging a peace plan. Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua then and the current president now will not attend. But coming are Elías Antonio Saca of El Salvador, Oscar Berger of Guatemala, Manuel Zelaya of Honduras and Martín Torrijos of Panamá. The session will have local coverage by television stations. New passport system here wins praise from officials By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Officials are calling the new system of providing passports a success after a month of operation with Banco de Costa Rica. The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería said Monday that passport applications have increased from 400 a day to 900 a day. Alejandro Acón, the operations manager of the bank, said that the number of windows for passports would be increased by four in the metropolitan area and that the number of bank branches authorized for passport applications all over the country will increase by 50 percent. More than half the passports that have been issued under this system have been delivered by Correos de Costa Rica, the national mail service, using certified delivery, said the immigration department. Costa Ricans who need passports can call 800-227-2482 to get an appointment at one of the 30 bank branches offering the service. Grocery operator loses in shootout with bandits By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
When Gerardo Porras opened up his small supermarket in San Miguel de Desamparados about 5:55 a.m. Monday he was confronted by three men, some of them with guns. The 54-year-old father of four pulled his own gun and engaged the would-be robbers in a close-range firefight. Porras lost. Police said he took two bullets in the head and others in his back and chest. But Porras may have shot one of the bandits. A man showed up at a local clinic with gunshot wounds and later went to Hospital San Juan de Dios. Investigators were on his trail. The Supermercado El Amigo has been a frequent target of robbers which was why Porras had a gun, officials said. Ruling party candidate appears to win in Mexico By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Preliminary results in Mexico's Baja California state suggest an economist from the country's ruling party has won the governor's race. With almost 90 percent of the ballot counted, Jose Osuna of the Partido Acción Nacional had 50 percent. Tijuana's former mayor and gambling tycoon Jorge Hank Rhon had 43 percent. Hank Rhon has faced accusations of corruption and ties to drug traffickers, which he denies. Officials going to Puriscal By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The government is moving to Puriscal Friday. The consejo de gobierno or president's cabinet meets at 10:15 a.m. in the Iglesia Nueva de Puriscal. Earlier President Óscar Arias Sánchez will place the first stone for the foundation of the Centro de Atención Integral de Salud in San Antonio de Puriscal and he will inaugurate another of the centros comunitario inteligente or Internet access points at the Municipalidad de Puriscal.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 155 | |||||||||
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| Executive
Branch seeking harmonious August in Legislature |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The central government is backing off on its push to pass legislation required for the free trade treaty with the United States. Rodrigo Arias, minister of the Presidencia, said Monday that during August the legislature would consider social and development issues. This had been requested by the Partido Acción Ciudadana, which opposes the treaty. The legislature or Asamblea Legislativa meets from May 1 to July 31 and from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, as stipulated in the Costa Rican Constitution. However, the country's president has the authority to recall the legislature at other times for what are known as extraordinary sessions. During such extraordinary periods, the lawmakers can only act on measures presented by the executive branch. These days the legislature meets most of the year with the executive branch setting the agenda for the periods not specified in the Constitution. Lawmakers have before them some 13 proposed laws that are designed to adjust Costa Rican statutes to conform to what is required by the free trade treaty. The measures are highly controversial. Rather than bulldogging these measures through the legislature during August, the executive branch has chosen to focus on other proposed laws that have more multi-partisan support. |
One measure is the Ley de Concesiones that updates the way the central government can issue concessions. This is important to Costa Rica because the idea of a concession is to attract a foreign company that wants to do and control some project. To do so the company will have to invest substantial funds that are out of the reach of Costa Rica. Other measures include strengthening the nation's housing programs and providing increased autonomy to the Indian populations. A big item on the list is the reform of the year-old immigration law. The Catholic Church and other groups are seeking a law considered less draconian. The current law that is not being enforced well would penalize those who house illegal immigrants as well as those who give them jobs. The proposed change would soften the penalties. Arias was quoted as saying that by backing off the free trade treaty-related measures the Partido Acción Ciudadana will be able to show that it will work in the best interests of the country and cease being obstructionists. |
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| Indicted
Internet drug sales firm had 40 employees here |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The firm at the center of the illegal sale of prescription pharmaceuticals did most of its business in the United States, but it maintained its headquarters in San José along with some 40 customer service employees, according to the indictment returned by a federal grand jury in San Diego. Some U.S. expats were believed to have been employed in the customer service section. The indictment alleges that the company indiscriminately sold prescription and non-prescription drugs to U.S. citizens and used physicians to rubber stamp the deals. The indictment, some 313 counts, said that the company took in $126 million in two years. Some 18 persons were named. The firm, called Affpower, also used a number of Internet affiliates to locate customers. The indictment names Mark Anthony Heredia as the manager of the firm in San José. Also named as principals were William Polk Harrington and Todd Wurtzel, who used the name Sonny Gallo, said the indictment. These two recruited physicians and pharmacies to participate in the business. All of the other indicted persons are either physicians in the United States, owners of pharmacies there, operators of |
affiliated Web sites or in one case
ran a credit card processing
operation in Tel Aviv, Israel, where payments for prescriptions were
cleared, said the indictment. The physicians got $3 for each prescription they authorized, and the indictment said that in some cases, 1,000 prescriptions were authorized by a single physician in a single day. The indictment said that in no case did the physician have contact with the person seeking the drugs and based a decision simply on a questionnaire filed out by the purchaser. Approval rate was 98 percent, the indictment said. In the two years of operation, the company filled about 1 million orders, the indictment said. The company had its Internet servers in Cyprus and used an accountant there to make payments to physicians, druggists and affiliates, said the government. If convicted, the government said the defendants face the following maximum prison sentences: 20 years in prison for racketeering and racketeering conspiracy; 20 years for mail and wire fraud; 20 years for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; five years for conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances; 20 years for money laundering; five years for conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and three years for violating the act. The defendants also face millions of dollars in fines, said the government. |
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A.M. Costa Rica rates Display and classified rates have increased as of June 18, 2007. The average display increase is between 6 and 8.5 percent. This is the first rate increase in the six-year history of the newspaper. The new rates are posted here: As usual, the bulk of any income goes to get you a better newspaper. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 155 | |||||||||
 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía y Seguridad Pública/Guillermo Solano
Policemen from the Unidad Especial de Apoyo and a dog search
for fleeing drug transporters near Portalón |
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| Police
continue the hunt for traffickers who fled makeshift gasoline station |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A number of police units still are in the fields, woods and mangroves south of Quepos seeking at least four persons believed to be drug traffickers and maybe even the drugs. The search was set off by the discovery of a camp Sunday in which gasoline, outboard oil and provisions were stockpiled, presumably for the benefit of Colombian drug smugglers. Also captured were two boats. One was a so-called fastboat with three 100-horsepower outboards of the type used to smuggle cocaine. But there were no packages of drugs. |
Involved in the search Monday were
the Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea,
the Unidad Especial de Apoyo, the Unidad de Intervención
Policial, the
Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas, the Policía de Control de
Drogas,
the Fuerza Pública de Puntarenas and Pérez
Zeledón, and the Unidad
Canina (K-9). The search was hot, difficult and dangerous work. Police also are continuing the search inland because they believe that the presumed Colombian traffickers had local contacts. Nothing had been heard about two other boats that fled the location Sunday and were turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is on patrol offshore. |
| Judge
in Trinidad OKs extradition of trio who are suspects in JFK bomb plot |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A judge in Trinidad Monday ordered the extradition of three men wanted in the United States on charges of plotting to blow up fuel pipelines supplying a New York airport. U.S. officials say the three were part of an Islamist extremist cell led by a fourth man who is already in U.S. custody. The judge in Trinidad rejected a defense motion that sought to challenge the extradition of the men — Trinidad native Kareem Ibrahim, and Abdul Kadir and Abdel Nur, who are from Guyana. The judge said the three will be held in custody in the Caribbean nation until they are turned over to U.S. officials for trial on conspiracy charges. U.S. prosecutors have accused the three of conspiring to cause death, serious injury and extensive damage at New York's John F. Kennedy airport. Lawyers for the men have |
rejected the allegations, and say
their clients are the targets of entrapment. U.S. officials already have a fourth suspect in custody, Guyana-born Russell Defreitas, who had worked as a cargo handler at the New York airport. The court decision marks a minor victory for U.S. prosecutors in their efforts to try the three foreign-born suspects. Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington, says prosecutors will face additional challenges, however, in proving their case in a U.S. courtroom. Birns says that U.S. officials may have moved too quickly because there is no evidence that the men had acquired explosives or taken other steps to carry out the attacks. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 155 | ||||||
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