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A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Thursday,
Aug. 28, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 170
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Searches made at
anti-poverty agencies
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Prosecutors and investigators conducted searches at two of the nation's anti-poverty agencies Wednesday as part of a probe into trafficking of influence. The Poder Judicial said that both the Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo and the Banco Hipotecario de la Vivienda were searched in an effort that took most of the day. The institute is on Avenida 9 in Barrio Amón, San José, and the bank is in San Pedro. The Poder Judicial said that four persons had complained that they were on the list for housing but that persons connected with the government agencies got the dwellings instead. The goal of both agencies is to eliminate substandard housing and poverty. The institute creates housing projects and the bank finances the person who moves there from substandard slum conditions. The projects involved are Villa Paola and Radial 2 in Guararí, Heredia. There have been newspaper revelations that relatives of persons employed at the institute obtained some of the subsidized housing for use as rentals. There have been no arrests, the Poder Judicial said. Sales of iPhone batteries checked By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The country's consumer protection agency is seeking information on batteries for the Apple iPhone 5 which are the subject of an international alert. Apple said that it has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently. The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range, the company said. Consumers can check the serial number HERE! The Dirección de Apoyo al Consumidor of the economics ministry said it wants an accounting from telephone companies within three days to see if the companies have distributed phones with the defective batteries. The agency said it will try to identify the affected consumers. Coffee project generates energy Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The Energy from Coffee Wastewater project by UTZ Certified has proven that it is possible to generate energy, tackle climate change and protect water resources by treating discharges from coffee mills. The project started in 2010 with the goal of addressing environmental and health problems caused by the wastewater produced in the coffee industry. Tailor-made coffee wastewater treatment systems and solid-waste treatment mechanisms were installed in eight coffee farms in Nicaragua, 10 in Honduras and one in Guatemala. The positive environmental and economic impact of the project on over 5,000 people in the region has inspired UTZ Certified to replicate the initiative in other countries. Latin America produces around 70 percent of the world’s coffee and is the continent where 31 percent of the world’s freshwater resources are located. Yet coffee production generates a great amount of wastewater that is regularly released untreated into rivers, affecting aquatic fauna and flora as well as downstream communities. Additionally, coffee wastewater comes along with tons of organic waste and high toxicity which affects the soil and generates considerable amounts of greenhouse-gas emissions, particularly methane. The Energy from Coffee Wastewater project has been implemented in a range of differently sized farms. The achieved results of the project range from preventing local deforestation of native trees to better indoor environments for families who replaced firewood with domestic gas stoves for cooking. Additional outcomes included treatment of essentially all water used in coffee processing and 50 percent less water used during coffee processing; Significant amounts of biogas also are created to power households and coffee mills. “Coffee production is only environmentally sustainable when water is used efficiently and polluted water from the wet-mill process is treated. Local ecosystems do not have the capacity to clean the large amounts of contaminated fluids,” said Han De Groot, executive director at UTZ Certified. UTZ Certified is currently introducing the technology in Peru and Brazil. UTZ Certified is a program and label for sustainable farming of coffee, cocoa and tea. The UTZ Certified Program includes requirements for managing water in the coffee industry. Farmers must put in place a water quality analysis and monitoring program, so corrective actions can be applied when needed.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 170 | |
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| Moratorium on modified crops would cost 1,000 jobs, opponent
says |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A spokesman for agricultural firms told a legislative panel Wednesday that a proposed ban on genetically modified organisms, if passed, would cost the country about 1,000 jobs. He is Martín Zúñiga, executive director of CropLife Latin America, a trade association. He testified before the Comisión de Asuntos Agropecuarios, which is considering a bill that would institute the moratorium. It is No. 18941. Zúñiga also questioned the wording of the bill because it says that the moratorium would be in effect until there is a scientific consensus that genetically modified organisms pose no risk. He said that science is not designed to demonstrate a consensus. He added that throughout the world there are 18 million farmers who plant 175 million hectares of land with modified seeds. Such crops also benefit the environment because they reduce the use of pesticides. |
Some modified
crops produce their own substances that chase away or kill harmful bugs. Zúñiga also said that the moratorium would reduce research in agriculture. By approving the moratorium, the country would reject one aspect of technological development predicted in science for the next 50 years. CropLife Latin America represents a network of 22 associations in 18 countries of Latin America, including Monsanto and Dow Chemical, the firm says on its Web site. Environmental activists began fighting genetically modified crops when Monsanto wanted to put in a test plot of modified corn that resists one of the firm's herbicides. The environmentalists said they were concerned that the pollen from the modified corn would pollute traditional Costa Rican corn strains. They encouraged most of the cantons in the country to pass bans on modified crops, even though there is a significant use of modified seeds all over the country in soybeans, cotton and other crops beside corn. |
| President goes on stage tonight to talk about his months in
office |
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By
Michael Krumholtz
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff For the first time in Costa Rica's history, the president will give a report on his first 100 days in office. After lawmakers denied President Luis Guillermo Solís his request to take the floor in the Asamblea Legislativa last week, the president is now set to go over his self-review tonight at the Teatro Popular Melico Salazar. Solís is expected to look back on his already eventful first few months in office, and also lay out plans and predictions for the remaining three-plus years. His two-hour talk should feature mentions of the teacher strikes that he inherited when he took the job in May, the country's lingering fiscal problems that include the public deficit, and his decision to allow vendors to keep their marketplace in downtown San José despite the municipality's claim that his action was illegal. It will be interesting to see if the president discusses the evolving crisis with tourist leaders, who say additional taxes on tours and activities will cripple the industry. Besides admitting that he mistakenly signed a proposal to have the tourism industry be relegated to the economy ministry, Solís has not mentioned much in the way of fortifying Costa Rican tourism from the 13 percent tax. Solís said the decision to do the country's first 100-day report follows his administration's commitment to transparency and open dialogue. He has promised that the report will point to solutions for inefficient public institutions, corruptive practices, overspending, |
 and the overall mismanagement of government funds. “This report is for the people of Costa Rica, the active, democratic, and vigilant citizenship that makes up our great heritage and for which makes me proud to be their leader,” Solís said. Among the invited guests will be legislators, municipal and district authorities, corporate leaders, university heads, and representatives from native groups. The President is planning to answer questions from these attendees, as well as from those posed by citizens not in attendance who can post pertinent questions on social media outlets. The event begins at 7 p.m. and will be televised on Sinart Channel 13 and Radio Nacional 101.5 FM. A live stream is also supposed to be made available on www.presidencia.go.cr. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 170 | |||||
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| Marijuana-using couples report less domestic violence, study
says |
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By
the University at Buffalo news staff
New research findings from a study of 634 couples found that the more often they smoked marijuana, the less likely they were to engage in domestic violence. The study, conducted by researchers in the University at Buffalo, appeared in the online edition of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. The study attempted to clarify inconsistent findings about domestic violence among pot-smoking couples that primarily has been based on cross-sectional data from one point in time. Looking at couples over the first nine years of marriage, the study found: * More frequent marijuana use by husbands and wives (two-to-three times per month or more often) predicted less frequent intimate partner violence perpetration by husbands. * Husbands’ marijuana use also predicted less frequent intimate partner violence perpetration by wives. * Couples in which both spouses used marijuana frequently reported the least frequent intimate partner violence. * The relationship between marijuana use and reduced partner violence was most evident among women who did not have histories of prior antisocial behavior. The study’s lead author is Philip H. Smith, a recent doctoral graduate and now associate research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University. It is based on research data collected by lead investigator Kenneth Leonard, director of the university's Research Institute on Addictions. “These findings suggest that marijuana use is predictive of lower levels of aggression towards one’s partner in the following year.” Leonard says. “As in other survey studies of marijuana and partner violence, our study examines patterns of marijuana use and |
 the occurrence of violence within a year period. It does not examine whether using marijuana on a given day reduces the likelihood of violence at that time. “It is possible, for example, that — similar to a drinking partnership — couples who use marijuana together may share similar values and social circles, and it is this similarity that is responsible for reducing the likelihood of conflict. “Although this study supports the perspective that marijuana does not increase, and may decrease, aggressive conflict,” he says, “we would like to see research replicating these findings, and research examining day-to-day marijuana and alcohol use and the likelihood to IPV on the same day before drawing stronger conclusions. "While couples who reported marijuana use also reported less marital aggression, previous research with these couples found that couples who smoked marijuana were not less likely to divorce. In addition, the current study does not address the potential impact of parental marijuana use on children in the family and other problems associated with daily marijuana use. The most frequent use reported by couples in this particular study was once a week." |
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| Another American reported to be killed in Syrian fighting By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A White House official says the U.S. is working to confirm reports of a second American killed while fighting alongside militants in Syria. In a statement late Wednesday, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the White House is aware of indications that an American citizen associated with the Islamic State group was killed but was not yet in a position to say whether they are true. Ms. Hayden confirmed Tuesday the death of one American, Douglas McCain, and said the government is continuing efforts to "disrupt and dissuade individuals from traveling abroad for violent jihad." Meanwhile, the mother of an American journalist being held by Islamic State militants has pleaded with the group's leader to let her son Steven go free. In a video released Wednesday, Shirley Sotloff said Steven is an honorable man who should not be punished for U.S. government actions. "I've learned that Islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. Steven has no control over the actions of the U.S. government. He is an innocent journalist. I've also learned that you, the caliph, can grant amnesty. I ask you to please release my child," said Mrs. Sotloff. The Islamic State group beheaded American journalist James Foley earlier this month, and is threatening to kill Sotloff if the United States does not stop carrying out air strikes on militants in Iraq. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama administration officials have been in contact with the Sotloff family, but did not give specifics on what advice the family was given on the wisdom of releasing the video. "As you know, this administration is deeply engaged and doing everything we can to seek the return of every American who is currently being held in that region," said Earnest. Also Wednesday, Peter Theo Curtis, an American writer who had been held hostage by Syrian militants for two years, said Wednesday he was overwhelmed with emotion after learning how many people across the world had worked for his release. He also expressed gratitude for the many people who have welcomed him back to the United States since he returned this week. U.S. reports more air strikes against Islamic militants By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. military says it launched further air attacks Wednesday against Islamic State militants near Irbil and the strategic Mosul Dam in Iraq. The United States Central Command said in a statement that U.S. forces launched three air strikes using fighter, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft to support Iraqi security force operations. "The strikes were conducted under authority to support Iraqi security force and Kurdish defense force operations, as well as to protect critical infrastructure, U.S. personnel and facilities, and support humanitarian efforts," the statement said. The Central Command says the strikes destroyed an Islamic State Humvee, a supply truck, three armored vehicles, and also severely damaged a building used by the militants. U.S. Central Command reports that since Aug. 8, it has conducted a total of 101 air strikes across Iraq. Women becoming backbone for Islamic State efforts By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A few months after the militant group Islamic State took over the Syrian city of Raqaa and set up checkpoints, it encountered a problem: The militants' enemies were escaping the city disguised as women. Male fighters could not physically check women who were dressed in traditional long robes and had their faces covered with veils. Their response was to launch the all-female al-Khansaa brigade. The brigade, named for a famous poet who was an early follower of the Prophet Muhammad, has taken other roles as well, including policing Raqaa to make sure women comply with the Islamic State's code of conduct. Members move around Raqaa in groups, often carrying weapons. They stop and interrogate any woman who is without an escort, check couples to make sure the male chaperone is a relative allowed to travel with the woman and ensure that women are dressed according to Islamic State requirements. The brigade also helps counter a public relations problem for the Islamic State. “So we have an example of three Iraqi women who were raped by ISIS, who then committed suicide. This is bad press for them,” explained Mia Bloom, author of several books on women and terrorism. Such bad press could hamper efforts to recruit women who are committed to the Islamic State's conservative ideology to come to Raqaa to marry their fighters. Humera Khan is with the Washington social activist group Muflehun, which works to counter violent extremism. To set up a society of like-minded people, Khan says, Islamic State needs families, it needs its fighters to settle down and stay in the area; it needs wives who will encourage their men to go on jihad, and mothers who will indoctrinate their children. To this end, women of Islamic State and similar groups play up their sisterhood and camaraderie on social media. They create support groups, exchange recipes and discuss their friendships. They guide new recruits on what to do and what to expect. “They give them tips on how to get to Syria without detection,” says Khan, noticing the contradiction to their own rules that women cannot travel without a companion. It is not the only way in which Islamic State breaks its own rules for convenience. Traditionally, Muslim women ask permission of their male guardian, or vali, for marriage. Khan recalls the case of a British woman who went to Syria to get married. She called back to get permission from her father, but when the father denied permission, Islamic State leaders offered her a substitute vali. Social media also facilitates marriages between Islamic State fighters and women living outside Iraq and Syria. Khan follows Twitter accounts that belong to women in Europe who act as conduits and advertise on behalf of male fighters looking for wives and vice versa. The Islamic State group is not alone in trying to create a female community to support its fighters. In 2004, the first Web magazine for women called al-Khansaa was launched. Despite the name, it is not linked to the al-Khansaa brigade. The magazine was aimed at creating a support community for wives of jihadi fighters. It gave beauty tips and advice, says Bloom, such as “don’t get fat while your husband’s away, don’t spend all the money, be supportive of his desire to embark on the jihad.” In 2011, al-Qaida introduced another magazine called al-Shamikha, meaning The Majestic Woman. Its slick treatment earned it the nickname Jihadi Cosmo, referring to the American version of Cosmopolitan magazine. Its beauty and skin care tips conformed to the militants' strict ideology, like staying indoors or keeping the face covered to avoid sun damage. The first issue included interviews with the widows of militants and advice on how to marry a fighter, or raise a son to want to fight. But Bloom says Shamikha went a little further in terms of women’s roles in jihad. Readers were encouraged not just to be good wives and mothers to their jihadi men, but also to pitch in as propagandists and fundraisers. While women who support the ideology of these groups are mostly confined to traditional roles in their societies, women who are considered outsiders are often used as a tactical tool. Boko Haram is known to have coerced kidnapped women to become suicide bombers, through torture, threats of rape, or threats of violence against their families. An Iraqi extremist group, Ansaar al-Sunna, used the culture of shame associated with women’s sexuality. Its fighters first raped women, and when the women were rejected by their families and their communities, approached them and offered suicide bombing as a way to eradicate the shame brought on their families by the rape. “And in the process you reinvent yourself as a martyr, a shahida, and 72 of your closest relatives get into heaven right away,” Bloom explained. Bloom fears that hundreds of school girls kidnapped in April by Boko Haram may suffer a similar fate. “If they’ve been raped or sexually molested, the same honor code will apply that was used in Iraq.” Blackwater security guards await verdict in murder case By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The case of four former Blackwater security guards charged with killing Iraqi civilians is in the hands of a federal jury in the U.S. capital, Washington, DC. Both sides presented closing arguments Wednesday. The four defendants allegedly killed 14 Iraqis and wounded 18 at a traffic circle in Baghdad in 2007. The defense argued that the four shot their weapons in self defense against gunfire from insurgents. It said Iraqi police deliberately took evidence away from the scene that would prove guards were under fire. Prosecutors say the defendants deliberately gunned down civilians trying to flee a car bomb apparently targeting a U.S. State Department official. One of the guards is charged with first degree murder and faces life in prison. The other three are charged with manslaughter and could go to prison for at least 30 years. Domestic violence victims may be eligible for asylum By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Women fleeing spousal abuse in their home countries could be eligible for asylum in the United States for the first time, following a ruling this week. The Justice Department's Board of Immigration Appeals ruled Tuesday that a Guatemalan woman who escaped repugnant abuse by her husband can qualify for asylum, after police in Guatemala did not respond to her reports of weekly beatings, attacks and rape. To seek asylum in the U.S., applicants must prove that the government in their home country was involved in their persecution, or was unable or unwilling to stop it. They also must show they were persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group -- in this case, the group of "married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship." The ruling does not make asylum automatic in these cases. But it could open the door for spousal abuse victims from Guatemala and other countries to seek it. Girl kills her instructor in Arizona Uzi mishap By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A 9-year-old girl learning to shoot an Uzi submachine gun accidentally shot her instructor in the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona. Instructor Charles Vacca was standing next to the girl Monday at a shooting range in Mohave County, south of Las Vegas, when she squeezed the trigger. The recoil wrenched the Uzi upward, and Vacca was shot in the head. He later died of his injuries. The identities of the girl and her family have not been released. Prosecutors say they will not file charges in the case. The gun range says it allows children as young as eight to fire guns under adult supervision.  Penance Hall photo
Promotion shot of the
firm's product.Made in
U.S.A. is slogan
for Kickstarter startup By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
America has lost 3.8 million manufacturing jobs since 2000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The apparel industry was especially hard hit as more and more U.S. clothing companies turned to low wage workers in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Yet many of those brands advertised themselves as being all-American. That didn’t sit well with Joshua Steinman, Turner Swicegood and Jay Gaul. The three friends wanted to create something that was actually what it purports to be; an all-American product that is made entirely in the U.S.A. by American workers. “We don’t really make a lot of things in this country anymore," Swicegood said. "It’s a service-based economy; it’s a financial-based economy. There’s not a lot of things that you can touch and feel that are being made by American hands, and so we wanted to reach back to that tradition and be a part of reviving that.” So three years ago the young entrepreneurs formed a small company to make luxury American dress socks with the finest quality materials available in the U.S., in vibrant, eye-catching colors and simple designs for the modern man and woman. Today, their one-of-a-kind creations are being manufactured at an American knitting mill in North Carolina, which is just one of a seven-step manufacturing process that has been integral to the making of their socks, and the fulfillment of their collective dreams. Steinman, an active duty U.S. naval officer, came up with the idea of luxury socks during a tour of duty overseas. “For a while I had to work wearing a suit and tie every day and I wanted to wear something that was going to make me stand out, so I made sure to always wear flashy socks to work,” he said. So he got the reputation as the person who always wore exciting socks and came to be known as the sock guy. But he didn’t actually like any of the socks that he wore because he said, they kept falling down. “I felt they weren’t made especially well,” he said, “so after that assignment was over, I started thinking about what would it mean for me to get socks that I really did like, and that was the genesis of Penance Hall.” Two guiding principles drive the company’s philosophy. Their socks have to be made with the finest quality materials and, although they could be produced more cheaply overseas, have to be made in America. So every component that goes into their product from the sheep that provide the ultra-fine wool, to the custom-formulated dyes, to the factories that weave them into socks is all American. Even the boxes that the socks are packaged in are made in the U.S.A., in a factory in Pennsylvania. “So we paired the best machines in the world with the best fibers in the world, and it just so happens that we were able to do both of those things in America,” said Steinman. The partners financed the bulk of their enterprise through an Internet site called Kickstarter, which allows people to crowd-fund businesses. “On Kickstarter we said, ‘This is what we’re trying to make,’” Steinman said. “We told the story of the socks and then gave people the opportunity to pledge a small amount of money in exchange for socks in the future.” Their message resonated with the global online audience and with help from a slick promotional video they raised over $50,000 in a single month; about $13,000 more than their stated goal, making it one of the most successful fashion projects in Kickstarter history, according to the partners. The funds allowed them to produce 5,000 pairs of socks. That first run of Penance Hall dress socks is ready to be shipped to about 1,000 customers worldwide who pledged during the Kickstarter campaign and new customer orders will be filled in the coming weeks. “We wanted to maintain a strong brand identity that was centered in American production,” said Swicegood, “and we wanted to maintain control of the company by not taking outside investment…instead by doing crowd funding via Kickstarter, we were allowed to do that.” “It was really exciting to see that we had customers from all across the U.S. but then also all across the world who are going to get these socks in the next couple of months,” he added. If their pricey socks sell well online, the partners hope to expand their clothing line and make them available in stores in the U.S. within the next 10 years. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
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Ecuador's press
takeover criticized
Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
The Inter American Press Association has called the takeover and closing of the Ecuador newspaper Hoy, ordered by the state superintendence of businesses, allegedly due to financial problems, a violation of freedom of expression that restricts people’s right to enjoy a wide spectrum of information. The superintendence, a state agency charged with controlling the operations, dissolution and liquidation of entities facing financial difficulties, Tuesday intervened at Editores e Impresos Edimpres S.A., the company that publishes the newspaper Hoy and edits other news media. The company’s lawyer, Diego Ordóñez, told local media that the superintendence representatives arrived without prior notification and proceeded with the forced liquidation of company assets. Claudio Paolillo, chairman of the press association's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, offered his organization’s solidarity with Hoy’s executives and employees as they face an uncertain future. “We note with sadness,” Paolillo said, “how with the closure of Hoy’s activities another voice of dissent is silenced in Ecuador, and the public’s right to enjoy plurality of information and have access to differing streams of thought is once again trampled upon.” The superintendence ordered an immediate halt to all the operations by the company, including the print, online and other editions, and limited it to collect amounts due and pay its debts. Hoy, founded 32 years ago, posted its last update on its Web site www.hoy.com.ec Tuesday afternoon. The company, whose name appears on a superintendence list announcing the dissolution of 700 companies in Ecuador, had begun a process of voluntary liquidation due to the loss of at least half of its capital over the last two years. However, according to Ecuadorean law it is not required for a company in a state of liquidation to suspend its operations, as on occasions it manages to overcome the crisis and return to normal operation. Paolillo, editor of the Montevideo, Uruguay, weekly Búsqueda, warned that the loss in the press freedom space has negative consequences for democratic institutions. June 29 Hoy, whose editor and publisher is Jaime Mantilla, announced the suspension of its print edition and the continuation of the online version and weekend activities. Mantilla said that the decision was the result of an ongoing advertising boycott of the newspaper and the cancellation of printing contracts, among other financial setbacks. The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications, including the parent firm of A.M. Costa Rica, from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida.  Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía y Seguridad Pública photo
Wow! This is the haul of
intercepted alcoholTruckload of
alcohol intercepted
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Fuerza Pública officers said they determined Wednesday morning that the paperwork presented by a truck driver was false. So they confiscated some 2,500 cases of alcohol. Police said officers stopped a truck near Paso Canoas and immediately called in the tax police from the Ministerio de Hacienda. Costa Rica maintains a high tax on alcoholic beverages, so smuggling from Panamá is a continual problem for police. |
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| From Page 7: Another medical device firm picks Costa Rica By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
U.S.-based Theragenics Corp. will open a manufacturing plant in Costa Rica to produce medical devices. Company representatives from the brand that is a worldwide leader in vascular medicines said they will begin operations here in the next few months. An initial contract promises 50 jobs for Costa Rican professionals who would be put in charge of manufacturing operations. President Luis Guillermo Solís said this international source of employment for the country's workers is a positive sign that points to more jobs and international investment in the future. “We appreciate the trust that Theragenics is showing by investing in Costa Rica,” Solís said. “We know that the national labor force will successfully supply the business with its demand for personnel.” The plant will be located in Coyol de Alajuela and the entire 17,200-square foot property should be ready by the end of 2014. It will be licensed under the subsidiary name Theragenics Costa Rica Limitada. “The opening of our plant in Costa Rica expands our presence and our capacity for manufacturing that we didn't have before,” said Frank Tarallo, president of Theragenics. “Costa Rica is a country that understands and supports the medicinal supply industry, and our plant will turn in the same quality, dedication, and service that have been our base for years.” Costa Rica has long been a hotbed for medical supply companies and last year the sector of life sciences generated more than 17,200 high-quality jobs, according to a report from the foreign trade ministry. “That Theragenics has chosen our country to install a manufacturing plant of vascular supplies shows the strength and prestige that Costa Rica has in high-quality manufacturing,” said Alexander Mora, the foreign trade minister. “We feel proud that Costa Rican hands will be producing equipment of great satisfaction that will be used around the world.” |
