Costa Rica News and Views: 01/01/2005

Friday, January 28, 2005

Thursday, January 27, 2005

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>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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*Feature Article:
*Nicaraguans Seize Missile During Sting

*News Digest

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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*Nicaraguans Seize Missile During Sting

By Rowan Scarborough in the Washington Times

Nicaraguan police, with U.S. assistance in a sting
operation, thwarted black marketeers trying to sell SA-7
shoulder-fired missiles capable of downing commercial
aircraft earlier this month, raising fears that some
missiles already have been sold to terrorists, The
Washington Times has learned.

U.S. officials think the missiles are being provided
by elements of the Nicaraguan military. One official
said intelligence reports suggest Nicaraguan army
elements are keeping a secret stash of SA-7s not
inventoried by international inspectors.

The sellers in the sting demanded several hundred
thousand dollars for each missile, said an
administration official who discussed the operation on
the condition of anonymity. It is not known if the black
marketeers had been successful in selling other SA-7s
before they were arrested.

"This is a very, very serious threat," said the
U.S. official. "This is what makes me stay up at night.
Civilian aviation is at stake."

The official said one Soviet-made SA-7 was
confiscated at an air conditioning repair shop, the site
of the sting in Managua, Nicaragua, where three
Nicaraguans tried to sell the missile and offered more
to undercover Nicaraguan police.

"This shows that such missiles can be bought on the
open market, and it highlights the need for strong
international cooperation to get rid of them," a second
official said in a government statement issued to The
Times.

The sting has sounded alarm bells through the Bush
administration for a number of reasons. The arrested men
thought they were selling missiles to terrorists in
Colombia and were willing to sell to Islamic terrorists,
the official said. Also, Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld in November had won what he believed was a firm
agreement from Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos to
destroy about 1,000 remaining SA-7s. Some in the Bush
administration now suspect the military is
double-crossing Mr. Bolanos.

Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and other terrorist
groups are known to be seeking portable missiles capable
of bringing down a commercial airliner. The 20-pound
SA-7 has a range up to 15,000 feet. In the wrong hands,
a missile could down an airliner on its airport takeoff
or approach.

In November 2002, terrorists fired two SA-7 missiles
at an Israeli commercial airliner in Kenya, but missed.
Israel equips some of its jetliners with missile warning
receivers. Pilots can dispense flares to try to draw the
heat-seeking missile off target.

But the RAND Corp., in a study released this week,
said the cost of protecting the country's 6,800
airliners is prohibitive. It would cost $11 billion to
buy and install the equipment and over $2 billion a year
to maintain what is still an unproven technology.
The Department of Homeland Security has warned
law-enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for
smuggled SA-7s, the world's most prevalent
shoulder-fired missile.

When contacted yesterday, the Pentagon's top Latin
American expert declined to discuss details of the
sting. Roger Pardo-Maurer, deputy assistant defense
secretary for the Western Hemisphere, did say, "If this
is what it appears to be, it calls into question not
only the professionalism and integrity of the Nicaraguan
armed forces, but it really calls into question their
sanity.

"Playing with shoulder-fired missiles is one of the
most dangerous things out there and is at the top of
concerns by the Department of Defense. We're taking a
very hard eye to look into this situation," he said.

Washington has pressed Managua for some time to get
rid of all its SA-7s. The Soviet Union supplied
thousands of the missiles to the left-wing Sandinistas
in the 1980s as they battled the U.S.-backed contras.

The ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front
(FSLN) eventually agreed to elections in 1990. It lost
the presidency to the Liberal Constitutional Party
(PLC), now represented by Mr. Bolanos.

The government has demolished all but 1,000 SA-7s.
The Organization of American States (OAS) has taken an
inventory and recorded serial numbers on the remainder.

But in recent months, the Sandinista party has
gained more power within government, despite the PLC
having a majority of seats in the legislature. Managua
was supposed to resume destroying SA-7s in batches of
300.

Asked about SA-7 destruction at a joint Nov. 12
press conference in Managua, Mr. Rumsfeld said, "As the
president will respond I'm sure, the president and the
country of Nicaragua have a plan. It's been well known
and well understood and as I understand it, it is on
plan."

Said Mr. Bolanos, "The destruction of the Sam 7s is
the will of Nicaragua. It is the total sovereign will of
Nicaragua and the president who is the supreme chief of
the armed forces. It is in Nicaragua's best interest to
do so that is why we have done so."

But days later, the legislature immediately ruled
that only it could authorize the army to destroy
weapons.

In the Jan. 11 sting, Nicaraguan police recovered
one SA-7 whose serial number did not match any of those
inventoried by the OAS, said the Bush administration
official.

This official said there are intelligence reports
that one or more senior Nicaraguan army officers may be
maintaining a secret cache of 80 or more SA-7s for black
market sale.

On the day of the sting, the army dispatched a
senior officer to the scene who tried to take possession
of the seized SA-7, said the U.S. official. But the
police refused. The source said the U.S. helped in the
sting.

The people selling the missile promised as many as a
dozen. The U.S. believes they are middlemen representing
elements within the military.

"We had always suspected they had a secret stash not
in inventory," the official said. "They assured us 'No.'
... We had worked very hard to develop a relationship
with the Nicaraguan army. That trust is very much in
jeopardy right now. The Sandinista party doesn't want
these missiles destroyed."

The official said Sandinista elements with the
military "are corrupt and are selling weapons in the
region."

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NEWS DIGEST
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*Another Defection At the PLN Party: Former President Monge

Following the election of Oscar Arias as presidential candidate for the

Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) - or 'green' party - several key figures

have left the party, all claiming that Arias' election was not just and fair

and he should not represent the party.

The last to leave the PLN is former president Luis Alberto Monge, who was

president of Costa Rica form 1982 to 1986, following the departure of

presidential candidate in the last election, José Miguel Corrales last week

and Mariano Figueres, brother of former president José Maria Figueres Olsen

and son of PLN founder, José Figueres Ferrer (Don Pepe).

Monge, in a press statement, said that Arias' friends and his supporters are

an affront to the country's political constitution. Monge added that he is

"out of that hybrid" that only represents a Liberaton betrayed.

The departure of Monge is perhaps the crest in the big political wave that

has overtaken the PLN party. Monge did not provide details of his political

future, if he will join another party or intends of running for re-election.

*Cellular Lines Almost Out Of Stock

The Instituto Costarricende de Electricidad (ICE), the sole provider of

telecommunications in the country, including cellular service, announced that

it is almost out of cellular lines it can assign to new subscribers.

Of the more than 900.000 cellular lines - both TDMA and GSM - ICE makes

available, only 4.000 of the TDMA lines are available and could be gone by

the end of the month, in the next few days.

ICE is being placed in a corner by several key decisions made by the

Contraloría General de la Republica (the Comptroller General) that refused to

approve a contract with the Ericcson corporation for 600.000 GSM lines.

Ericsson appealed the Contarloria decision to the Constitutional Court (Sala

IV) which ruled that the Contraloría should review the contract. The

Contraloría is stalling, saying it needs to fully study the court decision

before it can obey the order.

In the meantime, the 400.000 GSM lines that were installed a couple of years

ago by the French telecommunications firm, Alcatel, which has been the centre

of a corruption scandal that has seen a former president and several ICE

board members in jail or under house arrest ,are gone.

The 500.000 or so TDMA lines, which had been exausted for a long time before

the Alcatel contract, had thousands of lines avialable as customers switched

to the newer service.

ICE says that if the approvals don't come anytime soon, Costa Rica will go

back to the days when it took months, up to a year of waiting, for new

customers to get connected to the cellular network.

In the "old" days, a new customer would be given a number with the order and

then anxiously waited the publication in the local newspapers for their

number to come up. And if they missed their turn, only to get at the back the

line.

The introduction of the Alcatel contract made it possible to go to an ICE

office or ICE authorized dealer, make the request, pay the deposit and walk

out with a connection. That is the way it's done in most places around the

world.

Now, well, it remains to be seen if the future of cellular service takes a

step back in time.

*First Gasoline Hike of the Year Coming

Following a break, the Refinadora Costariccense de Petroleo (RECOPE) has

asked for an increae in the price of gasoline, the first for the year and a

lot higher than had been expected.

Once the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Publicos (ARESEP) finishes it's

study on the price hike request, the price of a litre of gasoline will jump

from the current ¢355 colones (us$0.77) to ¢369.65 (us$0.80) super; from ¢340

to ¢353.65 for regular and to ¢264.30 from ¢254 for diesel.

RECOPE made the request last week, citing increased price of crude oil on the

world market, notwithstanding that yesterday the cost of a barrel of crude

actually dropped to below us$49 per barrel.

The price, if approved, though there is no doubt that it won't be, is 40%

higher than the cost of a litre of gasoline a year ago. More than ¢120

colones of each litre goes to taxes.

Costa Rica has the highest gasoline prices in the region.

*"Madam" Trial Next Month

Sinaí Monge Muñoz, the woman suspected of operating a prostitution network

that explioted minors is going to trial on February 8, the Fiscalía de

Delitos Sexuales (Prosecutor's office for sex crimes) announced.

Sinaí, as she was known to her customers and underage sex workers, was

arrested in October of 2003 following an difficult investigation into her

activities, that included minors who offered sexual services to customers

contacting the woman.

Sinaí operated out of her home in Hatillo 6, a suburb on the south side of

San José and had been under investigation for some time. She first came to

the attention of the authorities in 1990. Her brush with the law in 1994

absolved her on any criminal activity.

Since then, the laws that govern underage prostitution and protecting minors

have been changed and the office of the Fiscalía de Delitos Sexuales was

created. Undercover agents tried to infiltrate her operation but were

unsuccessful.

Sinaí's real problems began in March of 2001, when a the television station

Antena 3 from Spain took undercover footage of one of her assistants, a woman

identified as Yolanda, who is still at large from the authorities, offering

the undercover news crew underage girls dressed in school uniforms.

The news spread fast and Costa Rica was invaded by many different news teams

looking for a story.

The first time that the underage sex theme was made global was in December of

2000 when a ABC 20/20 news report first aired the story in the United States.

In that report, them president Miguel Angel Rodríguez, was ridiculed by the

news team when he stated in full camera that there were only 20-30 underage

prostitutes in the country, contradicted a few seconds later by a street

policemen saying that the number was really in the thousands.

Sinaí, if convicted could face between four and 10 years in prison for

"proxenitismo" or promoting sexual favours that included minors.

Sinaí's partner, a man identified as Poltronieri, who was arrested at the

same time as Sinaí, accepted the charges and was sentenced to fours in prison

last October in a closed hearing.

The Sinaí trial is expected to last four weeks and more than 20 witnesses are

expected to testify against her.

At first, it was believed that the woman was in a possession of a "black

book" - a book that was supposed to have contained the names of her clients,

important Costa Ricans who prevailed of her services. The book was never

again mentioned and no "big" names have come out since the arrest.

*Banana Producing Countries Oppose New EU Tariff

Costa Rican President, Abel Pacheco, along with the pesidents and foreign

ministers from five othe banana-producing countries Wednesday issued a

statement opposing a European Union (EU) plan to raise per ton tariff from 75

euro (us$97.5 dollars) to 230 euro (us$299 dollars) on their banana export

starting in 2006.

The new 230-euro per ton tariff, proposed by the EU in October 2004, is

"unacceptable", said a statement signed by presidents of Ecuador, Colombia,

Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama and foreign minister of Honduras, at the end

of their one-day meeting here to set a strategy on the EU tariff issue.

The banana producing countries maintained the new EU duty would run contrary

to World Trade Organization (WTO) rulings against preferential banana import

rules. "The effects could be devastating to development in our countries,"

the statement said.

The banana producers promised to negotiate a solution to the issue and said

they will assess the development of related negotiations and make appropriate

decisions at the end of the first quarter of the year.

They also said they will send their joint statement immediately to the EU in

Brussels, where their ambassadors will present a complaint together and work

to achieve a satisfactory solution with the EU.

Latin America is the most important banana producer and exporter in the

world. Costa Rica produces 16% of the world total banana export, followed

Colombia at 13%. Ecuador the host of the Latin America presidents produces

33% of the total banana production in the world, placing it as the fourth

largest producer.

*Smaller quakes remind media of Nicoya prediction

Every time the ground shakes, journalists rush to the Observatorio

Vulcanológico y Sismológico to see if the Nicoya Peninsula is still there,

according to the director of the observatory, Marino Protti Quesada.

After the two quakes on Monday, the local media sensationalized reports about

a potential quake in the Nicoya Penninsula. According to Protti Quesada, the

reports are taken out of context.

"Every time there is an earthquake, people come rushing to the observatory to

find out about Nicoya," Protti Quesada said during a telephone interview

Wednesday afternoon. "The area has the potential for a large quake, but no

one could really predict when it might happen."

According to Protti Quesada, a large seismic gap exists underneath the Nicoya

Peninsula. The gap is where the Cocos plate to the west and the Caribe plate

to the east meet. The juncture of these two plates creates the potential for

a large earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 or higher.

After the two quakes on Monday, and the larger one in November, reporters

gathered around the observatory to find out about how they might have

affected Nicoya, Protti Quesada said. "Those quakes were not even associated

with the Nicoya gap," he explained.

"We originally published information about the probability of a quake in

Nicoya in the mid 90s, but the media rushes here every time the ground

shakes," Protti Quesada said. "Each segment in the world has

U.S. Geological Survey
Fault lines in Guanacaste are pictured in black or blue. The purple line is

the offshore Pacific trench marking the top of the juncture of the Caribe and

Cocos plates.

patterns. The Nicoya pattern lasts for about 40 years before things have to

reset with a quake," he said. According to the observatory’s data, the last

major quake in the area was in 1950.

Big quakes have hit the peninsula in 1853, 1900 and 1950. Protti Quesada and

his colleagues have estimated a period of recurrence of from 48 to 50.7 years

with standard deviations of from 2 to 4 years.

*State bank ATMs are gobbling up credit cards, cash

ATM machines from Banco Nacional and Banco de Costa Rica are swallowing cash

cards in San José, debiting customers accounts and not dispensing the money.

Jose Francisco Araya Murillo, head of public relations at Banco Nacional,

said that ATM machines are swallowing cards because of a fault in telephone

communication lines.

At the ATM of Banco Nacional at Paseo Colon Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. three

persons attempted to withdraw money from their accounts. All three customers

lost their card to the machines and did not receive the cash they requested.

Juan Gómez Murillo a person who was waiting to withdraw money said, "I tried

to take out some money but the machine swallowed my card, and my balance is

lower, but I never got any money."

An employee from Customer Services at Banco Nacional said that they were not

aware that there was a problem with that machine although other ATMs have

been reported to have the same technical difficulties.

Affected ATM machines included Banco Nacional opposite Hospital San Juan de

Dios, in Paseo Colon, and at Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Nacional next to

the Asamblea Legislativa.

Defensoria wants study of fees charged by banks

The nation’s ombudsman wants a study done of the fees the public banks of

Costa Rica charge their customers. The Defensoria de los Habitantes asked the

Ministerio de Economia, Industria and Commercio to develop a comparative

study of charges relating to ATM withdrawals, balance checks and insufficient

fund fines.

The Defensoria has also asked the ministry to find out if the private banks

in Costa Rica are informing their customers about charges according to Law

7473. This law requires that all private banks make public all

commission-based charges.

The Defensoria said that this request has been made because of the amount of

complaints the agency has received regarding the lack of information provided

for such charges. A press release from the Defensoria also said that the fees

charged were too high.

The Defensoria said that its staff is concerned that this sort of study does

not exist. A study should be put together as soon as possible so that

customers are able to choose the best banking option, the release said.

*Free expression seminars to visit two more countries

Journalists, editors and trainers in Guatemala and Costa Rica can apply for scholarships to attend seminars on covering press freedom, scheduled for March in both countries.

“Covering Freedom of Expression: Resources for Journalists,” organized by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), seeks to foster greater public discussion on press freedom. The goal is to give journalists the tools they need to cover the topic using investigative techniques.

The first seminar is scheduled for March 9 to 11 in Guatemala City, to be conducted in cooperation with the local Asociación para el Desarrollo, la Organización, Servicios y Estudios Socioculturales. The second is scheduled for March 13 to 15 in San Jose, in cooperation with the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.

ICFJ is offering eight scholarships for journalists from outside the capital of each country. The fund covers transportation and lodging costs. February 23 is the last day to apply.

The sessions will be interactive and will feature discussions with Latin American and U.S. experts, debates with mediators, and analysis of case studies. The invited lecturers include Pedro Enrique Armendares, executive director of the Mexico-based Periodistas de Investigación, and journalists and ICFJ trainer Bob Ortega.

The Chicago-based Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation is sponsoring both seminars.

For applications and more information, contact Lucía Migliónico, ICFJ program officer, at lucia@icfj.org, or visit http://www.icfj.org/foeguatemala.html for information on Guatemala or http://www.icfj.org/foecostarico.html for Costa Rica.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

=========================================
>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
=========================================

A publication of Destiny Worldwide Net
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=========================================
TODAY'S CONTENTS
=========================================

*News Digest

=========================================
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE
=========================================
If you want to be successful in the years to
come, with the new technology of the internet,
you need to break free of the limitations that
bind the majority of people. ONe of the worst
problems individuals and businesses face today
are high taxes, unfair litigation, lack of
privacy in financial matters, etc.

You cannot be truly successful and free unless
you use all the tools at your disposal, which
includes being financially free, and learning
the ingredients to true success.

These secrets used to not be available to the
ordinary person. They were the guarded secrets
of the elite.

Destiny Worldwide is unique in that we not only give
you the education you need to succeed, but we also
give you access to cutting edge tools in many
different aspects.

From e-commerce to success in your career, regular
business, and handling your finances secure from
the many risks out there today, our constellation
of services gives you the advantages you need to
succeed.

Go to these websites to begin running down the road
to your successful future today!

http://www.destiny-worldwide.net

http://www.offshorearnings.com

You'll be glad you did!
=========================================
FEATURE ARTICLE
=========================================

=========================================
DISCUSSION
=========================================

Please send your discussion topics to

costa-rica@yahoogroups.com

If you are not yet a member of this egroup,
you may either subscribe from your yahoogroups
members area, or subscribe by email by sending
a blank email to:

costa-rica-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

This group is for the distrubution of the Digest
as well as discussion on topics of interest to
those living or wanting to live in Costa Rica.

Enjoy!
=========================================
NEWS DIGEST
=========================================
*The Ground Keeps A Shakin'

Two strong earthquakes caused alarm in most of the country, especially in the Central Valley where it was shake was strong.

The first hit at 9:25am with a magnitude of 4.3 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was located some 90 kilometers west of Tamarindo Beach with a depth of 10 kilometers. Most of Guanacaste felt the shock.

The second occurred at 11:45am and was felt in the Central Valley and throught the Northern and Southern zones. The Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica (Ovsicori) registered the quake at 4.2 on the Richter scale with the epicentre located 25 kilometres southwest of Jacó Beach and with a depth of 22 kilmetres.

Both quakes were caused by a clash between the Coco and Caribe tectonic plates. Experts say the movement is normal and that daily movements are registered between the plates, though not strong enough to be felt as they are all under 3.0.

*Water War in Monterverde

Monteverde, a quiet and tranquil location and one of the more important tourist destinations, is facing a fight between neighbours with protests and heated arguments on a regular basis.

What are they fighting about? Water.

The Guacimal river, one of the cleanest rivers in Costa Rica fed by streams and ravines, crosses Monteverde. And it is exactly at two of these ravines - the Cuecha and the Máaquina - were a group wants to build a dam.

Eight property owners of the area who operate hotels and restaurants say they need the water to use in the plantations, in an area where it rains more than 200 days each year. The project got underway in December.

Neighbours who noticed the construction decided to impede the machinery used in the construction by blocking their paths with cars and debris. They claim that the project puts at risk the purity of the water and endangers the wildlife in the area.

The builders of the project claim to have a permit by the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía (Ministry of Energy and the Environment) and that their project will not harm the environment as critics say.

The decision now rests in the hands of the the Defensoría de los Habitantes. Ombudsman, José Manuel Echandi, is reviewing the case and getting information about the project and the impact on the environment and will hopefully be able to put an end to the "water war" of the area.

*Corrales Wants Arias To Quit

Another war is heating up closer to home, between former president and current presidential candidate for the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), Oscar Arias Sanchez and former presidential candidate, José Miguel Corrales, who left the PLN last week.

Following his leaving the party which he led to a stand off with president Able Pacheco in the last election, Corrales was asked to give his seat in the Legislative Assembly, now that he does not belong anymore to the green and white flag party. Pacheco belongs to the Partito Undidad Social Cristiana (PUSC).

Corrales has maintained strong that he now sits as an independent in the Legislative Assembly, though the location of his seat has not yet physically been moved as the PLN has requested. The Legislative Assembly has been on a five week hiatus and the re-location of Corrales' seat in the house is expected this week.

Corrales sent a message to the PLN that he will gladly give up his seat in the house if Arias steps down as party leader and does not run in the upcoming presidential election.

The former presidential candidate opposes the Arias nomination and candidature on several grounds. One, his election to party leader was one sided. The election was not done democratically and neither was the appointment of candidates who will sit in the Legislature if elected. Corrales says that a presidential candidate should have the ability to appoint several people but not the entire slate.

The other point of contention for Corrales is the presidential re-election. The Sala Constitucional - the Constitutional Court - voted in favour of presidential re-elections some time back, paving the way for Oscar Arias to run. According to Corrales, the court's decision is still being questioned, as the Constitutional Court does not have the power to amend the country's constitution.

Since 1948 presidential re-elections were not permitted. A president can occupy the presidential chair for a term of four years and then move on. With the changes, a president can now run for re-election, waiting out one election in between terms.

Oscar Arias, who is Nobel Prize winner for peace, was elected president of Costa Rica in 1986, following Luis Alberto Monge. Rafael Angel Calderon took the presidential chair in 1990, followed by José María Figueres Olsen in 1994, Miguel Angel Rodríguez in 1998 and in 2002 the chair was occupied by the current president who beat out Corrales in a first time ever in Costa Rican politics, a second presidential run off vote.

Both Calderón and Rodríguez are currently in La Reforma prison accused of corruption, while Figueres has been called before a Legislative commission on his role in the ICE-Alcatel scandal.

*German Tourist DID Have His Leg Amputated: CCSS and CIMA Doctors Confirmed

Several weeks ago we ran a story about a German professor who went on a dream holiday to Costa Rica woke up in an airport departure lounge to find his leg had been amputated. The professor said he had gone to see a doctor at a hospital in San Jose because his left foot was swollen. See original story.

Well, after receiving several letters of criticism, that the story could not be true, 'impossible to happen', 'it was all made up', authorities at the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) and the private hospital, CIMA, confirmed the amputation done on Roland Jursich.

CIMA director, Hugo Villegas del Carpio, explained that the hospital got the call by Jurisch the day after the amputation. Villegas said the man had his leg infected by gangrene due to the man's diabetic condition. The amputation was done at the Hospital de Alajuela.

Jurisch spend four weeks in intensive care at the CIMA hospital due to his delicate condition. The infection had been so severe that he trouble breathing and the infection had spread to his lungs, heart, kidneys and brain.

Kemly Picado, Medical Director at the CCSS, said the amputation was necessary due to man's life was in danger and consent was given by Jurisch before the surgery.

The facts of the case are as follows:
- February 23, 2004: Roland Jurisch entered the Hospital de Alajuela with gangerine in right leg. Doctors decided that the leg needed to be amputated.

- February 24, 2004: Jursich asks to be moved to the CIMA hospital, a private facility with better health care. On arrival he was placed in intensive care, where he remained for four weeks.

- January 2005: the German newspaper BILD publish the story and it hits the wire services.

*Gambling Sites Wait for Attacks

As reported by Wired Magazine: "As Super Bowl weekend approaches, Mickey Richardson, general manager of BetCRIS, an online gambling site based in Costa Rica, readies himself for the action. But there's also a cloud hanging over his, and other gambling sites' profitable Feb. 6 weekend.

An e-mail could come at any moment threatening to take down the site unless $40,000 or more is paid to an anonymous account.

Online gambling was, and still is, an industry ripe for the picking and extortion attempts like these are fairly common, not just around the Super Bowl. According to gaming analysts River City Group, estimated 2004 revenues for online gambling reached more than $7 billion. About 350 companies run at least 1,700 gaming sites.

It's also a largely unregulated industry -- many of these companies are headquartered offshore in countries without ample law enforcement resources to pursue hackers thousands of miles away, so the site operators often feel the pressure to pay.

*Looking for a job in Costa Rica?

Well, the Grupo Nación has launched it's elempleo.com website that will allow those looking for a job in Costa Rica and Colombia to see the recent positions offered. The website is for individual who are looking for work and for companies looking for talent. For now, it is only in Spanish, but it is expected to be offered in other languages soon.

*Comptroller's Office Suspends Tourism Tax Breaks

A lengthy tax battle between the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and the Comptroller's Office took a turn against tourism industry as the institute was forced to rescind exemptions that have traditionally been granted to car-rental companies, hotels and other tourism-related businesses.

The exemptions, which have been in place since the 1980s, allowed for the tax-free import of products such as cars for rental companies, microbuses for travel agencies, and lamps and kitchen utensils for hotels.

The order by the Comptroller's Office to suspend these tax breaks could have significant consequences for the industry, according to private-sector leaders.

“We're astonished and annoyed,” Ana Gabriela Alfaro, executive director of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, told The Tico Times yesterday. She said the Comptroller's handling of the decision is “almost perverse.”

“Many hotels would have to close” if the decision is not altered, Alfaro added. “Prices for the consumer would go up. The quality of tourist services would decrease.”

“This decision paralyzes the process of improving infrastructure and the quality of national tourism services,” said Carlos Roesch, president of the Chamber of Hotels, in a statement.

“Are we Costa Ricans truly conscious of the fact that tourism is the country's largest source of income, and consequently, do we believe that we must support it?” he added.

The disagreement at the heart of the conflict is whether the Tourism Incentives Law exempts companies from taxes indefinitely, or only for a defined initial period. The ICT has argued the former interpretation, but the Comptroller's Office has chosen the latter.

Roesch said the Comptroller's recent decision is all the more surprising given that in 1999, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) “concluded that the Tourism Incentives Law does not have an established time frame.”

Roesch's statement called on the Tourism Institute to consult the Ombudsman's Office for an analysis of the decision – an action the institute is already undertaking, Tourism Minister Rodrigo Castro told the daily La Nación. Castro also said the institute is analyzing whether the decision may be unconstitutional.

In 2004, approximately 1.5 million tourists visited Costa Rica, a number up nearly 20% compared to the previous year. Ensuring the sustainability of the industry requires significant improvements in infrastructure and the attraction of foreign investment – both areas the tax incentives were designed to protect.

COMMENT: The moment the Assembly comes back into session, they need to
appoint a new Comptroler, because it is quite clear that even with the
removal of Solis, his people left behind are causing havoc for the country
still, both with this case and their foot dragging on the cel phone contract
even after the Sala IV has acted. They just don't seem to care what happens
to this country. No cel phones for 2 years, no tourism incentives -- they
must really have a death wish for the business sector. We just wounder if someone is sliding them a little extra money?

British Citizen Accused of Fraud Found Guilty and Released

British citizen John Shimell was found guilty Friday of fraud, but hours after a Costa Rican court announced the decision, he was released from San Sebastián prison, south of San José.

The court decided that the three years Shimell had already served waiting for his trial was punishment enough. Although he faced up to 10 years in prison, Shimell, 62, was given a shorter sentence because of his age, his willingness to return from Spain to face the accusations, and the fact that some clients did receive the money they were promised under his alleged fraud.

Shimell maintains his innocence and claims he was unfairly held for nearly three years and found guilty only so the court would not have to pay him for the moral and material damage he accrued during his preventive detention in prison.

Cecilia Tristán, who according to prosecutors is a dual U.S.-Costa Rican citizen who managed Shimell's business, European Financial Services, was also charged with fraud, but absolved of all responsibility.

“I am extremely happy; there is justice in Costa Rica,” she told The Tico Times. “The past three years have been very hard for me, very painful for me and my family. I really believed in the business. I told my friends to take advantage of what he was offering. It was a big surprise to me.”

Shimell was taken into custody in early 2002 under suspicion of fraud in connection with the investment firm he owned in Costa Rica. He and Tristán were accused of offering fraudulent project financing that required clients to make an advance payment of at least $10,000, which was allegedly kept despite never providing the financing, according to prosecutor Carlos Meléndez (TT, Nov. 26, 2004).

Shimell and Tristán were accused of offering investment opportunities that promised false annual returns as high as 30%, Meléndez said.

Shimell said yesterday the business did provide such returns to some clients, and clients who did not receive these benefits had failed to comply with all the required regulations.

After Shimell returned to Costa Rica from Spain to address the accusations, he was arrested here because authorities considered him a flight risk after he made travel plans to visit his dying father – who died April 23, 2002, exactly three months after his arrest. He was placed in preventive detention, where he remained until Friday.

Shimell said the justice system imposed numerous unnecessary delays and continually lengthened his preventive detention order (TT, May 7, 2004).

He said he is considering bringing the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. However Shimell's lawyer said she is happy with the decision and will not take any further legal action unless the prosecutor appeals the ruling.

After being imprisoned since Jan. 23, 2002, Shimell said yesterday he is still getting used to being free.

“It hasn't really sunk in. The first night I only slept an hour because I was in a real bed,” he told The Tico Times.

This week he is visiting doctors and dentists to be evaluated for health problems that stem from being attacked by other prisoners one year ago in San Sebastián prison, he said.

*Lawmakers take a step to speed bill approval

Legislative deputies took a step to change their internal rules Monday in an effort to sidestep the Movimiento Libertario that has been blocking major proposals.

The change would allow 38 deputies, two thirds, to vote to give special treatment to certain legal proposals. This would let major legislation to be passed without continuous stalling and sidetracking that has characterized the debate strategy of the libertarians, a minority in the chamber.

Deputies Monday agreed to consider this change in the internal rules the whole time that they meet each day until there is a resolution. They placed the internal change in the No. 1 position in the legislative agenda. Otherwise, the measure would have received an airing for just an hour of the three hours the deputies meet in general session each afternoon.

If the internal change is passed, the majority
would be able to cut off debate and expedite a decision on certain key bills.

The most sweeping of these is the proposed new fiscal package that will impose $500 million in new taxes, by enacting a value-added tax and global income tax. The libertarians oppose the measure.

President Abel Pacheco, in a letter to the Movimiento Libertario deputies released Monday, blamed them for holding up the new taxes for two and a half years. The libertarians consider this an accomplishment.

Also considered key and likely to be considered under the new rule are the proposed changes to the immigration law and the proposed law of liberty of expression and the press. These, too, have been in the legislature for at least two years.

However, deputies Monday rejected a proposal by the libertarians that they meet in special session for the next three mornings at 8:45 a.m.

COMMENT: Considering that Pacheco's legislative agenda would ruin the country if passed, we have to say we hope the Libertarians win, and further, that the people of Costa Rica will have the sense to vote more of them into office next time! Both new taxes alone would cause capital, foreign companies, and expats to rush towards the exits. The new immigration law would do the same, as would all of the other items on the socialist demagogue Pacheco's agenda if passed. But, if the country has a death wish, they can go right on ahead. Panama and Nicaragua are just across the border, and doing things right!

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