Below is an excellent commentary on what REALLY happened at the OAS yesterday, and how the OAS told Bush and Rice to shove it!

John

--- narconews wrote:

> Bush and Rice Encounter the New OAS Pro-Democracy
> Buzzsaw
>
> Yesterday, United States President George W. Bush
> and his Secretary of State Condoleezza
> Rice went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to deliver
> lofty but worried speeches to the assembly
> of the newly independent Organization of American
> States (OAS, in its English initials).
>
> It was the first OAS meeting inside the United
> States in 31 years, a fact that Secretary Rice
> noted when she reminisced: "The last time the OAS
> met in the United States, some 31
> years ago, it looked a lot different than it does
> today. Of the 23 member states, 10 were
> military dictatorships."
>
> While taking that walk down amnesia lane, she and
> Bush kept mouthing the word
> "democracy" as if dropping the name of an important
> friend who they really don't know
> that well. The irony was not lost on the Latin
> American delegates. There, in Florida (hardly
> a poster state for electoral "democracy" after the
> last two simulated presidential elections,
> rife with Floridian fraud, in the U.S.) Rice waxed
> poetically about the times of dictators but
> neglected to recall that every one of those tyrants
> was installed and forcefully propped up
> by her own government – from Chile to Argentina, to
> Brazil to Bolivia to Uruguay to
> Paraguay, where a Washington-authored plot named
> "Operation Condor" slammed the
> boot down upon South American dreams of freedom.
>
> Even in the so-called "democracies" of that era,
> such as Mexico and Venezuela, the violent
> repression against authentically democratic and
> civil rights movements, the assassination
> of their leaders and journalists, the censorship of
> their press, the training of their military
> brass in torture techniques at the US's "School of
> the Americas," and the maintenance of
> keeping a few in power while the majorities suffered
> were the daily bread of U.S. policy.
>
> Indeed, many of the same U.S. officials found today
> in the Bush administration, including
> key members of Rice's own staff, were directly
> involved in the 1973 Chilean coup, the
> military waves of terror from Sao Paulo to San
> Salvador, the CIA-sponsored cocaine
> trafficking to form a slush fund for paramilitaries
> in Nicaragua in the 1980s… and yet
> there she was, speaking of once upon a time in
> América, as if her administration had any
> kind of authority at all to speak of "democracy" and
> instruct Latin Americans how to
> practice it.
>
> The Latin American nations yesterday, at that
> Florida meeting, rejected the Orwellian
> vision of Bush and Rice, with their newfangled turn
> of phrases in which "democracy," to
> them, means setting up new ways to impose their will
> upon the democratic aspirations of
> their neighbors to the South.
>
> Countries that only a few years ago could have been
> counted on to back any U.S. venture
> in the Organization of American States – countries
> like Argentina, Brazil, Chile and even
> Mexico, which in this blessed year of 2005 has
> finally halted its lurch away from Bolívar's
> country called América and stood together again with
> the South American and Caribbean
> nations – told Bush and Rice that they don't accept
> their version of making impositions
> and calling it "democracy."
>
> And the new chairman of the Organization of American
> States, José Miguel Insulza, of
> Chile, rebuked the U.S. proposal to create
> mechanisms of force over individual nations.
> (Remember just a few weeks ago when the Commercial
> Media told you that Rice claimed to
> have struck a deal to elect Insulza, as Narco News
> alone explained to you that Insulza had
> been elected, to the contrary, to stand up in favor
> of Latin American democracy against
> the anti-democratic aspirations of the Bush
> administration?
>
> If you missed that report, "Democracy Triple Play:
> Ecuador to Mexico to the OAS: the
> Smackdown of Condoleezza's Agenda Came on the Week
> of Her Latin American Tour"
> (Narco News, May 1, 2005), here's the link:
>
> http://narconews.com/Issue37/article1277.html
>
> It should now be clear, again, which journalists
> were telling you the truth and which were
> not. Insulza, in words as clear as the new day
> dawning in América, said aloud at the OAS
> meeting: "We can never use any mechanism without the
> consent of the country. If the
> states don't want something, then nothing will be
> done."
>
> Or, as Brazilian Secretary of State Celso Amorim
> said, standing up to Rice and Bush at the
> same OAS session in Fort Lauderdale, boomed:
> "Democracy cannot be imposed. It is born
> from dialogue."
>
> Democracy Comes Down from the Hills in Bolivia
>
> At the very moment that Rice and Bush prattled on in
> Fort Lauderdale yesterday, Luis
> Gómez reported to you from La Paz that
> half-a-million citizens from that nation had
> descended upon the administrative capital and shut
> it down cold.
>
> Gómez was there – your authentic journalist, now
> three-and-a-half years with Narco
> News, and its acting publisher - in the streets,
> where a democracy from below surges
> upward even as it comes down from the hills of the
> majority who still live in earthen or
> cardboard shacks.
>
> Gómez and our news team were with these multitudes
> that still struggle and worry each
> day whether their children will get to eat a dinner
> even as billions of dollars of nearby
> natural resources – gas, oil, mineral ores,
> agricultural plenty, and even their millenarian
> coca leaf and its proud traditions of struggle - are
> being siphoned away from their
> ancestral lands as a result of decades of imposition
> from above.
>
> As Gómez described, much like John Reed or Charles
> Horman or Mario Menéndez before
> him once reported from other Latin American lands at
> hours of moral crisis:
>
> "This morning there were more people in the streets
> than before, possibly more than ever
> before in the recent history of social mobilizations
> in Bolivia. Perhaps half a million people,
> perhaps more, according to the calculations of a
> leader from District 8 of El Alto.
>
> "The public school teachers arrived earlier at the
> Plaza de los Héroes. Today is Teachers'
> Day in Bolivia, and there were more than 30,000
> educators in the streets. It was just after
> 10:00 in the morning and they went out alone to shut
> down central La Paz. A half hour
> later the two immense marches from El Alto arrived,
> one made up of the city's southern
> districts and another from the north.
>
> "The mineworkers' federation arrived, as did the
> factory workers, the students, followed by
> the peasant farmers from the communities south of La
> Paz, and the neighborhoods from
> La Paz's eastern slopes, which form the border with
> El Alto. They were all there, together
> with Aymara peasant farmers from several
> provinces…."
>
> In the afternoon, the Mexican-born Gómez, alone
> among the foreign press corps in
> Bolivia, reported to you that Bolivian President
> Carlos Mesa "appears close to resigning."
> Gómez reported:
>
> "…according to a source within the Catholic Church
> who asked to remain anonymous,
> Carlos Mesa has a resignation letter ready and could
> present it, at latest, tomorrow night."
>
> Five hours later, by 10 p.m., Gómez's informed
> prediction became a reality. And the next
> few days in Bolivia will bring the final
> confrontation between imposed power from above
> and authentic democracy from below: Today, Tuesday,
> June 7, 2005, the people are
> coming down from the hills again, and our team is
> (again) reporting it, blow by blow, here
> on Narco News and its Narcosphere. I already know,
> beforehand, where the fastest, most
> accurate, information about what is happening will
> be available. And I'm very proud to say
> it is at www.narconews.com.
>
> An Hour to Protect Our Journalists
>
> But, kind reader, I would not be honest with you if
> I didn't add that these are the minutes
> and hours when I worry most about the safety and
> security of our journalists: these
> moments of immediate history, when imposed power
> from above has its back against the
> wall. These are the kinds of moments when the
> violent coups of years ago happened.
> Because when authentic democracy advances, as it did
> in Venezuela in 2002 and 2004, as
> it did in Mexico this year of 2005, and as it
> bubbles up right now from under indigenous
> Aymara bowler hats in El Alto and the hopeful eyes
> of coca growers, miners, teachers,
> students, senior citizens, farmers and people in all
> the other hot spots of Bolivia, these are
> the moments when those who are losing power have
> historically become the most
> dangerous.
>
> We all need – we being you and I and other members
> of Civil Society – accurate reporting
> from Bolivia this week. We need it like we need air
> and water and food, for authentic
> democracy requires not only a free press, but also a
> courageous press, to be able to
> function. "Without truth," the Proverbs section of
> the Bible says, "the people perish."
>
> I write you from another part of our América, from
> the place where I am here clearing the
> brush for the permanent campus for the Narco News
> School of Authentic Journalism, a
> place with no phone line and no cell phone service
> (yet), but where I have just shimmied
> up a palm tree to install a satellite dish so as to
> be able to speak with you once again at a
> moment of truth.
>
> And to be totally truthful with you – to tell you
> the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
> the truth – I confess that right at this moment I
> worry about our journalists and about our
> América and about our hopes and dreams for a more
> authentic democracy and a more
> authentic journalism. Because, as everybody knows,
> we don't have the millions of dollars
> that the corporate and institutional newspapers and
> simulator "press freedom"
> organizations have to protect their own, and only
> their own, commercial journalists.
>
> Our coffers are low, too low, which is why I have
> had to shimmy up palm trees to get the
> word to you from the swelter here where it is 90
> degrees in the shade, without an air
> conditioned office, without a company car (or any
> car), without any of the accoutrements
> that less-than-honest corporate reporters are
> provided. For we don't spend your
> donations on such luxuries: we spend it thriftily,
> on just the truth, the whole truth… and
> getting the facts to you.
>
> Luis Gómez and our team in Bolivia have none of
> those luxuries either. And yet day after
> day, hour after hour, they walk at street level
> tapping and adding to the surging power of
> the authentically democratic movements of real
> people who are making real history. They
> and we do this job free of the control by which the
> bureaucratic press flaks of Embassies
> and such that so effectively spin the dishonest
> "news" coverage by our commercial rivals.

=========================================
>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
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*President Pacheco Treated for High Pressure, Relinquishes Presidency

Temporarily

President Abel Pacheco was hospitalized on Monday morning with high blood

pressure, although his condition was stable by the afternoon, his spokeswoman

said.

Pacheco, 71, has had a number of health scares in recent years, including a

brief spell in hospital in February for heart problems.

A diabetic, the U.S.-educated president suffered partial facial paralysis

after a brain hemorrhage in 2000, two years before taking office.

Hospital director Luis Paulino Hernandez said Pacheco was in stable condition

and that his "arterial pressure came down in the past few hours."

Presidential spokeswoman Betania Aratavia said Pacheco would remain

hospitalized overnight.

Pacheco's latest health problem are a possible result following allegations

this week of irregularities in accepting gifts, used airline tickets given to

the government for personal and a connection between Spanish businessman

Bernardo Martín and his investment in a Papagayo land development and Paheco

appointing him Honourary Consul to Sevilla, Spain and getting his book

published free by a Martín foundation.

The pressure started when it was made public that Pacheco had accepted as a

gift a lifetime membership for he and his wife to a luxury resort in the

Dominican Republic when he visited there this year.

Next on the list of irregularities is the use of free tickets given as a

customary practice by the TACA Group airline to the government. Pacheco used

the free tickets for the San José - Miami - San José leg of his Spain trip,

which was a personal trip. Pacheco said he would reimburse the government for

the cost of the tickets

Also on the Pacheco watchlist is the connection between he and Spanish

businessman Martín, who was appointed Honourary Consul to Sevilla by Pacheco

and later invested in a land development project in Papagayo, Guanacaste,

which is owned by Rubén Pacheco Lutz, the former Minister of Tourism in Abel

Pacheco's administration and accompanied the president on the Spain Trip.

Also on hand on the Spain trips was also Jorge Arce, president Pacheco's

chief protocol officer at Casa Presidencial, who resigned last Monday

following reports in the media of possible wrongdoing.

Martín's foundation published a book of poems by president Pacheco and

presented last December on the President's second trip to Spain.

Pacheco came out fighting last week, taking to the airwaves on national

television and radio, defending his actions. He admitted that he may have

made some mistakes.

He told Costa Ricans that they know him and know what to expect from him. And

all the accusations are a campaign by the media who are angry at him and want

to smear his good name.

President Pacheco, according to his doctors, will probably be released from

the Calderón Guardia hospital today, following a 24 hour observation.

Hwever, doctors are now "ordering" to stay home for the next five days and

not a recommendation like the last time.

Facing doctor's orders, Pacheco made a call yesterday to temporary relinquish

his presidential powers to first Vice-President, Lineth Saborío, this

according to information released by Casa Presidencial.

Casa Presidencial press secretary, Carolina Murillo, confirmed yesterday that

Saborío will fill in for Pacheco while is out on medical orders.

Under the Costa Rican constitution, a president cannot resign office. The

transfer of power of the president can only occur on the death or "permanent"

incapacitation.


*24 New Political Parties Registered; Bringing Total to 72

The Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) reports that five new political

parties will be running candidates for the presidency in the 2006 elections.

The parties, Alianza Democrática Nacionalista (ADN) headed for former Justice

Minister, José Miguel Villalobos; Unión para el Cambio (UPC) headed by

Antonio Álvarez Desanti; Unión Patriótica (UP) formed by Humberto Arce and

José Miguel Corrales; Patria Primero by Juan José Vargas; and Unión Nacional

(PUN) all presented their documentation before the 4pm deadline yesterday.

In addition there are 19 new parties that will be fielding candidates for

regional and provincial positions in the election to be held next February,

bringing the total of political parties registered to 72.

Not all the parties are active on a national level or even known outside of

their community, though the number of candidates making a bid for elected

office will make the historic election interesting for Costa Ricans.

The new parties will face the mainstream parties Liberación Nacional (PLN),

Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC), Acción Ciudadana (PAC).

Parties who have made a name for themselves in the last couple of elections

are the Integración Nacional (PIN), Renovación Costarricense, Alianza

Nacional Cristiana, Independiente Obrero (PIO), Movimiento Libertario,

Patriótico Nacional, Rescate Nacional and Fuerza Democrática, some of which

will seeking the presidential seat.

The traditional two party system began to disappear in the 2002 election when

the PAC forced a run off vote between the PLN and PUSC which saw president

Abel Pacheco elected, ending the traditional two party system and division of

party as each party would take the presidency in alternate elections.

The new parties are now inscribed in the official records and we will know in

the coming months which will be making a strong bid for the presidency and

other elected posts.


*Probation For Three Women in Trafficking Ring

Remember the case in 2003 when police raided homes in La Uruca and Escazú and

arrested a number of people in connection with a trafficking ring involving

minors?

In all 16 people were arrested and an investigation was begun into the

trafficking of minors that saw Guatemalan children sent to families in the

United States by way of Costa Rica.

One of the persons arrested as lawyer and former manager of the defunct Banco

Anglo, Carlos Hernán Robles.

Most of the accused in the case, including Robles, has yet to see formal

charges levied against them. However, three Guatemalan women also arrested

decided to accept the charges and submitted themselves to a fast track

process.

A has now sentenced the three women to two years and three months for their

role in the trafficking ring. However, since the sentence is less than three

years, the women are free on probation and if the stay clean for the

duration, will not see a prison cell.


*Dead Man's Missing Car is Owned by Police Commander

The Fiscalía (prosecutor's office) in San Ramon, northwest of San José, is

looking into allegations that the second commander of the Fuerza Pública de

San Ramón, Marco Hernández Barrantes, registered the purchase of a vehicle

after the owner had already died and the car had been reported missing.

The accusation is also against a lawyer identified as Barahona Segnini, who

is registered lawyer and notary number 82.

The complaint says that the Suzuki Gran Vitara was the property of North

American James Kent, who died in September of 2003. However, records show

that the sale was made in March of this year.

Kent's family had begun the legal process of possession following his death

in 2003 and was concluded last month. The vehicle in question had disappeared

from Kent's home during this time.

The OIJ was called in to investigate the case of the missing vehicle and

discovered that the vehicle was in the possession of the local police

commander. The national registry shows that the purchase was made this year

for ¢100.000 colones (us$210) while the vehicle has a value of ¢5 million

colones (us$10.500).

Police, once they located the vehicle, confiscated it from the police

commander and turned it over to the family of the deceased man. Police are

now investigating into the complaint against the police commander and the

fact the vehicle was in his possession after it was reported missing.

In Costa Rica the transfer of ownership of a vehicle is handled by a

lawyer/notary, which will make an entry into his "protocol" book and then

submit the required documentation along with taxes and "timbres" to the

national registry.

Both the seller and the buyer are required to sign the "protocol" before the

presence of the lawyer,/notary, but that is not always the case. There are

cases, like in the death of a foreigner, a lawyer, for a fee, will take the

buyer's word for the situation and banks that the deceased of his far away

family will not be around to complain.

The registry verifies that the document is in order, the tax is paid and the

"timbres" are attached to the paperwork. Once the verification is complete, a

owners certificate is issued.


*Two Wheeled Transportation on the Increase

The high cost of gasoline as a result of the high cost of crude oil on world

markets has forced Costa Ricans more ways to get around town.

Many have begun using buses more and those living a short distance from work

make it on foot. However, a growing market has been for scooters and

motorcycles.

According to Demtrio Pérez of the Asociación de Importadores de Motocicletas

(AIMA) the number of motorcycle sales have been steadily increasing over the

last several years and moreso this past year when gasoline prices began

setting record levels.

The AIMA attributes the increase in sales directly to the high price of the

combustible.

Peréz says that in 2002, 4.966 new motocycles/scooters were sold in agencies

across the country. In 2003, the number of sales of new motocycles/scooters

increased to 6.570 and in 2004 7.763 new motorcycles/scooters were sold.

For the first three months of thus year, 2.279 new motorcycles were sold.

Forecasts for this year may reach 10.000 sales.

Two wheel transportation not only saves on gasoline but time, as the roads of

downtown San José become more congested each day. Another benefit of a

motorcycle or scooter is the low cost in maintenance. Repairs to motorcycles

and scooters take less time and the cost is dramatically lower than that of a

vehicle.

Peréz adds that the owners of motorcylces/scooters are not the only winners

in this. With the increased use of motorcylce/scooters, the population in

general benefits also with lower contamination and less traffic congestion.

In Europe, major cities like Rome, two wheel motorized transportation is the

favouite way to get to an from work, as well as shopping and recreational

use. Many automobile owners also own a scooter for the trip into town, while

the auto is for family trips.

In San José, the demand for scooters has increased. When there was only one

or two dealers selling scooters, now along the Avenida 10 and La Uruca there

are a half dozen dealers selling scooters from the original Vespa to the

asian and other european imports.


*Mexico rejects US proposal to "supervise democracy" in L. America

Mexico rejected on Monday a US proposal which calls for the creation of a

so-called "democracy supervision mechanism" in Latin America.

"In principle, we don't agree with any supervision whatsoever, "Mexico's

presidential spokesman Ruben Aquilar told the press.

The US proposal also gives the Organization of American States (OAS) the task

of giving help to countries "where democracy is under threat."

"We agree in extending the guarantees and rights of the nations of the

continent, though. We do agree with extending the respect of human rights,

but never under the supervision of anyone," said Aquilar.

The remarks came at a time when a debate is under way on whether the OAS

countries are ready to have an observation mechanism to prevent and manage

crises at the bloc's annual general assembly being held between June 5 and 7

at Fort Laderdale, the United States.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that the "OAS has to be a

valid instrument to help the countries of America whose democracies are in

peril."

She warned that American countries failing to fulfill democratic principles

have to respond to the OAS.


*Bolivian president resigns amid mass protests

Bolivian President Carlos Mesa said late Monday that he would submit

resignation to the congress after mass anti-government protests paralyzed the

country's capital of La Paz, according to reports from the city.

Bolivian demonstrators attend a protest march in San Francisco square in La

Paz June 6, 2005.

"It is my responsibility to say that this is as far as it can go," Mesa said

on national television. "I have taken the decision to present my resignation

from the presidency."

Mesa's decision came hours after tens of thousands of Indians, miners and

labor protesters paralyzed La Paz in their largest anti-government march in

weeks demanding nationalization of the country's natural gas sector and early

elections.

Protesters marched through La Paz waving "Nationalize Now" and "The People

Demand Nationalization" banners, and vowed to maintain roadblocks which have

caused gas and food shortages in the capital after more than two weeks of

blockades.


Bolivian demonstrators attend a protest march in San Francisco square in La

Paz June 6, 2005. The protesters are demanding nationalization of the

country's natural gas sector.

A senior government official said earlier on Monday that it is "very

difficult" for the government and the president to continue in office if

"insecurity and instability" continue in the country amid mass street

protests.

If the social chaos and insecurity continue, "without a doubt it is very

difficult that the president and the government can continue," said Minister

of Presidency Jose Antonio Galindo. "We are on the verge of collapse."

Church leaders had called for a truce to help negotiate a solution to the

stalemate. They held a second day of talks on Monday as some members of the

congress suggested early general elections as the best way out for Mesa.

Earlier on Monday, the embattled president managed to flee his office after

protesters threatened to storm the presidential palace.

The recent unrest began after the congress passed a law on May 17 to levy a

50-percent tax on foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country,

which has the second-largest gas reserves in South America after Venezuela.

The opposition first demanded higher taxes on foreign firms and later the

nationalization of the country's lucrative oil and gas industry.

They also demanded the resignation of Mesa and a rewriting of the

constitution to boost indigenous representation in the congress.

Demonstrations have escalated into riots since May 24 when demonstrators

blocked a downtown square in La Paz, where the executive and legislative

branches are located, and began to smash windows in buildings and cars in the

surrounding streets.

The long-term crisis over the gas issue already forced Mesa's predecessor,

Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, to step down 20 months ago.

NOTE: This article is not entirely accurate. As readers of our Offshore
Destiny list know from yesterday's reports, this whole mess started because

of US interference in Bolivian internal affairs due to their ridiculous
"war on drugs." The coca leaf is a traditional crop of the indigenous
community, but the US government put massive pressure on Bolivia to destroy
the crop and the livelihoods of the Indian farmers who raise the crops, much

of it for their own use as they have done for thousands of years. This

insane and ludicrous "war" is what started this whole thing going, and the

indigenous groups added the gas issue later on. Now, because of this heavy

handed meddling in the affairs of another country, the situation has blown up

in the face of the US government, which is now trying to bring its policy of

"unilateral intervention" in the affairs of other nations to this hemisphere,

using the OAS as its cloak. As reported in the article above, Latin America

now outright rejects the interference of the US in their internal affairs.

And Nicaragua is another case in point where imperialism will no longer be

accepted. The only supporter of Enrique Bolanos is the US government. The

National Assembly and the Supreme Court have already rejected his

"government," which simply does whatever its master in Washington says. It

is my prediction that Bolanos will be impeached and put on trial for his

crimes and corruption, and that there is nothing that Wasthington can do to

stop it now. If they would have stopped their meddling, then this would not

have happened, but they seem to think that Latin American countries are their

colonies and that the colonies must do what master says still. Nothing could

be further from the truth, as people all over the world utterly reject their

policies of telling other sovereign countries what to do.




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an up to date digest on what is going on in the world around
you.

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"common knowledge" solutions, but we aim to give you
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NEWS DIGEST
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*Two More Bodies Recovered Thursday

Officials said Thursday they have discovered two bodies from the crash of a

small plane that had carried U.S. and Canadian skydivers.

The Ministerio de Seguridad Pública ( Security Ministry) did not identify the

bodies that were discovered Thursday, a day after U.S. skydiver William

Slater, 34, was rescued from the water near a marina 96 kilometres southwest

of San José.

Authorities said Slater, who remained in Hospital Mexico Thursday, told them

the plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean Tuesday afternoon after encountering

turbulence.

He said he and two others had leaped from the plane with parachutes after

feeling strong vibration from the top of the aircraft.

Costa Rican officials identified the others aboard the plane as local pilot

Jorge Melendez; Milton Burton, a Canadian skydiving instructor who owned a

company called Skydive Costa Rica; Emanuel Sanchez Cornejo, a Mexican-born

U.S. citizen, and U.S. citizens James Simplicio and Jean Roman.

In a news release, the ministry said it "confirms the finding of the lifeless

bodies of two men" near Herradura beach. It said the others aboard the plane

"are intensively searched for."

Roger Sequeira, an employee of Skydive Costa Rica, told the Spanish language

daily La Nación the group was making its final skydiving flight of the day

"because it was dark and began to rain and there was a strong wind."

Authorities said pieces of the plane were seen in widely dispersed areas.

The search for the remaining bodies was called off at nightfall last night

and resumed at daybreak today. According to Jorge Rovira, rescue operations

chief for the Cruz Roja (Red Corss), said their strategy for the search is

use more aeral passes over the area, concentrating more on the area of the

crash.

Operators of the luxury resort Marriott Los Sueños have helped in the rescue

efforts as well as a score of private boat owners, according to Rovira, who

added that today they will be using special equipment to try to locate the

bodies and fuselage of the small aircraft.



What Caused the Crash?
The Preliminary investigation shows the plane may have been knocked down from

the sky excessive turbulence.

Investigators are discounting engine failure. If engine failuer had been

the case, the experienced pilot would have headed for the coast, experts say.

One of the investigators said that once they we eliminated the possibility of

engine failure, it can be assumed that the aircraft lost stability due to

excessive turbulence.

Authorities are presuming that the pilot got too close to a wind current in

his climb to gain altitude for the last jump of the day for the skydivers.

Unnamed sources close to the investigation told the press that, in the last

trip of the day, the aircraft's pilot Meléndez was surprised by the strong

wind current. At the time, the climate over the Pacific was bad and it was

raining.

The pilot was making his climb to the 8.000 foot altitude so that the

skydivers could make their jump, but, authorities believe he never made it

past 3.000 feet.



*Pacheco Criticizes Media For Attacks on Him

Last night, in a national address on television and radio, President Abel

Pacheco began his attack against the collective media for the persecution

campaign against him and for discrediting him in the past week.

The President told his audience that there are some media who are angry with

the government for not buying advertising space from them, the reason which

is that they are more expensive and that his government has to use public

funds wisely.

He did not name names.

Pacheco added that the game these people are playing is a dangerous one, as

they generalize their discredit, the real corrupt can take advantage of the

situation by dressing in sheep's clothing and create a climate of uncertainty

for all.

"You know me and know how I am. Abel Pacheco, will not yield his principles.

Costa Ricans can be sure about that", were the words spoken by the President.

Pacheco took the time to explain what he says is the "truth".

He said he has nothing to hide and explained in detail his trip to Dominican

Republic and Spain last year, and that it was all done in public and fully

covered my the media. There was no mystery or secret to his trips and that

now the media is trying to make a scandal out of it.

The president admitted that he did use the tickets for the San José - Miami -

San José portion of his trip, tickets given free of charge to the government

by TACA airlines, that which Pacheco commented was normal practice among the

other Central American presidents for decades.

The President spoke about the facts surrounding his trips to Sevilla, Spain

and the publication of his book by the prestigious Ateneo de Sevilla and the

Fundación Martín Robles, which are highly respected around the world. "In

this case they have tied a series of events that make me look corrupt and

that the publicatio of the book is payment for a favour, which I did not or

have conceded. This is false. It is a lie", the President told his viewing

and listening audience.

"You know me, you know how I am and not because I say it, but because there

71 years of public testimony of an honest and correct life", president

Pacheco referred to his reputation.

As to the naming of Bernardo Martín Moreno where he is accused of making a

trade, naming the Moreno to Honourary Consul in Sevilla, Spain, for the

publication of his book, Pacheco said it was utterly false and evil. "Costa

Ricans, things have gone so far, that one day, while I was flying to

Guatemala in economy class, they were watching to see if the peanuts I was

given were just for me or for all passengers. I could not beleive that. It

has gone to the ridiculous, to the point where my colleagues in the region,

kidding, are callinbg me 'el presidente ceniciento"."

Pacheco explained that there are powerful forced in the country that are

angry with him over the Plan Fiscal (Tax Plan) that will see the rich being

taxed as they should, like they should have been for many years already. They

tell me that there are also those who would have loved if I had sold off ICE

(the state monopoly on telecommunications and electricity), which I will not

do.

"If that is why they are angry with me, well let them continue to be angry,

because I will not yield on the tax reforms, the TLC and nor will I hand them

the ICE flag, nor the INS or the Caja, I will not hand over Costa Rican goods

so that a few can do business.

If these people is what they want to is treat me ill and discredit me, let

them because I can bear it for I am used to it," affirmed the President.

COMMENT: Well, well, well, now that HIS corruption is coming to light, it
is simply a "media circus" and all over peanuts? Spoken like a true
demagogue! Bravo! The facts are still the facts, el presidente, no matter
how you squell like a stuck pig when your evil deeds come to light! Let's
see, someone publishes your book for free, and in return, they become

honorary counsel and get the primest bids on a gigantic tourism project.
It is all so transparant, huh, and just a personal attack? HOGWASH! And
we are not forgetting your OWN illegal campaign contributions. But, in your
own words, maybe we should be going after the "truly corrupt," which, I

guess, means ANYONE BUT YOURSELF? I think we have it right. I hope they

strip you of your immunity and haul you away in the Perrara just like you did

to your enemies, and impeach you before your term is over. You were so quick

with your condemnations then, but now that the shoe is on your own foot, you

hide behind your own immunity. We most certainly DO understand!


*Canadian Arrested For Drug Smuggling

A 29 year old Canadian woman was arrested by the Policía de Control de Drogas

(PCD) at the Juan Santamaría airport in San José when it was discovered that

she was hiding drugs - heroin and cocaine - in her travel bags.

The woman identified only by her last name, Haehnel, was travelling with her

11 year old son when she was stopped by the PCD agents.

According to the PCD, the woman had 1.086 grams of heroin and 2.239 grams of

cocaine hidden in her suitcases.

The woman was travelling from Panama to Canada with a stop in Costa Rica

according to a spokesperson for Ministerio de Seguridad Pública, which also

added that the woman's child will be in the hands of the Canadian Embassy who

will contact the boy's family and arrange for his return home.

Thousands of kilos of cocaine have been confiscated by police this year,

however, this is only the fourth instance of seizure of heroin.

If found guilty, drug traffickers face a conviction of 20 years in prison.



*Man Chains Himself to Post Saying He Was Scammed

Michael Lee Rouco, a 45 year old American, living in Naranjo chained himself

to a light post on Wednesday to protest that an architect scammed him of

us$56.000 dollars.

Rouco took along a chair to sit on when he got tired while being chained to

post in Naranjo's central par. Naranjo is small community northwest of San

José.

It was about 9am when the man decided to chain himself to the post to bring

attention of his complaint against a man identified as Herrera, who according

to Rouco, represented himself as an architect to design and build his house

in Berlín de Sam Ramon for a fee of ¢26 million colones, but instead made off

with the money.

Quickly a crowed gathered around the man as the curious stood by to watch was

happening. Members of the Fuerza Publica (police) were dispatched to the

scene as well as the Cruz Roja (Red Cross).

Following a dialouge between police and Rouco, the police officers dispatched

to the scene left and Rouco remained chained to the post. Last report is that

Rouco is still there.

What Rouco wants, according to the Fuerza Publica officers, is that Herrera

show his face and admit his guilt.

Rouco talked to a reporter of the Spanish language dialy Diario Extra,

telling the reported that his nightmare began when he signed a contract with

Herrera. "I am happy to be living in Costa Rica among hard working people. He

was recommended and inspired my trust", Rouco told the reporter.

According to Rouco, Herrera told him that he could use a bank account help by

Herrera to make the deposit for the construction, of which only 25% of the

house is built and took off with the rest of the money in the account.

"I won't leave until h (Herrera) apologizes and finishes my house", Rouco

said.

Herrera being contacted by the newspaper told his side of the story, who

assures that his client is experiencing some kind of mental breakdown. He

said he has all the documents, contracts and receipts that prove the man is

lying and has offered to meet the man in his office to go over the bills, in

the presence of his (Herrera )lawyer



*Court Upholds Ericsson Contract

Costa Rica's Constitutional Court (Sala IV) has thrown out a lawyer's attempt

to annul a us$130 million contract awarded to Ericsson by telecom monopoly

ICE and approved by the comptroller, for the installation of a new GSM

network.

Lawyer Pablo Barahona took legal action last week against the officials of

the comptroller's office, reviving allegations of bribery between employees

of ICE and Ericsson. He alleged that Ericsson paid for hotel lodgings of

former ICE officials during a visit to Sweden last year.

The contract, which is for 600,000 GSM lines, got the green light in March

this year despite an internal investigation into possible bribery.

The nod from the constitutional court is an added guarantee that the project

will go ahead.

ICE hopes to begin selling lines by December 2005, when it will try to have

around 200,000 ready. Ericsson's GSM network will let subscribers send

photos, animated images and music from their handsets.

The current GSM network installed by Alcatel only allows SMS text messaging

GPRS internet service,

Costa Rica ran completely out of new mobile lines last December and has been

rapidly selling off phone lines from delinquent accounts to alleviate the

situation.



*Bolivian president takes measures to calm unrest

Bolivian President Carlos Mesa signed a decree on Thursday to quell weeks of

unrest over a new energy policy that indigenous groups felt fell short on

state control.

Mesa, who came into power 19 months ago, called on Congress to elect a

constitutional assembly to rewrite the constitution with the aim of

redistributing power in favor of the poor indigenous majority.

In addition, a referendum on regional autonomy would be held on October 16,

said the president.

"The country is experiencing a very critical moment, a high-risk

confrontational situation and in this context we cannot wait until Tuesday,"

he said in a televised announcement, referring to a planned debate in

Congress on constitutional reform and a referendum on regional autonomy.

"I urge this country to return to calm," the leader added.

He also called on the Roman Catholic church to sponsor a "national meeting"

of politicians and social leaders to calm the unrest.

Protesters took to the streets after the parliament passed a law on May 17 to

levy a 50-percent tax on foreign oil and gas companies operating in the

country which boasts an estimated 48.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas,

the second-highest reserves in South America after Venezuela.

Trade unions, including the Regional Trade Union and the Bolivian Central

Trade Union, and farmer, indigenous and student organizations participated in

the demonstrations to push for a rewrite of the constitution and for

nationalization of the naturalgas wealth.

Demonstrators also demanded the resignation of President Mesa, the closing of

the congress and the trial of ex-president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada who

resigned in October 2003.

Demonstration has turned into riots since May 24 when marchers blocked a

downtown square in La Paz, where the executive and legislative departments

are located, and began to smash windows inbuildings and cars in the

surrounding streets.

Mesa released a statement Wednesday, calling on the demonstrators to "respect

the president of the republic, the national government and people in

general."



*Bolivia rejects OAS intervention in internal crisis

Bolivia rejects any kind of intervention in its internal affairs by the

Organization of American States (OAS), the Bolivian Foreign Ministry said

Thursday.

"The social difficulties faced by the country will be sorted out by the

Bolivian people within the framework of their institutions and democratic

mechanisms," the ministry said in a statement.

It added that the country's constitution has not been revised "to justify a

mediation" from the international community or "friend countries," according

to reports from La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia.

The statement came after the OAS said it may discuss the political situation

in Bolivia at a general assembly session, which will be held next week in the

United States.

The current unrest in Bolivia was sparked by a law passed by the congress

imposing a 50-percent tax on foreign oil and gas companies operating in the

country.

Opponents first demanded higher taxes but gradually turned their demand to

the resignation of President Carlos Mesa, the nationalization of the

lucrative oil and gas industry, the closing of the congress and a call for a

constitutional assembly.

Argentine Ambassador to Bolivia Horacio Mercado said last week that Bolivia

has turned down an offer from Argentina to mediate in its internal conflict.





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"common knowledge" solutions, but we aim to give you
the cutting edge information you need. If you wish to
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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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*Feature Article: Pacheco Will Not Give Up His Immunity
*Feature Article 2: Bolanos Delcares State of Emergency in Nicaragua

*News Digest

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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*Pacheco Will Not Give Up His Immunity in the Face of Accusations Against Him

President Abel Pacheco, following accusations of irregularities for accepting

and not reporting gifts, including the use of free tickets provided by TACA

airlines, said yesterday he won't give up his immunity in the investigation,

but will answer a call by the Ministerio Público and/or the Asamblea

Legislative.

The President is involved in accusations of wrongdoing when it was discovered

that Spanish businessman Bernardo Martín was appointed Honourary Consul for

Costa Rica in Sevilla, Spain, is also a partner in a development project in

Papagayo (Guanacaste) that is being headed by former Tourism Minister, Rubén

Pacheco, that requires a government concession to develop the property.

Bernardo Martín is also responsible for the free publication of President

Pacheco's book which was unveiled in December 2004, in Sevilla, when he was

accompanied by his former minister and Chief Protocol officer, Jorge Arce,

who resigned on Monday after it was discovered that he also acted as legal

counsel for Bernardo Martín.

The storm that is surrounding the President is growing every day, slowing to

become a hurricane, as the Fiscalía decided to open an investigation into

accusations.

Pacheco said he won't give up his immunity "because it would be foolish of

him, but God will help. That is what my enemies want, because if for the sake

of transparency, I give it up, at the same moment, they will make 60 charges,

60 trials or maybe 200, and I will spend my life defending the accusations

and not governing."

Pacheco added that it has been difficult concentrating on governing this past

week amid all the accusations and mudslinging and that if he gave up his

immunity he would be spending most of his time from court to court, but it

doesn't mean he won't answer to calls made against him, he will not hide his

face and make himself available to the judicial system and Costaricans.

"I am not hiding from the Fiscalía (prosecutor's office) and the moment the

fiscal general, Francisco Dall’Anesse, calls me I will go to him and give him

a full accounting of my actions, with all my conscience and clarity. I may

have mistakes, but that I acted in bad faith, not in a moment" added Pacheco.

To clear matters up, Pacheco said that he paid out of his own pocket the trip

to Spain and 3 day vacation to the Cayman Islands on the return leg of the

trip last December. He also assured that he has returned the lifetime

membership he received in Capa Cana in the Dominican Republic and that he

will never be back there.

He said he paid for the costs incurred on that part of the trip and will also

pay for the free tickers given to the government by TACA airlines for the San

José - Miami - San José leg of the trip to Spain.

Pacheco said that the "tarjeta azul" is given to all the presidents of the

Central American nations by the airline which saves the government money for

presidential travel. "Here there is a persecution against the President of

the Repubic. It hasn't occurred to anyone to ask the other Central American

presidents to give back their blue cards, given as a courtesy by TACA. These

attacks against the presidents are not good for the country" said Pacheco.

Since Monday, Jorge Arce, Pacheco's chief protocol officer has resigned and

former minister Rubén Pacheco has been removed from the President's counsel

on economic matters and Bernardo Martin resigned his post as Honourary Consul

for Costa Rica in Sevilla.

COMMENT: Well well well! A few years ago, Pacheco said he would give up
his immunity when he was accused of illegal campaign contributions from
some of the same sources that landed two other ex presidents in jail. But
apparantly, now that things have heated up considerably, he has suddenly
changed his mind! Among his connections in Spain, might we discover that
the folks behind RETIVE, the illegal private monopoly to check cars, have
enjoyed the same benefits and privileges as the Spanish businessman involved
in this scheme? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!

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

Please send your discussion topics to our Costa
Rica discussion group. You will either get an
answer from us, or another helpful member of
the group, and really important issues will be
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FEATURE ARTICLE 2
=========================================
*Power shortage draws decree of emergency

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — The President of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolaños Geyer, has

suspended by presidential decree the constitutional rights to petition,

assembly and protest as well as access to the court system. Also suspended

are the rights to immediate injunctive relief (recurso de amparo and recurso

de exhibición personal) as complementary measures. All the suspensions are

part of a decree of an economic state of emergency.

The decree includes an immediate emergency energy rate increase in an effort

to solve the continuing crisis of power generation in Nicaragua. The

constitutional rights that are specifically suspended are contained in

articles, 32, 45 and 52 of the Nicaraguan Constitution. These rights, by

presidential decree, are suspended for a term of six months unless the decree

is rejected by the National Assembly.

The president also decreed an 11.83 percent rate increase in favor of Unión

Fenosa, the Spanish multinational energy provider, increasing the cost of

electrical energy for all Nicaraguan consumers of more than 150 kilowatt

hours in one month. Energy suppliers to Unión Fenosa had turned off a portion

of the generating system last week forcing the Nicaraguan government to

purchase electrical energy from the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad

in Costa Rica at higher marginal prices to cover the energy shortfall and

avoid blackouts.

The suspension of constitutional rights is unprecedented in modern Nicaraguan

history. All of the members of the cabinet, with the notable exception of

Vice President Jose Rizo, signed the decree in public support of Bolaños.

Rizo refused to sign the document stating that it was an "additional attempt

to cause friction between the legislative and executive branches of

government." Bolaños retorted by stating that Rizo was a "solitary voice and

playing games."

Bolaños also announced that he was informing the United Nations of his

actions as well as the Organization of American States, which already is

scheduled to discuss the Nicaraguan political situation in a meeting next

week.

The National Assembly has only 72 hours to accept, reject or modify the

declared state of emergency from the date of publication in La Gazeta, the

national journal of Nicaraguan governmental affairs.

Both major political parties have sworn to reject the decree which may be

acted upon as early as today. Wilfredo Navarro, vice president of the

National Assembly, declared that the entire state of emergency was a "smoke

screen" for the benefit of Unión Fenosa and an effort to gather power in a

continuing battle by Bolaños against the National Assembly.

Sandinista Deputy José Figueroa stated that his party categorically rejects

the suspension of Nicaraguan constitutional rights without giving details

regarding further legislative actions. The veto, if in fact voted upon by the

deputies, will be easily rejected as 82 of the 92 votes of the Assembly are

controlled by the Partido Liberal Constitutionalista and Sandinista.

Political commentators also noted that the Dirección General de Impuestos,

the Nicaraguan tax agency, was commencing an audit process for all of the

individual returns of the members of the Assembly. This announcement is the

latest salvo in the war between governmental powers.

Deputies had cut $1.8 million dollars from the DGI budget last week

purportedly in retaliation for the enforcement of a tax lien imposed by DGI

against the bank accounts of the assembly. The DGI said the lien was due to

the alleged failure of the assembly to collect taxes from its members and

staff.


*Nicaraguan vice president urges rejection of state of economic

Nicaraguan Vice President Jose Rizo Castellon called on the National Assembly

on Tuesday to reject the "state of economic emergency" proposed in a decree

by President Enrique Bolanos and seek stability of the country.

Rizo said in a television program that he would ask his party, the Liberal

Constitutionalist, to reject the decree at the National Assembly as soon as

possible and seek dialogue with the executive power to search for solutions

based on consensus.

The economic emergency decree would only worsen the crisis instead of

overcoming it, he added.

Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos decreed on Monday a state of economic

emergency for 180 days in an attempt to tide over an energy crisis that has

forced a three-hours-a day rationing of electricity supply in the country.

Rizo said the emergency decree "does not produce initiatives to seek strong

alternatives to end the national energy crisis, and does not contain any

single idea on how to cope with the economic crisis."

"The solution will not be found by Bolanos alone," said the vice president,

who also suggested a national consensus on making a series of laws to cope

with the economic and energy crisis.

Bolanos said earlier that the current energy crisis was due to high fuel

prices. He announced on Monday an increase in the electricity rate by 11.83

percent for users who consume more than 150 kwh a month, but the date for the

decree to come into effect has not been decided yet. Only one-fourth of

electricity users will be affected by the surcharge.

Bolanos should send the decree to the country's National Assembly for

discussion and approval within 72 hours from its publication in the Official

Gazette.

=========================================
NEWS DIGEST
=========================================
*Fiscalía Asks TACA For Information on Free Tickets Used by President Pacheco

The accusations against President Abel Pacheco receiving unreported gifts and

the resignation of the President's Chief Protocol officer on Monday prompted

the Fiscalía de Delitos Económicos to open an investigation (Prosecutor's

office for ecomonic crimes) into the matter.

One of the first stops for the Fiscales (prosecutors) was at the airline

TACA, which last week made public that it donated, in the normal course of

business, the airline tickets used by the president Pacheco to Miami and back

for his personal trip to Spain in December of 2004.

The airline made it clear that it is a normal practice to give free tickets

to the government - the Ministerio de la Presidencia and Aviacion Civil - and

that the tickets used by the President were not given to him directly, but to

the government.

On Tuesday, the Fiscalía General de la República began collecting information

after having made a direct request, in writing, to the airline about

furnishing specific information referring to the free tickets used by

president Pacheco.

However, reports from the prosecutor's office say that Mario Zamora, general

manager for the airline, made a personal visit to the Fiscalía, to explain to

how exactly the "tarjeta azul" works, which provides free flights to

presidents of the Central American nations it flies to and from.

TACA airlines is based in El Salvador. Developing a strategic alliance with

the flag airlines of Guatemala (AVIATECA), Costa Rica (LACSA), and Nicaragua

(NICA), in the early 90's TACA consolidated operations under the name of

GRUPO TACA, thereby transforming the company into one of the most efficient

transportation systems in Latin America.

Currently, with a record of 92% on-time arrivals, TACA serves 34 cities in 19

countries on board the newest fleet across the three Americas, including 10

major cities in the United States, Toronto in Canada, Mexico City, all of the

countries of Central America, and the most important business and tourist

destinations in South America and the Caribbean.


*Ruben Pacheco Donates to Arias Presidential Campaign

Hedging his bets, former Tourism Minister and businessman, Rubén Pacheco

Lutz, who is involved in the controversy surrounding the granting of

concessions for his Papagayo project, is also a contributor to presidential

candidate Óscar Arias.

Last year, Pacheco Lutz donated ¢2.250.000 colones (us$4.750) to Arias' bid

for the presidential chair in 2006.

The news of the contribution was released yesterday by Martha Zamora, of the

Partido Accion Ciudana (PAC) party and backed by a publication in the Spanish

daily newspaper Al Día in November of 2004, naming Pacheco Lutz as one of the

165 contributors to Arias.

Arias' chief campaign manager confirmed the donation yesterday.

Pacheco Lutz is square in the middle of the storm surrounding his former

boss, President Abel Pacheco. Lutz accompanied the president on two trip to

Spain last year where he met Spanish businessman Bernando Martin, who later

became a partner in his Papagayo project to develop four lots, under a

government grant of concession, to build a residential community and hotel

that would include a 18 hole gold course.

Bernardo Martin was named Honourary Consul for Costa Rica for Sevilla, Spain

and published free of charge President Pacheco's book last of poems last

December.

Pacheco Lutz was also counsel to the government - the same government who

granted his project the concession - on economic matters. He was dismissed

from the counsel yesterday.

Arias is a front runner to win the presidential elections in 2006.


*Rising River Water Sweeps Away Vehicles

The alert went out that an automobile and it's occupants had been swept by

the rising waters of the La Gloria river in Jacó.

The call immediately sent into action local rescue workers and additional

help was requested from nearby Parrita, which since Monday night went looking

for the disappeared.

Following several hours of search, the vehicle was located but not it's

occupants, which led rescue workers to intensify their efforts.

Using kayaks, rescue workers navigated the river to the point it flowed into

the Pacific in the hopes of finding the occupants alive, but ready for the

gruesome task of recovering the bodies.

However, rescue workers got a surprise when they found Robert Sherman, the

American who had rented the vehicle, relaxing in a cabin. The car had gotten

stuck in the mud and decided to leave it - abandoning it completely - and

take a break.

Nearby, Austin Paine, also told authorities that his car had gotten stuck in

the mud and with the help of those nearby, they were able to pull it out,

though the water caused sufficient damage to the vehicle.


*Was it Wet Enough for You Yesterday?

Accodring to the weatherman - Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) - a low

pressure system coming from Panama is producing heavier than normal rains in

the Pacific coast and affecting the Central Valley (San José) as well.

The last couple of mornings San José has been waking up cloudy and wet from

rain during the night.

NOrmal for this time of year, is sunny and hot for the norming, clouding over

by mid-day and then mild to heavy rains for the afternoon. By the evening

hours the rain has stopped and repeats the following day.

However, for the next couple of days there will be more frequent and heavy

rain. The weatherman says it should all be back to normal by Friday.



*Costa Rica's National Team

Costa Rica has a long soccer history, one which dates back well before most

American fans came to know them through World Cup Qualifying. The Federación

Costarricense de Fútbol (FEDEFUTBOL) was founded in 1921, and gained FIFA

affiliation in 1927.

But although they won the championship of the old Confederation of Central

American and Caribbean Football seven times between 1941 and 1961, the

"Ticos" did not qualify for the World Cup until 1990, when Bora Milutinovic -

coaching the second of the five national teams he has led, after Mexico in

1986 - took another underdog to soccer's greatest stage.

Once in Italy, Milutinovic and Costa Rica pulled off one of the shocks of the

tournament. After stunning Scotland, 1-0, and losing to Brazil by the same

score, the Ticos came from behind to upset Sweden, 2-1, with a 75th minute

equalizer from Roger Flores and an 88th minute game-winner from Hernan

Medford, who has since become a familiar name to many North American soccer

fans. But the dream run ended with a 4-1 loss to Czechoslovakia in the Round

of 16.

In qualifying for the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, Costa Rica suffered

considerably from bad luck of the draw. The 1992 group stage put them with

Mexico and Honduras in Group A, and both of those teams tied for first with

13 points and advanced to the final round. The Ticos finished with nine

points.

In 1997, Costa Rica made it to CONCACAF's Hexagonal round, and it was here

that they first got into the consciences of many American fans. Battling

neck-and-neck with Jamaica for the third ticket to France, things were

looking up after a 3-1 win over the Reggae Boyz at the Estadio Saprissa in

San José. But then the wheels started to come off. Canada pulled an upset

with a 1-0 win in Edmonton, and El Salvador scrapped to a scoreless tie in

San José, while Jamaica defeated both teams 1-0 on home soil. So the Ticos

went to Portland, Ore., needing a result against the United States to get

back on track.

However, US midfielder Tab Ramos had other ideas. His stunning goal from long

range shook both the Civic Stadium roof and North American soccer to their

foundations, and left Costa Rica with a lot of work to do. Then came a trip

to Kingston, and with the National Stadium's nickname of "The Office" ringing

truer than ever, the Reggae Boys earned a 1-0 win of their own and all but

crushed Costa Rica's dreams of croissants and the Eiffel Tower.

But the Ticos kept fighting, and pulled off arguably one of the biggest

upsets in North American soccer history when they tied Mexico, 3-3, at the

Estadio Azteca. It was the first time Mexico had ever not won a World Cup

Qualifier in the legendary stadium. It wasn't enough though, as Jamaica

managed draws in every game the rest of the way, and took third place with 14

points to Costa Rica's 12.

Then came the road to South Korea and Japan, and this time Costa Rica had all

the weapons necessary to finally make it back to the World Cup. But once

again, the qualifying draw served up a hard path to success. Yet, what should

have been one of the easiest games turned out to be a disaster, as the

Barbados pulled off a 2-1 upset on home soil in Bridgetown.

A controversial 2-1 win over the United States in San José did nothing to

quiet alarm bells over coach Alexandre Guimaraes' future - and crowd trouble

forced the crucial game against Guatemala to be played in Alajuela instead of

the capital.

But a 3-0 revenge of the "Bajan Rockets" on the home side's return to San

José, and a 0-0 tie with the US in Columbus, Ohio let everyone breath a

little more easily. But then came a trip to Mazatenango, Guatemala, with

nerves up and down the continent frayed since Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the

US were all within a point of each other. The US took care of business with a

4-0 win at the Barbados, but Guatemala beat the Ticos, 2-1, and forced a

playoff for the last spot in the Hexagonal round.

So the two teams went to the Orange Bowl, and finally Costa Rica got all of

their cylinders firing when they needed them, cruising to a 5-2 win. And this

time, they kept it up all the way through the final round, including a 2-1

win in Mexico City - Mexico's first ever loss in World Cup Qualifying at the

Azteca - and the ultimate revenge for 1998, a 1-0 win in Kingston on the last

day of qualifying which sealed first place for the Ticos with 23 points.

Costa Rica's 2002 World Cup roster featured many players familiar to American

soccer fans. Among the famous names: Former New England Revolution

midfielders William Sunsing, Mauricio Solis and Mauricio Wright, forwards

Ronald Gomez and Hernan Medford, and, of course, Manchester City forward

Paulo Wanchope, arguably Costa Rica's greatest ever player.

All that attacking power helped the Ticos impress fans worldwide, especially

in the 5-2 loss to Brazil. Unfortunately, that game also sent Costa Rica

home, as a 3-0 win over China and a 1-1 tie against Turkey left them just

short of the second round on goal differential.

Suffice to say, though, that nobody will be overlooking Costa Rica on the

road to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and that expectations for success will

be just as high at home as they have ever been.

As of May 31, Costa Rica sits tied for third in the final round of CONCACAF

World Cup qualifying.

The Ticos and Guatemala each have four points, two behind the U.S., which has

six points, and three behind Mexico with seven.

The top three teams will advance to the 2006 World Cup, while the fourth

place team will face an Asian team in a playoff for a spot


*Bolivian president warns of using force to end unrest

Bolivian President Carlos Mesa warned Tuesday of possible intervention of the

armed forces, should the political and social crisis in the country worsens.

Calling for peace and dialogue with opponents, Mesa said that in an extreme

case, the military will put down any attempt to destabilize the country. It

is the right of the Bolivian nation to defend itself, he said.

Unrest spilt over to La Paz, the seat of government, on Tuesday as protests

escalated in the neighboring city El Alto, according to reports from La Paz.

Thousands of demonstrators marched through downtown La Paz to rally at

Murillo Square, where the executive and legislative departments are located,

demanding the nationalization of the oil industry and the rejection of

autonomy demands by four regions.

The protesters cut off airport access and blocked main roads, isolating La

Paz from the rest of the country.

Trade unions, including the Regional Trade Union and the Bolivian Central

Trade Union, and farmer, indigenous and student organizations participated in

the demonstrations.

Demonstrators also demanded the resignation of President Mesa, the closing of

the congress and the trial of ex-president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who

resigned in October 2003.

Security was beefed up on Murillo Square as legislators convened on Tuesday

for their first session after a week-long recession.

The congress aims to address issues such as the modification of the recently

enacted Hydrocarbons Law, the call for a Constitutional Assembly and a bill

that would decide how greater autonomy would be granted to Bolivia's regions.




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*President Pacheco in More Hot Water

President Abel Pacheco continues to be on the heat seat following several

admitted irregularities over the receipt of a lifetime membership to a luxury

club in the Dominican Republic and free airline tickets by the TACA Group

airline.

Now, there is a question on how, Bernardo Martín Moreno, the president of the

Immobiliaria Somersen, a real estate company in Sevilla, Spain, came to be

Costa Rica's honorary consul in Sevilla. Moreno is also the president of the

Martín Robles foundation that dedicates time and money to art and culture.

In April of 2004, the President, accompanied by his wife and chief protocol

officer at Casa Presidencial, Jorge Arce, and former Tourism Minister, Rubén

Pacheco, travelled to Sevilla for a private vacation where they met with the

businessman.

In July of 2004, Bernardo Martín Moreno founds in Costa Rica the corporation

Somersen Costa Rica SA, of which he is president and Fernando Pablo Méndez,

another foreigner is vice-president.

In less than a month, Bernando sends a letter to director of the Golfo de

Papagayo (Guanacaste) expressing his intention for the Somersen company to

participate as a partner in the Enjoy Hotels and Resorts, who is represented

by former minister Rubén Pacheco.

The project, based on the representation by the former Tourism minister, is

to build a residential community, hotel and an 18 hole golf course.

And it is at this time that Bernardo Martín Moreno is named as honorary

consul in Sevilla, Spain, as it is listed in the Foreign Ministry's website

of official consuls. The naming of Bernardo was confirmed by protocol chief,

Jorge Arce.

Five months later, in December of 2004, President Pacheco decides to visit

Spain again for his holiday vacation to announce the introduction of his new

book "Poemas y cuentos" which was published free of charge by the Martín

Robles foundation, headed by Bernardo Martín Moreno.

So, now, Bernardo is not only a real estate businessman in Spain, but also in

Costa Rica who has expressed an interest for a state owned concession (the

Papagayo project is under strict government control) and is also the honorary

consul for Costa Rica in Sevilla.

Accompanying the president in the December trip is again protocol chief Arce

and former minister Pacheco, who will could soon be Bernardo's partner. And

the former minister, notwithstanding that he had resigned his post at

Tourism, was still participating in government economic consulting sessions

and as an assistant to the president.

The December trip is also when president Pacheco decided to head to the Grand

Cayman islands, where he spent Christmas, following his book launching in

Spain. And it is this trip that raised the question of the TACA flight that

took him from San José to Miami and back that was not paid for by the

president, but donated by the airline to the government.

In mid-January of this year, the powerful public workers union, ANEP, sends

president Pacheco a strong letter asking for explanations on the financing of

his book and the business at Papagayo.

The ANEP letter heavily criticizes the foundation that published the book and

the negotiations of Rubén Pacheco and his role in getting a government

concession at the Papagayo project.

Notwithstanding the letter, and that the ANEP in October of 2004 had charged

that there was influence peddling going on at Papagayo, President Pacheco

only defended his book publication, saying that it was the Ateneo de España

that promoted the book and arranged for the illustrations and the

publications, all at no cost and has said nothing about the rest.

The situation is starting to look bad for the president, because in March of

this year, records show that a new company was formed in Costa Rica -

Somersen Enjoy SA - with lists Rubén Pacheco as president of the corporation

and Bernardo Martín Moreno as chief operating officer.

Making matters even worse is that Jorge Arce, Pacheco's chief protocol

officer, and who accompanied him on both trips to Spain, maintains a

professional connection to Bernardo Martín Moreno.

Arce acts as legal counsel for the Spanish businessman.

Though his protocol chief assures that there is no conflict of interest

offering his legal services to the president of Somersen and the foundation

that published president Pacheco's book.

Arce also insists that he has provided no services with respect to the

Papagayo project and the concession and insists that the professional

relationship is new.

Rubén Pacheco defends the role of Bernardo as a good businessman, meanwhile,

the President Pacheco continues to duck the issue, refusing to make things

clear.

His press secretary, Carolina Murillo, advises that a statement will be made

soon by the president on the matter.


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*Arias Would Win the Vote But Not the Election, Poll Shows

A recent poll by Borge y Asociados, puts Óscar Arias, presidential candidate

for the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) clear ahead of his rivals with a

difference of some 17 percentage points.

The poll was taken between May 13 and May 20 with more than 400 adults from

all over the country interviewed. The results have a margin of error of 5

percentage points.

One of the questions put to the people was: who would you vote for if the

elections where held today? 46.1% said they would decline to cast their vote,

while 25.7% said they would vote for the Liberacionista (Arias).

Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), Ottón Solís got a 8.7% response, while

Ricardo Toledo, of the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC), a 5.6%.

Antonio Álvarez Desanti, of the Unión para el Cambio (UPC) got 4.1% and Otto

Guevara, of the Movimiento Libertario, was last at only 3.3%.

Notwithstanding that Arias would today win the vote from among those decided

to vote, he would not win the election, not reaching the required 40% of the

majority vote as spelled out in the Código Electoral - Elections Code.

Some experts say this election campaign will be very interesting, as most

candidates have no real identity to their parties.

This election a high number of young voters are expected to participate in

the election, who have no identity to a party or historic grouping of the

traditional politics for the "red" and "green" parties, the two parties that

have exclusively ruled politics in Costa Rica until the 2002 elections.

The scandals and accusations of corruption could also influence the vote, as

two former presidents (Calderón and Rodríguez) are under house arrest and the

current president on the hot seat over irregularities, belong to the same

party - the PUSC - and another former president (Figueres) has refused to

return to Costa Rica is for the PLN. For now, it seems that the Figueres

thing is all forgotten, but it could play a role in the election campaign

against the PLN.


*Buying a Used Car in Costa Rica Can be Tricky Business.

Making sure that the vehicle is mechanically sound, that all the accessories

work, there are no leans registered against the vehicle and that ownership

and registration is good are just part of a sound purchase

However, an additional requirement is needed - driving around to make sure

the vehicle you are intending to purchase is the only one on the road. Uh?

that the vehicle is not "twinned".

Such was the scope of an investigation by the Unidad de Robo de Vehículos del

Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) that took several months to

complete and came up with 15 "twinned" vehicles, which investigations believe

is only a small amount of the real number of duplicated vehicles circulating

on Costa Rican roads.

The investigation began in December when records show that several different

people were paying for the Marchamo - the he right of vehicle circulation

which is paid annually - for the same car and in more than one case at the

same time, leaving authorities to believe that there were two or more

vehicles circulating with the same license plate and original registration

documents.

"Twinning" is when two or more vehicles are circulating with the original

registration documents issued by the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS). The

documentation continues with the RTV, the annual vehicle inspection and the

ownership card issed by the Registro Nacional.

Investigators say that the 15 vehicles confiscate by the OIJ were purchased

by their current owners at a low price from uknowns who'se sales pitch was of

a distress sale. Sellers of "twinned" cars take advantage of those who are

looking for a "deal" on a used car and don't take the time for due diligence.

Authorities advise that before buying a vehicle they should double check the

vehicle's registration and purchase only from known persons (take down the

identification of the person selling the car, phone number, as much

information of the seller as possible) or from registered car lots, to avoid

losing money in possibly buying a "twinned" vehicle.


*Tamarindo Spoils Customers with Bank Offer

Banking, once the bane of every Tamarindo resident and tourist alike, is

about to spoil them with choice.

Four banks are currently fighting for locations in Tamarindo, and the

competition is heating up for offices in completed shopping centers.

BAC San José, Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Cuscatlán will all be moving into

Tamarindo to rival for a share of the financial services market, including

account management, loans and commission-based transactions.

Until now, Tamarindo and area residents have had to make do with a single

branch of the Banco Nacional to service all of their financial transactions,

as well as those of the thousands of tourists the town draws in, often daily.

In January, Banco de Costa Rica announced they would be opening a new branch

in Tamarindo in response to the 'exponential growth' in the volume of

business the town was generating, and following the success of their Flamingo

branch.

This week Edelberto Leal, Regional Chief for the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR),

confirmed the Tamarindo branch would open in August.

"We have the personnel but we want to do some further training," he says.

"They are qualified and bi-lingual and are mostly from Santa Cruz. We also

have a girl from Nicoya."

Mr Leal also confirmed BCR had found a location, but not the one it had

wanted.

BAC San José, the second largest private bank in Costa Rica and a subsidiary

of BAC International Bank, apparently beat them to the punch, recently

unveiling a branch in the newly-built Plaza Conchal in Tamarindo, much to the

chagrin of Mr Leal.

"I had been negotiating that space for a long time and it is the one we

wanted," he said. "Being a State bank we have to go through a process, but

private banks can make this decision quicker."

He confirmed that BCR will occupy another, larger space towards the back of

the shopping plaza.

BAC San José currently has 31 branches in Costa Rica. The Tamarindo branch

will be its second in Guanacaste, after Liberia.

The privately-owned Banco Cuscatlán has also confirmed that they will be

opening a new branch in Tamarindo, but would not reveal the location, nor a

scheduled opening date.

Regardless, the news of four banks where there used to be one, is likely to

come as good news for much of Tamarindo�s population.

In the past, even simple transactions such as cashing a check could take up

to an hour, with only three tellers to process the volume of customers filing

into the branch. Since Internet banking in Costa Rica is not yet equipped to

allow transfers between different banks, businesses were often forced to open

a second bank account, with the second branch up to 30 minutes away.

"We will have to wait and see," says Jorge Contreras of Client Services for

Banco Nacional in Tamarindo, in response to questions of the fresh

competition. " I am sure some people will go and experiment in other banks."

Banco Nacional, which since its arrival into Tamarindo in 1999 has had a

monopoly on the banking services in the area, is examining ways of

maintaining its share of business in the face of new competition, including

reinstating their loans service, which had ceased eight months ago.

"We have re-introduced loans for small businesses, for housing," confirmed Mr

Contreras. "This includes foreigners if they have residency, and can

demonstrate they are living here."

"Banco Nacional continues with the idea of expanding its services," he added.

"There was the possibility that we would move to a bigger space, but the

negotiations fell through. For the time being we are staying where we are."


*Pressured, Bolivian President Refuses to Resign

The administration of Bolivian President Carlos Mesa asserted he would

continue in his post, despite entrepreneurs, politicians, radical leaders and

even two insubordinate officers have asked him to resign.

Demands are ironically multiplying following two months of Mesa´s resignation

request to the Congress, which did not accept it.

Thus, he proposed to hold elections in advance to try to leave the

presidency, but once more, the entity turned down his decision.

On the issue, Presidency Minister Jose Galindo made it cleared that Mesa

would remain in the post until his mandate ends.

The president is governing and will govern until August 6 2007, as stipulated

by the Constitution, noted Jose Galindo in response to assessments by the

Bolivian Business Confederation and the Industry and Trade Chamber of the

city of Santa Cruz, which said Mesa should resign and call for advanced

elections if he is not unable to govern and re-establish order.

Members of the Nationalist Democratic Action Party, of former dictator Hugo

Banzer, and the National Union, of wealthy entrepreneur Samuel Doria Medina

considered Mesa´s resignation would resolve the situation.

On Wednesday, two officers who were expelled from the army for

insubordination also asked the current statesman to resign.

Congress President Hormando Vaca Diez (Social Democracy Party) only said Mesa

had to use his powers because the country faced a chaos.

Amid this panorama, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, of ex president

Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, urged Mesa to call a state of siege, while

Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement to Socialism) leader Evo Morales expressed

his concern about stepped-up pressures for Mesa´s resignation, which he

considered that would not resolve the crisis.

Morales said the crisis could only be solved through a constituent assembly.

Meanwhile, people´s organizations informed their protests, which started on

May 16, would continue until next Monday, when more people will incorporate

to them.

Bolivians have been demanding to call to a constituent assembly and

nationalize or regain the hydrocarbon control.



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