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Prosecution Witnesses
in Martin Trial Allegedly Threatened
Witnesses scheduled to testify against three people accused of killing
Kansas college student, Shannon Martin, here two years ago have received death threats, lawyers claimed Friday.
One of the witnesses, Rosibel Munoz, was forced to give her testimony behind closed doors Friday because of the threats, said Juan Carlos Arce, a lawyer representing the family of
Martin.
Martin, the 23-year-old student from Topeka, Kansas,
was stabbed to death on May 13, 2001, after she left
a nightclub in Golfito, about 100 miles (160 kms)
south of San Jose. Martin was in Costa Rica to
gather specimens for a biology project.
Shortly before Munoz was scheduled to testify, the courthouse office of the prosecutor received a call saying, "If Rosibel testifies, we'll kill her," according to prosecutor Erick Martinez.
Attorney Arce said that Munoz is a key witness for the prosecution.
Munoz saw Kattia Cruz, one of three people on trial for homicide, before the Martin's death with a dark shirt on and after the killing wearing the same shirt -- only torn -- Arce said.
"She later recognized strips of the shirt discovered in the hand of Shannon (Martin) as part of the what Kattia (Cruz) was wearing," he said.
Munoz is a resident of Rio Claro, located 12 kilometers (seven miles) north of Golfito, where Martin's body was found in May 2001.
Public witnesses Friday included Seidy Hernandez, who testified that she served as a middleman as Kattia Cruz tried to sell one of Martin's earrings. The earring is being used as evidence in the trial.
Esteban Madriz, a taxi driver who allegedly drove Cruz and Castro from the area where Martin was killed to a gas station, was scheduled to testify Friday but never appeared. The court ordered a search for Madriz.
An agent of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Larry Thomas, who helped Martin's family gather evidence and locate witnesses, will not testify as expected, Arce said, because he is acting as part of the prosecution team.
Cruz, 28, Rafael Zumbado, 48, and Luis Alberto Castro, 38, have been accused of homicide in the case.
Poland Wants
Alleged Nazi
The Court of the City of Katowice, Poland, issued a warrant of arrest for Ukrainian Bohdan Koziy, 80, an alleged nazi war criminal living in Costa Rica.
Koziy is suspect of murdering 15 Jews in 1943 and the warrant of arrest would launch the procedures for his extradition from Costa Rica. At the end of World War II, Koziy escaped from Ukraine to Germany.
He later lived in the United States, whose citizenship he adopted and lost when his criminal past was unearthed. He became a resident of Costa Rica, but in the year 2000 the Government ordered that he be expelled from the country; however, no other nation was willing to accept him.
489 Cops
Investigated
The internal affairs sections of the different Costa Rican law-enforcement agencies are investigating 489 agents for corruption.
Even though a majority of them have already been fired from their posts, the investigation of their cases continues, according to official sources.
Even though in recent years the training and educational level of the agents -most of them members of the police or Civil Guard- have improved, the corps lacks a desirable professional level, a fact their current leaders are making efforts to counter.
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Ex-finance minister elected new leader of Canadian ruling Party
Canada's former finance minister Paul Martin was elected as the new leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party on Friday night.
In his acceptance speech at a ceremony in Toronto, Martin pledged he'll lead a government of change and renewal.
Martin won an overwhelming majority, 3,242 of the 3,453 eligible votes, more than 93 percent of the ballots. His only competitor, Heritage Minister Sheila Copps got 211 votes.
Martin has pledged to reform the way parliament works and reshape Canada's foreign and defense policies.
On the economy, Martin has had to amend his thinking after estimates of the federal surplus shrank. he said "I am very proud of all that we have achieved over the last 10 years, but today
the moment has arrived to move forward, to take another step."
Martin promised lots of measures during his leadership campaign that suggest more spending, everything from funding early childhood education to helping cities. Those are promises that
may prove hard to keep considering the financial situation of the government.
Martin and Prime Minister Jean Chretien will meet on Tuesday to discuss the transfer of power and exactly when Martin will move into the Prime Minister's Office.
The legislator for LaSalle-mard in Montreal, Quebec was first elected federally in 1988. In 1990, Martin ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and finished second.
From 1991 to 1993, Martin was associate finance critic and critic for the environment for the Liberal opposition in the
House of Commons. Liberals were returned to power in the 1993 vote and Martin was sworn in as Minister of Finance. He served in that capacity from November 1993 to June 2002.
Martin was born in Windsor, Ontario in 1938. He studied philosophy and history at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the University of Toronto Law School. He was called to the bar in Ontario in 1966. He married Sheila Ann Cowan in 1965 and has three sons.
Latin American-Iberian Summit opens in Bolivia
The 13th Latin American and Iberian Summit opened Friday afternoon in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, with the participation of 21 heads of states and governments and UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan.
The social inclusion, regional integration and the creation of a permanent general secretariat in the Latin American and Iberian community will be dealt with during the two-day summit.
The Latin American and Iberian community comprises Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal.
Annan calls for support against poverty in Latin America
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the international community on Friday to support the combat against poverty and inequality in Latin America.
It would be a serious mistake to leave the peoples of Latin America to face by themselves both evils, Annan told the press prior to the inauguration of the 13th Latin American-Iberian Summit, at the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Annan said a drastic reduction of poverty and inequality demands an increase in the public expenditure for the poor and
the attainment of the development targets of the Millennium Summit.
According to the international diplomat, the macroeconomic stability has to become strengthened, but in a context of growth and renewed economic development. Otherwise, the social stability cannot be guaranteed, he added.
"For instance, the countries need to be offered with more social investment, including a foreign debt relief. These countries need a certain space, a certain margin," said the UN official.
Annan said the UN is prepared to help, in every possible way, those member states who request it.
The countries of Latin America demand greater efforts for a more effective political participation, including the Indian and African-American peoples, as well as women, he added.
Mexican president expresses solid support to Bolivia
Mexican President Vicente Fox expressed Friday his "solid support to the Bolivian people to drive their development" when meeting Bolivian President Carlos Mesa.
Fox arrived Friday in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the seat of the 13th Latin American and Iberian Summit.
"We are going to center our analysis on the issue of social inclusion, which represents a motor for the development of the region," Fox said, and added that he and his colleagues are enthusiastic to work at the summit with social inclusion as the principal issue.
"During this summit we will have the chance of continuing with the political dialogue, the cooperation among the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Europe and Latin America," said Fox after highlighting that it is moment of "changing ideas" and talking about the future of this community.
The Latin American and Iberian community comprises Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Latin America, Caribbean, Spain and Portugal.
Bolivia undergoes a difficult situation after the political and social crisis that took place last September and ended on Oct. 17,with the resignation of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who was replaced by then vice president Carlos Mesa.
Violence in these two months left a toll of at least 80 dead and 450 injured, as well as economic damage yet to be determined.
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