Now Is Not The Time For
International Warrant, Fiscal
General Advises Legislators
The Fiscal General de la
República, Francisco Dall'Anese,
affirmed yesterday to the
deputies of the Comisión del
Gasto Público de la Asamblea
Legislativa that now is not the
time to be asking for an
international arrest warrant
against former Costa Rican
president José María Figueres
Olsen.
Figueres has failed on numerous
occasion to go before their
commission to give explanation
about his role in the receiving
us$906.000 from the French
telecommunications firm for
consulting fees, following the
discovery of other Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad
(ICE) board members and
employees having received
payments for the "big prize".
The big prize refers to the
multimillion dollar contract
that Alcatel won from ICE to
install 400.000 GSM cellular
lines in the country.
Dall'Anese explained to the
legislators that if Costa Rica
issues an international warrant
for the capture of the former
president, he will need to be
extradited back to Costa Rica
under specific promises to try
him on charges of disobedience
and that the Fiscalía may not be
able to bring other charges
against the former president
from evidence that is uncovered
after his return.
Dall'Anese added that at the
moment there is no case against
the former president other than
the charge of disobedience made
by the legislators last week, but the
investigations into the role of
Figueres in the ICE-Alcatel
scandal continue.
The Fiscal General
asked the legislators to have
patience while the process is
ongoing.
Dall'Anese, surrounded by body
guards arrived at the
Legislative Assembly to make his
recommendations to the
legislators.
TLC Demonstration in Front of U.S.
Embassy
The area of Pavas and
Rohrmoser saw a unprecedented
police presence in all areas,
especially near or in front of
various embassies that are
located there. Police on
horseback patrolled the nearby
streets of the U.S. embassy,
while a mini bus was used to
dispatch uniformed officers at
different embassies. One officer
we interviewed told us that the
measure was one of pre-caution.
The reason for this massive
police action? Different groups
had announced that they would be
organizing a demonstration
against the Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) - Free Trade
Agreement - with the United
States, calling it "the greatest
trick by the most powerful
nation in the world."
The area in front of the U.S.
embassy was secured with,
allowing demonstrators that
included union leaders and
businessmen to voice their
opinion without any problems.
One union leader, Albino Vargas,
Secretario General de la
Asociación Nacional de Empleados
Públicos y Privados (ANEP) said
that this is only the beginning.
His union plans to continue it's
demonstration on the streets of
Costa Rica, saying that the TLC
agreement should not reach the
Legislature.
The demonstrators delivered a
letter to U.S. diplomats that
was directed at U.S. President
George W. Bush. The letter
explained the reasons for all
the negativity against the TLC.
The movement then moved from the
U.S. embassy to the home of
presidential candidate Oscar
Arías, who lives a short
distance from the U.S. embassy,
then making their way to the
Contraloría General de la
República (Comptroller's office)
in La Sabana, where the
protestors disbanded.
Some
6.500 Taped Conversations in
Madam Trial
The trial of Sinaí Monge
continued yesterday, where the
judges heard taped telephone
conversations and viewed
undercover film footage that
police used to arrest the woman
and make a case against her for
"proxenetismo agravado" - the
prostitution of minors.
The court listened to
politicians, well known soccer
players, businessmen and "ricachones"
- 'rich folk' - ordering "fresh
meat" from the the madam, who
operated her prostitution ring
from her home in Hatillo 3, on a
24 hour basis.
Evidence presented by the
prosecution shows how neighbours
were "enchilado" - incensed - at
the heavy vehicular traffic near
the Madam's home at all hours of
the day and night, including
vehicles with license plates
from the Legislative Assembly
and the Poder Judicial.
The Fiscales de Delitos Sexuales
- the sexual crimes prosecutors
- with the help of the telephone
company were able to obtain some
6.500 conversation in two months
of wiretapping, authorized by a
judge where the Madam's voice is
heard.
The tapes reveal that the men
would be looking for "modelos"
and "estudiantes" - young girls
that could put on shows of two,
three or more, all offered on
tape by Sinaí for us$100.
The Spanish language daily
newspaper, Diario Extra, as
usual is publishing grafic
details of the conversations
between the Madam and her
clients, including that of
soccer player Bernal, who is
being offered a 15 year old girl
with "un buen culo" - a nice
ass!
The tapes also reveal foreigners
- mostly Gringos - making calls
to the Madam requesting the
services of her girls, for trips
to the beaches or to their hotel
room. Sinaí would arrange for
the girls to be transported to
the client, including arranging
for them to take a local flight
to the beaches.
In other cases, the Madam, would
send a bus full of young girls
to her clients for them to
choose from. The cost would
range from ¢25.000 colones to
us$100, which the girls would
then pay to Sinaí up to ¢10.000
colones, her share for setting
up the deal.
Sinaí was very charming to her
customers. The tapes reveal that
she knew many of them as they
were frequent customers.
Testimony by minors at the
Madam's trial also revealed that
the Madama's brother operated a
parallel operation, providing
male prostitutes to male
clients. The prosecution is
building a case to show that in
Hatillo 3, the home of Sinaí,
there operated the 'sexo exprés'
- express sex - business, where
customers could order
prostitutes of both genders,
including minors. Some of the
women who provided services to
Sinaí's customers were married
and worked part-time to
supplement the family income.
The prosecution is expected to
make it's request to the court
today for punishment for the
Madam.
Arias Influence Reviewed
Costa Rican voters are divided
on which politician could be the
best rival against former
president Óscar Arias Sánchez in
next year’s election, according
to a poll by Borge y Asociados
published in the Spanish
language daily newspaper Diario
Extra.
22.6 per cent would choose
Citizens Action Party (PAC)
member Ottón Solís.
Antonio Álvarez Desanti of the
Union for Change (UPC) is second
with 17.9 per cent, followed by
independent legislator Miguel
Corrales, Otto Guevara of the
Movimiento Libertario (ML) and
Juan José Vargas of Homeland
First (PP). The ruling Partido
Unido Social Cristiana (PUSC)
does not yet have any
prospective presidential
hopefuls.
In March 2004, the 63-year-old
Arias officially announced his
intention to run for president
again as the candidate for the
Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN).
The Costa Rican Legislative
Assembly opted to bring back
presidential re-election in
2003. Arias headed the
government from 1986 to 1990,
and is still regarded for his
democratic proposals and actions
on how to deal with violence in
Central America.
In a potential run-off between
Arias and Solís, the former head
of state has a nine per cent
advantage. The presidential
election is tentatively
scheduled for February 2006.
Polling Data
A possible alliance of
political parties to field a
single candidate against Oscar
Arias Sánchez in the 2006
presidential election is being
discussed. Whether you support
this idea or not, who do you
prefer as a presidential
candidate?
Ottón Solís (PAC)
22.6%
Antonio Álvarez Desanti (PUC)
17.9%
Miguel Corrales (Ind.) 12.9%
Otto Guevara (ML) 11.5%
Juan José Vargas (PP) 0.2%
Unsure / No reply 34.8%
Who would you vote in a
prospective run-off between
Arias and Solís?
Oscar Arias (PLN) 43.8%
Ottón Solís (PAC) 34.8%
Source: Borge y Asociados /
Extra
Methodology: Interviews to 425
Costa Rican adults, conducted
from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5, 2005.
Margin of error is 5 per cent
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Procuraduría General Seizes
Goods of Accused in
ICE-Alcatel Scandal
In a follow up the
ICE-Alcatel scandal that has
seen various public
officials, including former
president Miguel Angel
Rodríguez behind bars or
under house arrest, the
Procuraduría General de la
República - the Attorney
General - received the green
light to seize real estate
and personal property of
those accused.
According to a information
released by the Procuraduría
an estimated ¢101 million
colones (us$217.000 dollars)
has been seized so far that
belonged to the former
president, former Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE)
directors, Hernán Bravo,
José Antonio Lobo, José
Joaquín Fernández, former
ICE advisor Guido Sibaja,
ICE engineer Rodrigo Méndez
and former Alcatel Costa
Rica president, Edgar
Valverde.
Seized as well are goods and
property belonging to the
companies Servicios
Notariales QC and Alcatel.
The seized goods include
real estate, bank accounts
and vehicles owned by the
individuals under
investigation for their role
in the share of the "prize"
- a commission paid by
Alcatel for being awarded
the multi million dollar
contract to provide 400.000
GSM cellular lines in Costa
Rica.
In Costa Rica, Bagel
Entrepreneurs Offer Their
Products to a New Market
It used to be that Costa Ricans
didn’t have many choices for
breakfast: They would almost
always start the day with gallo
pinto, a hearty combination of
leftover black beans and rice,
with fresh cilantro thrown in
for flavor.
Now the Central American country
has another option - bagels.
About 4,000 bagels are made here
each day - in a country of about
four million - and three
companies are competing for the
morning nosh market. Two other
bagel companies have closed.
It’s not an outright bagel war,
exactly, but Costa Rica still is
an unlikely venue for the
occasional bagel battle.
 more
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