Costa Rica Suspends
Legal Cooperation With
US
Costa Rica has suspended
legal cooperation with
the United States and
filed a diplomatic
protest over what it
called the
"disrespectful"
treatment of its Fiscal
General, Francisco
Dall'Anese, at the Miami
International Airport.
Dall'Anese travelled to
Miami in Wednesday to
meet his US counterpart,
Michael Mujasey, and to
attend a court hearing
involving the former
vice-president of
Alcatel in Costa Rica,
Christian Sapsizian, who
is believed to be a key
witness in the
ICE-Alcatel corruption
scandal.
Dall'Anese said that
after the check, a U.S.
agent accompanied him to
airline offices "to make
sure of our departure."
Dall'Anese said Friday
he was suspending all
cooperation with U.S.
prosecutors on judicial
cases, including
extraditions, until
those responsible are
punished and his
government is reimbursed
for the cost of the
trip.
The U.S. government said
Dall'Anese had been
subjected to a "routine
security check" that is
common when a
passenger's name matches
or is similar to a
person of interest. But
officials apologized
nonetheless.
"We are investigating
the circumstances and we
have expressed our
apologies to the Costa
Rican government," the
U.S. Embassy in San Jose
said in a statement. "We
never intended any
disrespect for
Dall'Anese, the
government of Costa Rica
or its citizens. We
value the close
relationship we have and
we will do everything in
our power to make sure
it continues."
The Embassy said if it
had known of the trip,
it would have ensured
that "all entrance
courtesies would have
been extended to Mr.
Dall'Anese."
But Dall'Anese responded
that "the apology of the
U.S. Embassy is not
sufficient."
In November, Ecuadorean
President Rafael Correa
complained that he did
not receive special
diplomatic treatment at
a Miami airport security
checkpoint and said he
would avoid traveling
through the U.S. |
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