Security Minister
Refuses To Name Tico
Politicians That Allowed
FARC Rebels in Costa
Rica
The ministro de
Seguridad Pública,
Fernando Berrocal,
assures that there is
information on the
computer of the killed
Colombian rebel leader,
Raúl Reyes, that touches
Costa Rica politicians
directly. The minister
made the statement on
Saturday in Santo
Domingo de Heredia,
following the finding of
a box containing
us$480.000, the property
of the Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de
Colombia (FARC).
According to the
minister, there is much
more behind the
confiscation of the
money, though he chose
not to name names, only
saying that Costa Rican
politicians allowed "guerilleros"
(rebels) and high
ranking FARC members to
enter the country.
During the minister's
speech, he was pressed
for the names, which he
refused.
The cash stash was found
on Friday in a house
located in Santa Barbara
de Heredia, northwest of
San José. The find was a
result of a co-operation
between Costa Rican and
Colombian authorities.
The information came to
light after a second
ranking FARC member was
killed in a shootout
with the Colombian army.
An email, contained on
Reyes computer, sent by
Reyes to Rodrgio Granda,
detailed the location of
the house of Francisco
Gutiérrez in Santa
Barbara and that a safe
in the house contained a
large sum of cash that
Granda could use as
deemed necessary.
With the information in
hand, authorities began
to search for the house
described in the Reyes
email and found the cash
in a safe, although the
bills were deteriorated
from the humidity.
Costa Rican authorities
are now investigation
the movements of
Francisco Gutiérrez and
his wife, Cruz Prado,
their connection to the
Colombian rebels and
charges with money
laundering. |
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