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President
foresees tough year
Not even the
approval of the fiscal contingency plan makes
President Abel Pacheco enthusiastic about the
economic outlook of Costa Rica for the year
2003. He warns that it will be a
"tough" year because of the fiscal
problems of the nation and a negative world
atmosphere. President Pacheco foresees an
economic growth that will not reach over 3
percent of the Gross Domestic Product, efforts
to lower inflation by 1 percent, and
restrictions in wage increases. He asserted that
the Executive will order large cuts in public
sector spending, in order to lower the fiscal
deficit. "I have told the people, 2003 will
be a tough year. But starting in 2004 Costa Rica
will start stabilizing," he told the daily La
Naciσn. Regarding the international
scenario, he pointed out that the economy of the
United States does not take off, while coffee
prices do not reach desirable prices, and the
local banana exports have a grim outlook because
of the recent devastation by floods in several
areas. Also, he alerted about the fact that the
threat of a war in Iraq is likely to take the
prices of oil sky high. "There are dreams
that must be postponed," President Pacheco
stated.
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Regional tourist
office
Central America
is to promote itself as a joint tourist destination in
Europe and Asia, starting in January 2003. The region's
presidents met in Costa Rica and agreed to establish an
agency with headquarters in Madrid, Spain, that would
handle the promotion of the region. The Costa Rican
Minister of Tourism, Ruben Pacheco, explained that
focusing on Europe and then Asia is due to the fact that
the tourist from the U.S. usually travels to just one
destination and for shorter periods than the Europeans
or the Asians. He further explained that by acting
jointly, the Central American nations improve their
chances of receiving international cooperation,
particularly from Europe, for example, that prefers to
fund regional projects. Currently, Central America
receives 3.4 million tourists a year, 1.1 million of who
come to Costa Rica. The countries will continue their
individual promotion plans in addition to the joint one,
added the Minister of Tourism of Panama Liriola Pitt.
Mob links with bets
here
Leaders of two
Mob families that control organized crime in New York
were arrested by the FBI, charged -among other things-
with operating illegal betting facilities in Costa Rica.
U.S. authorities delivered two of the heaviest blows
against the Mob in the last 20 years with the arrest of
members of the Gambino and Luchese families, who
allegedly have handled tens of thousands of dollars
through illegal betting houses in Costa Rica. One of the
men arrested, Joseph Caridi, third in rank of the
Luchese, visited Costa Rica at least once -allegedly in
a supervision mission-, while a top member of the
Gambino, Anthony Sonny Ciccone, ran similar
errands here. The local Immigration Service records show
at least three visits by Ciccone. U.S. judicial
authorities said that the details regarding the actual
links here would not be disclosed until the
corresponding trials take place.
$185 million for
farmers
Banana and coffee
growers, as well as small farmers, will have access to
credit for $185 million to renegotiate their debts with
the banks and with the Social Security Institution. The
funds will be managed by three trusts, a $75-million one
for banana growers, a similar one for coffee growers,
and a $35-million one for the small farmers. The
operations are scheduled to start in January 2003. The
coffee sector will repay when the international price of
the 100-pound bag surpasses $90; the banana growers will
do so by contributing $0.17 per box exported -regardless
of the price; and the small farmers through credit
operations with the state banks, according to official
sources.
Shipment gave away
gang
The Costa Rican police arrested five members of a gang
that sent cocaine to Miami. According to official
sources, the arrest resulted from an investigation
launched by U.S. authorities who, last November 26,
caught a 100-kilo (217-pound) shipment sent by air to
Miami. The police disclosed that the five people
arrested are Cubans who had lived in Costa Rica for
several years and who resorted to panels used in cargo
planes to hide the drug bound for the U.S. The
investigation is to continue, since the gang apparently
had links in Panama, where allegedly they purchased the
drug that was later smuggled into Costa Rica to arrange
the shipments to the U.S.
56 coyotes
deported
At least for a few days, the Peρas Blancas border
crossing with Nicaragua will be free of the so-called
coyotes -smugglers of illegal immigrants- who operate in
the area. The police arrested 56 of the individuals and
deported them to Nicaragua. The operation was launched
before the Christmas holidays, when thousands of
Nicaraguan illegal immigrants who live in Costa Rica
travel to their homeland and then return. The police
said that in addition to restricting the arrival of the illegals,
the operation will also serve the purpose of preventing
a vast array of criminal activities in the border area
in which the coyotes are also involved. A recent
poll in Nicaragua found that 39 percent of the citizens
of that country want to leave their country to settle
elsewhere, and that a full 31 percent of them have Costa
Rica in their sights.
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