Teacher's Strike
Continues: Day 14
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Talks break down
Government
and union leaders broke off talks yesterday, after
what was expected to have brought a solution to the
two week old strike.
A meeting in the early
afternoon in San José never occurred, as had been
announced the day earlier. The Government was to
table it's latest proposal, one that was thought to
have brought the sides closer to an agreement.
The proposal was faxed to union leaders, which was
promptly rejected as a "slap" in the face.
Union leaders say that the current proposal would
only benefit one-quarter of the membership.
Suspected
Child Pornographer Arrested
Authorities
are trying to determine if a North American
fugitive, that until a few days ago
lived in Costa Rica, produced child
pornography in Costa Rica.
The man
identified as David Susman, 42, was arrested
in Chile and deported to the United States by
way of Panama, had left Costa Rica theprevious
Wednesday and in his luggage a large amount of
pornographic material was seized that could
have filmed in the Costa Rica.
Susman worked
in Costa Rica as an English professor and has
pending charges in the state of Florida, the
United States, the arrassment of children.
When arrested, the man was in possession of a
false Mexican passport.
Central
American Countries make Mediocre Effort to
Combat the Trafficking of Children
Costa
Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and
El Salvador have not taken sufficient measures
to prevent and punish the trafficking in
persons for the purposes of labor and sexual
exploitation. Each of these countries has been
registered as a source, destination, and
transit countries for trafficking.
The Department of State of the United States
announced its evaluation of state efforts in
its third Global Trafficking in Persons
report, released this Wednesday.
Costa Rica continues to be a trafficking
destination; the local demand for prostitution
and sexual tourism is supplied with women and
children from countries such as Colombia, the
Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Panama, as
well as from Russia, the Philippines, Romania
and Bulgaria.
In addition to
acting as a transit country for trafficking,
criminals in Guatemala "recruit"
children there to traffic and prostitute them
abroad. To a lesser extent, it also is a
trafficking destination of Central and South
Americans.
Likewise in
Honduras, many women and children, principally
from rural areas, are trafficked to countries
such as Guatemala, Mexico, the United States,
El Salvador and Canada. Casa Alianza has
interviewed 14 year old Honduran girls who
were trafficked to brothels in Tapachula,
Mexico and forced to prostitute themselves.
Nicaragua
appears for the first time in the report and
is identified as a country where children are
internally trafficked for the purposes of
sexual exploitation. Many are recruited as
dancers in night clubs. Nicaragua is also a
transit country for migrants, who are at risk
of becoming another sector exploited by people
who buy and sell human souls.
Other countries
in the region, such as the Dominican Republic
and Cuba, present alarming rates of
trafficking, at both the local and
international level. According to the
investigation, Belize may be sanctioned for
having put forth very little effort in
preventing the use of women and children
(principally from other Central American
countries) in labor and sexual exploitation.
It is estimated
that the 900,000 victims of trafficking
worldwide generate approximately US
$10,000,000,000 annually.
Traders plan
trip to Costa Rica to promote Louisiana interest
MetroVision
and the World Trade Center of New Orleans have
organized a trade mission to Costa Rica July 1
to 5 to promote Louisiana's business, tourism
and other interests with that country. Other
partners on the mission are Louisiana Economic
Development, the Louisiana Office of Tourism
and Taca Airlines.
A highlight of
the mission will be a July 4 reception hosted
by U.S. Ambassador John Danilovich and
featuring Louisiana cuisine and music, with
the mission members as special guests.
 An
estimated 300 Costa Rican business,
professional, cultural and public-sector
leaders are expected to attend. Throughout the
three-day mission, the Louisiana delegation
will meet with Costa Rican corporate and
public officials.
"Costa
Rica is an ideal destination," said Gene
Schreiber, managing director of the World
Trade Center. "There already are strong
traditional ties between New Orleans and
Central America, which we expect to build on
further. You couldn't ask for a better mission
for someone who wants to be involved in
international trade."
U.S. trade with
Costa Rica through the New Orleans Customs
District has grown by an average of 4.1
percent annually since 1990, according to
MetroVision's research department. Total trade
in 2002 was valued at $341.1 million,
consisting of $225.9 million in exports and
$15.2 million in imports. This compares with
$229.1 million in total trade in 1990, with
$189.2 million in exports and $39.9 million in
imports.
The primary
areas of promotion on the Louisiana trade
mission to Costa Rica are trade and
transportation, sports management, tourism and
health care.
The trade and
transportation component of the mission will
include representatives from Louisiana
Economic Development, several Louisiana port
authorities, Louis Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport, the city of New
Orleans, MetroVision, The New Orleans Regional
Chamber of Commerce and the World Trade
Center.
Sports
management will be made up of senior
representatives of the New Orleans Saints, the
New Orleans Zephyrs and other organizations,
while the tourism sector is being coordinated
by representatives of the Louisiana Office of
Tourism and Lisa Ponce de Leon, director of
Louisiana Tax-Free Shopping.
The focus of
the health care portion of the mission will be
on neonatal, pediatric and maternal care and
will be coordinated by Dr. Juan Jorge
Gershanik.
"The trade
mission is a great way to create business
opportunities in Latin America from the
exposure that a Louisiana company can
receive," said Marisol Canedo,
MetroVision's director of international
business and trade development.
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