Costa
Rica On Alert For Terror Suspect
Costa Rica is on the alert after Honduran authorities warned that
29-year old terrorist suspect Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, referred to by
law enforcement sources as "the next Mohammed Atta," may be seeking to
cross into Costa Rica.
Shukrijumah, who is considered one of the FBI's "top 5" terrorist
concerns, allegedly was spotted in Honduras on May 27 at a
Tegucigalpa internet café.
"We found out that this man was in Tegucigalpa at the end of May. He
was seen in an internet café in the city and we confirmed that he
made phone calls to France and the United States from there," Leonel
Sauceda, spokesman for the Honduran Security Ministry told media.
Information from the café's phone records has been relayed to
various allied foreign intelligence agencies. The Miami Herald
quoted an anonymous security source as saying calls had also been
made to Canada.
Honduras Security Minister Oscar Alvarez told Herald reporter Juan
Tamayo a tipster had alerted Honduran security forces and that the
cafe's owner identified Shukrijumah from a photo lineup. The owner
said the suspect had been in the café with two other men, "all badly
dressed and bearded," who spoke English and French but little
Spanish. Tamayo reported that the other two men have not been
identified.
Costa Rica's Minister of Seguridad Publica (PublicSecurity) Rogelio
Ramos told the press that border security in Honduras and Costa Rica
was strengthened after the terror suspect was spotted in capital
Tegucigalpa.
Ramos will meet officials of the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica today.
The Honduran press initially quoted Security Minister Oscar Alvarez
as saying Shukrijumah had been involved in a plot to disrupt
shipping lanes by using explosives to damage the Panama Canal. Three
hours after it had been reported that FBI officials, the U.S.
Embassy in Panama and the FBI legal attaché in Panama had no
knowledge of the allegations and could not confirm the report, Oscar
Alvarez clarified the allegations and denied he referenced a plot to
bomb the Panama Canal.
Earlier this year the U.S. Embassy in Honduras sent an official
report to President Ricardo Maduro revealing that a Honduran
consulate in an undisclosed Latin American country was secretly
issuing the documents.
Security Minister Alvarez told Tamayo that the suspected terrorist
had entered Honduras illegally, as no record of his arrival exists.
Honduras is thought to be a possible al-Qaida target due to its
support of the U.S. in Iraq. The threats have caused authorities to
amplify efforts to track suspicious international fund transfers and
to ramp up safety measures in airports, commercial ports and public
areas.
Woman Offered 14 Year Old Daughter to Customers
A 30 year old woman identified only by her last name, Vásquez,
was arrested yesterday by the Delitos Sexuales de la Policía Judicial
for 'proxenetismo'.
According to police, the woman would charge clients ¢40.000
colones so that customers could have sex with her 14 year old
daughter. And that for a few extra colones, the mother would offer
her customers a "lesbian" show between her and her daughter.
 Full
story
There is Still Hope for Banco Elca
The intervention by government authorities that closed
the operation of Banco Elca say there is some hope that the bank can
be saved or a that a buyer can be found.
The Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (SUGEF) has
high hopes that the action taken on Tuesday will result in good
news, even though there is the possibility that the bank may have to
be wound up.
Full
story
Legislators
Vote to Ask Comptroller to Quit
Wednesday afternoon, 40 of the 48 deputies voted to
approve to send a letter requesting the new Comptroller, Álex Solís
Fallas, to relinquish his post as Contralor General de la República.
Solís is under investigation for having falsified his brother's
signature on a legal document and for lending money at high
interested to Costa Ricans who desired to travel illegally to the
United States.
The Legislative action, headed by Humberto Arce, gives Solís 24
hours to tender his resignation. If he does not, Arce told the press
that a commission will be formed that will begin an action to have
the Comptroller removed.
Arce added that the move by the legislators is a call for Solís to
quit and hopes that he can understand it.
Solís was appointed to the post of Comptroller General last 14 June.
Air
Traffic Controllers Strike Continues into Day 6
The air traffic controller's strike is now into it's
sixth day and operations at the nation's airports are normal. Air
traffic is moving in and out of the international airports without
any delays and air passengers are not being inconvenienced in the
least.
Statements by the controller's union that air and passenger safety
is being compromised are being dispelled by Ministry of Transport,
Javier Chaves, and now the Asociación de Líneas Aéreas (ALA), which
told the press yesterday that it considers the system efficient and
secure.
125 air traffic controllers walked off the job on Saturday morning
to force the government to honour it's agreement to pay equity. The
controllers say that they should earn more than aviation inspectors
but in the last couple of years they have fallen behind and now want
to catch up.
The striking controllers were replaced over the weekend by 28
foreign controllers and "tico" pilots who, according to the
Transport Minister and the airlines associations, are doing a great
job of keeping the airplanes in the air and the passengers safe.
Doctor Charged with Kidnapping Son Arrested in Costa Rica
A former Lawrenceville physician charged with kidnapping his
4-year-old son and fleeing to Costa Rica has been arrested in the
Central American country.
According to the FBI, Fayette Sims III told his wife he was taking
Fayette Sims IV on vacation to Costa Rica in April 2003, but never
returned the boy to his mother.
Last December, Sims was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges
of international parental kidnapping.
Sims was arrested Tuesday by Costa Rican authorities, who were
assisted by an agent from the FBI's Atlanta office, said Special
Agent Steve Lazarus, a spokesman for the FBI in Atlanta.
Anna Sims, the boy's mother, has filed for divorce and has won a
court order granting her temporary custody, according to her
attorney, Bob Marshall.
Fayette Sims III was being held Wednesday in Costa Rica, awaiting
extradition proceedings.
His son, now 5, was taken into custody by Costa Rican authorities
pending the arrival of Anna Sims. Lazarus said a court hearing was
scheduled for later today, during which she can reclaim custody of
her son.Stolen
Innocence
New
Sites Inscribed on World Heritage List
The ongoing session of the World Heritage Committee of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
inscribed 5 new natural sites and 3 new cultural sites on the World
Heritage List by on Wednesday.
With the new sites approved so far, two countries, Saint Lucia and
Togo make their first appearance on the World Heritage List.
Greenland, administered by Denmark, also makes its first entry in
the List, which now numbers 762 properties, the UNESCO said.
The Area de Conservacion in Guanacaste inscribed in 1999, was
extended with the addition of a 15,000-ha private property, St
Elena.
The 21-member World Heritage Committee will continue reviewing sites
submitted by States Parties of the 1972 Convention concerning the
Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and sites to
be placed on the Danger List over the coming days and is expected to
finalize the inscriptions by Friday.
The session will continue until July 7.
 News
Briefs
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The area of Lepanto and Paquera were dark for 7
hours Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning when around 7:30pm when power
lines were damaged by heavy rain, wind and lightning in the area and caused
a total blackout. Repair crews had to work in the heavy storm to try to
restore power in the shortest possible time.
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