Rodríguez Continues To Deny Any Wrongdoing
Miguel Angel Rodríguez continues to maintain his innonence and denies any wrongdoing in receing funds from government of Taiwan, the French telecommunications firm Alcatel and Abengoa, the firm that won the contract to bury all overhead cables in downtown San José.

While under house arrest, the former president of Costa Rica and until last week, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Rodríguez, continues to be interviewed by the Fiscalía (the prosecutor's office) as they investigate the accusations of corruption by Rodríguez while in office.

In the case of the Taiwanese payment, Rodríguez's lawyer, Rafael Gairaud, said that that his client told prosecutors that he was associated with the Panamanian company that received us$400.000 dollars from the government of Taiwan, however the payment was a loan and not a "dávida" (graft) or any type of prize.

In reference to Alcatel, Rodríguez continues to maintain that the monies he received from his friend and former Housing Minister and director of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), José Antonio Lobo, was also a loan, a loan to help him finance his campaign to become Secretary General of the oAS.

And what about the us$100.000 dollars he received from Abengoa?

Gairaud explained that the money was paid to his client in 2004, three years after Rodríguez leaving office. Gairaud was emphatic that there is no connection between that payment and Rodríguez while in the presidency.

Basically, Rodríguez is not denying having received funds from the various sources - the paper trail and banking records are too overwhelming - but denies any wrongdoing in accepting the payments and is vehement that the payments were never any form of payoff or kickback or bribe.

Rodríguez continues his detention for the next six months in his apartment rather than jail. The Fiscalía has appealed the judge's decision for house arrest, wanting nine months of jail time for the former president. The appeal was filed yesterday and a decision is expected soon.

Meanwhile, Rodríguez's lawyer is also appealing the judge's order. The appeal is reduce or eliminate the order to pay a ¢250.000.000 colones bond or about us$555.000 dollars at today's exchange rate. The judge ordered that Rodríguez pay the bond within 10 days (last Saturday).
 

Rodríguez Is Not Without Friends
Rodríguez is not without support in his fight against the accusations of corruption.

A story by Telenoticias reveals that at least five individuals, from the moment Rodríguez was arrested aboard his flight from Washington to the time the judge dicated house arrest and bail for the former president, have presented petitions of Habeas Corpus before the Constitutional Court kwown as Sala IV.

The petitions are aimed at helping Rodríguez, claiming that the detention of and the posting of a bond of ¢250.000.000 colones by the former president is unconstitutional.

The petitions are against the actions of the Corte Suprema de Justicia, the Juzgado Penal del Primer Circuito de San José, the Fiscalía General de la República, the Ministerio Público and one against Franciso Dall'Anese, Fiscal General.

The petitions are asking the Constitutional Court to determine if he actions by the prosecutors and the courts is correct and valid.

Taiwan Explains Aid to Costa Rica
Repeating suggestions that China's meddling might be behind stories about alleged political donations by Taiwan to its Central American allies, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday sent a note to its Costa Rican counterpart explaining the purpose of funds it had supposedly given the country's former leader.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen said in a legislative question-and-answer session that from all information available he had reason to suspect China was involved in bringing up the accusations.

Chen, however, also admitted the ministry should review a mechanism monitoring how allies use Taiwan's aid.

Ministry spokesman Michel Lu said the note, which answered the Costa Rican government's queries about the US$400,000 the ministry allegedly donated to former president Miguel Angel Rodríguez in 2001 and 2002, arrived at Taiwan's embassy in Costa Rica yesterday.

Ambassador to Costa Rica Wu Tzu-dan told the Central News Agency that Taiwan had never given political donations to its allies.

"All our foreign aid and cooperation projects with allies are conducted on a government-to-government basis," the ambassador said.

"Our government has never given political contributions to any individuals or political parties of its allies. The embassy has been operating as usual and has not been affected by the donation reports," Wu said.
 

FISCHEL-CAJA
Eliseo Vargas "Will Tell All"
Eliseo Vargas, former president of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) and who is currently in preventive detention in a Cartago jail, is said to have made a deal with the Fiscalía (prosecutor's office), for information surrounding the Fischel-Caja scandal for all charges and accusations be dropped against his daughter.

Vargas was detained following the detention of Walter Reiche Fischel, president of the Corporación Fischel and Fischel laywer, Randall Vargas, over the multi million dollar loan from the government of Finland to the CCSS.

More than us$9.000.000 dollars was paid to Fischel as a commission to negotiate the purchase of medical equipment for the CCSS from the us$39.000.000 loan.

Former president Rafael Angel Calderóm has been implicated along with others for taking a cut of the commission. The Fiscalía is continuing the investigation.

Andrea Vargas, daughter of Eliseo Vargas, is one of those being investigated, when investigators discovered a payment of us$23.700 to Purdy Motors for the purchase of a 2002 Toyota Rav4 that was registered in the name of Andrea Vargas Barboza.

The Ministerio Público says that car was given to Andrea as a form of payoff for her father.

The former head of the CCSS has been behind bars since Septmber 7 as prosecutors demanded preventive detention fearing the man may skip the country and/or impede their investigation is allowed to remain at liberty.

Vargas is asking the Ministerio Público that his detention be under house arrest as is the case of former president Miguel Angel Rodríguez and José Antonio Lobo and will "tell all" to the Fiscalía de Delitos Económicos y Anticorrupción, if the Fiscalía not involve his daugther.
 

Foreigner Arrested for Sexual Abuse of Minors
A 26 year old man, identified only by his last name, Gavlas, an American, was detained in his apartment in Zapote yesterday for the sexual abuse of minors.

Police say the man visited often the park known as Parque Los Mangos, in Zapote, east of San José, and offered candy and other sweets to children aged 7-13 to lure them to his apartment nearby.

The children, once in the apartment, were forced to view pornographic photos and in several occasions were photographed with a digital camera. Police raided the man's apartment and found the evidence alleged by the children, including the digital camera used to photograph them, along with a computer and children's clothing.

The arrest of the man came after parents of several of the children made complaints to police and is custody under the orders of the Fiscalía de Delitos Sexuales.

Gavlas is in Costa Rica for only a few months studying Spanish at one of the private universities.

Gavlas is the third foreigner arrested of the total of 17 persons arrested so far this year for the sexual abuse of minors.

United Nations to Vote for Banning Human Cloning
The United Nations will vote later this week on a proposal for a committee that would draft a treaty banning all forms of human cloning.

Along with some other 60 nations, the United States and Costa Rica are supporting a measure that advocates banning human cloning. Meanwhile, Great Britain, Belgium and other European nations are in opposition.

However, many U.N. diplomats said they would do everything in their power to postpone the vote for another year, reasoning the international community is not ready to vote on the controversial issue.

"This has become such an emotional issue that I hope to avoid a vote this year," Moroccan U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Bennouna told Reuters.

In late 2003, Costa Rica led an effort to pass a complete cloning ban. The United Nations voted in December to delay the decision for a year. This year, along side with Costa Rica, the U.S will vote in favor of a total ban treaty.

In a speech on Sept. 21, President Bush urged the United Nations to support his opposition on human cloning.

"In this session, the U.N. will consider a resolution sponsored by Costa Rica calling for a comprehensive ban on human cloning. I support that resolution and urge all governments to affirm a basic ethical principle: No human life should ever be produced or destroyed for the benefit of another," he said.

Meanwhile, the International Society for Stem Cell Research sent a letter on Monday to the General Assembly urging members not to adopt a treaty that would ban all cloning.

The United States currently has no federal cloning law, but New Jersey and California have laws allowing therapeutic cloning and outlawing reproductive cloning.

Some countries that allow cloning are Singapore, China and South Korea.
 

Making a Home in Paradise - A New Book About a Couple Who Retired to Costa Rica
Ready to retire, but to where? Moving to a warmer state and living in a senior community is what many adults do when they retire. But that was not at all what Martin P. Rice had in mind.

Martin had no problem convincing his wife that moving to another country would present so many challenges that every day would be a new adventure. The couple got the adventure they were seeking: they stumbled into a paradise and rediscovered the joy and excitement of life.

In his new book At Home in Costa Rica, Martin shares the many funny and touching incidents he and his wife, Robin, went through while building a new life in a foreign land.

Four years ago, Martin and Robin packed their bags and moved from California to Costa Rica. They were not going to the tropical country for a vacation but to start a new life. Martin had a theory that retiring to a foreign country would keep him and Robin from falling into a rut and from eventually becoming depressed, as so often happens to retired people.

At Home in Costa Rica relates the story of the couple's gradual assimilation into a new culture; of the trials and tribulations of learning a new way of life and a new language; of making unusual friends; of building houses and rehabilitating wildlife; of dealing with alien institutions and bureaucracies, and much more.

Based on letters that the Rices have been sending home to family and friends, At Home in Costa Rica is a fascinating insider's account of a fulfilling retirement in one of the world's most beautiful, peaceful, stable, and democratic countries.

This new book will appeal not only to retirees or those who are about to join them, but to all who are vagabonds at heart of whatever age.  Click here to purchase "At Home in Costa Rica!"