FISCHEL-CAJA:
Multiple Raids on Fischel by Fiscaliá and OIJ
In an action that began about 9am, yesterday, the OIJ, prosecutors from the Ministerio Público and auditors from the Ministerio de Hacienda, raided the central offices of the Corporación Fischel and three warehouses owned by the Corporación Cormar, in Barreal de Heredia.

The raids were a continuing part of the raids held on Monday at the house of former Fischel manager, Marvin Barrantes, in Moravia and the offices of Multiservicios Electromédicos in La Uruca. Full Story


Vargas and Reiche Appeal Detention
Eliseo Vargas, former president of the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS) and Walter Reiche, president of the Corporación Fischel, appeared before a judge yesterday, in a closed session, to appeal their preventive detention.

Randal Vargas, a Corporación Fischel lawyer, is also behind bars waiting out the investigation, however, did not appear in court due to illness.

Basically, the argument by the prosecutor is that if the men are free, they can impede the investigation into the Fischel-Caja.

The accused are asking for "house arrest" as in the case of Marvin Barrantes, former manager of the Corporación Fischel, who was detained on Monday and former president Rafael Angel Calderón's law firm partner, Gerardo Bolaños, who is also being investigated for having received monies from Fischel in the government of Finland credit to the CCSS.

The debate between the lawyers in front of the judge took two hours and now there is only the wait, while the judge makes a decision. There is no proscribed time limit on the judges decision, however, decisions in these types of appeals usually come within several days.

Pacheco Addresses United Nations Assembly
As 95 Heads of State and Government began arriving at United Nations Headquarters in New York Tuesday for the start of the General Assembly's annual high-level debate, President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella of Costa Rica called for a fairer world economic system.

"This General Assembly, which represents and expresses the common will of all mankind, must play a central role in promoting a markedly humane globalization," he said.

Pacheco, said the time had come to speak of an inclusive global society. The Assembly, which represented and expressed the common will of all mankind, must play a central role in promoting a markedly humane globalization.  Full Story

Italian Drug Gang Busted
Yesterday's arrest of a 37 year old Italian man identified only by his last name, Maddaloni de Rosa, saw the break up a band of drug traffickers that sent cocaine from Costa Rica to Italy, by the Policía de Control de Drogas (PCD).

The man was arrested in an exclusive residential in Cariari de Belén, Heredia, yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, police were busy arresting a Colombian, identified only by his last name Gómez, who is the owner of a nearby gas station in Lagunilla de Heredia.

The arrests ended with the capture of two Costa Ricans, identified as Serrano and Ramos. Serrano also lived in Heredia, was in charge, according to police, in the ground transport of the drugs, while Ramos who lived in Tibás, made contact with sellers on behalf of the Italians.

According to the PCD report, the gang used "mules" to send it to Rome, though the street value in the U.S. could be three times as higher.

The "mules" hid the drugs in "óvulos" hidden in their bodies or in the suitcases.

Yesterday's arrests came as a result of the arrest of a Nicaraguan man arrested at the Juan Santamaria airport with 968 grams of cocaine on August 2 of this year.

A Costa Rican has been in police custody since June 23 when PCD officers found 3.68 kilos of cocaine in the false bottom of his suitcase at the airport. Both the Tico and the Nicaraguan are belived to be members of the gang.

Maddaloni's brother was arrested by the PCD on September 14, where he had hidden 13 kilos of cocaine in his vehicle at the time of the arrest.

Honduran Minister Doesn't Believe Harris a 'One Time' Offender
Óscar Álvarez, Honduran Minister of Security, in a press conference, said that Bruce Harris, former director of Casa Alianza, "could have had sexual relations with minors in every country he visited while on work."

In Costa Rica, Rosalía Gil, Minister for Children and president of PANI, the child welfare agency, told reporters yesterday that she was attempting to confirm a rumour that Harris had left the country.

Harris was fired as director of Casa Alianza by the head office in New York following a report that Harris had paid a Honduran boy for sexual favours. Harris did not deny the event.

Álvarez was quoted as saying, "please, those who have sexual aberration don't do it only one time, he is 58 years old and it is not to say that he has had a sexual aberration only one time."

Honduran officials are investigating to determine if Harris commited any crimes in that country, particularly any sexual relations with minors.

The Honduran young man who made the charge against Harris is of legal age, however, Honduran officials are looking into any inproprietes since the boy had been in the care of a Casa Alianza shelter.

Casa Alianza does not operate shelters in Costa Rica.
 

Institute Widens Human Rights Representation
The INTER-AMERICAN Institute for Human Rights has widened its board membership to ensure wider representation as it continues to work for the preservation and improvement of human rights in the Caribbean-Latin American region.

Established in October 1980, the institute is recognized as one of the most important global centres for education, research and the promotion of human rights. Over the years, it has trained some 7,000 individuals in the Americas in human rights advocacy.

The expanded board of the 24 year-old Costa Rica-based institute now brings its membership to 20 with the new representation of human rights advocates from the Caribbean Community.

The newest members are:

At its recently-concluded General Assembly meeting, the institute also re-elected its president Sonia Piccado of Costa Rica and vice-presidents Rodolfo Stavenhagen (Mexico) and Maria Elena Martinez (Uruguay) to the new board for the 2004-2006 period.

The presidents of the Inter-American Human Rights Court and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission also serve on the institute's board.