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Ivannia Mora Killer Extradited
to Costa Rica
A Colombian only identified by
his last name, Martínez de la
Cruz, was extradited from Panama
to Costa Rica, accused of
assassinating news reporter
Ivannia Mora back in December
23, 2003.
The Colombian set foot on Costa
Rican soil at 10:30am yesterday
as he stepped a Copa Airlines
airplane led by Interpol agents
and handed over to the Sección
de Capturas del Organismo de
Investigación Judicial (OIJ)
agents.
Martínez was arrested last year
for having paid us$10.000 to
have the reporter killed.
According to the news agency EFE,
Panamanian authorities approved
the extradition on April 25 at
the request of the International
Police (Interpol) in Costa Rica.
Martínez was quickly ushered
into the "perrera" - the pet
name given to police transport
vehicles - covering his face at
all times and delivered to the
Goicochea court house cells.
Authorities say that Martínez
was the man who made a down
payment with the killers meeting
in early December of 2003 in the
downtown area of the Plaza de la
Cultura and days later met to
complete the payment near the
area of the Museo Nacional.
Martínez had ties with Eugenio
Millot, a Uruguayan national,
who employed Ivannia at his
financial newspaper in Costa
Rica. Millot is already in
preventive detention accused of
taking part in the murder of the
33 year old reporter.
Ivannia was gunned down in the
early evening of December 23,
when a man riding a motorcycle
open fire on Ivannia as she sat
in her vehicle in traffic.
Four other Colombians are also
accused in the case and all are
awaiting trial.
The arrest of Martínez is a
result of a joint investigation
between the Policía Técnica
Judicial (PTJ) de Panamá,
Intepol and the OIJ in Costa
Rica following the testimony of
an unidentified man in Bogota
who fingered Martínez during a
teleconference call.
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