Colombian Hitmen Had
Their Sights on
Ministers Arias and
Berrocal
Five Colombians arrived
late least week with
their sole purpose of
assassinating the the
ministro de la
Presidencia, Rodrigo
Arias, brother of the
president, and the
ministro de Seguridad
Pública, Fernando
Berrocal,
The daily Spanish
language newspaper, La
Nación, said that it
confirmed the presence
of the hired killers
with high up sources
within the Poder
Ejecutivo (Executive
power), who asked to
remain anonymous.
Minister Berrocal, who
was appointed by Costa
Rican president, Oscar
Arias, as the voice on
this matter, said
yesterday they had
received information
from Colombian police
sources and followed up
by Costa Rican police
who determined that
"there really were are a
group of "sicarios" (hit
men) on Costa Rican soil
with the objective of
public officials in
their sights".
Berrocal said that the
five Colombians were
deported yesterday
morning on a 10:30am
TACA flight to Bogotá,
escorted by Costa Rican
immigration officials.
The minister added that
the five were being met
by officials of the
Departamento
Administrativo de
Seguridad (DAS) -
Colombian intelligence
service - to be
interrogated.
Mario Zamora, director
of the immigration
service in Costa Rica,
justified the
deportation by saying
that though the men had
committed no crime as
their plan was foiled,
they did enter the
country illegally and
considered extremely
dangerous.
The vice-minister of
Seguridad, Rafael
Gutiérrez, Zamora and
Berrocal, assures that a
Colombian "drug cartel"
ordered the hit afte the
confiscation of some 40
tonnes of cocaine, in
various police
operations during the
last 12 months, in Costa
Rica.
The officials say they
believe the hitmen to be
part of the "brazo
armado" (armed arm) of
the Norte del Valle
cartel that operates in
the Colombian
departments of Chocó and
controls Buenaventura,
in the Pacific coast of
Colombia.
Costa Rican officials
say that from the
Buenaventura port boats
are launched with
illegal drugs headed for
Central America and the
United States, a great
quantity being
intercepted by Costa
Rican police.
The five men were
identified by their last
names, Angulo, Martínez,
Casares, Flores and
Olaya, all from Chocó.
Angulo and Martínez were
picked up by Costa Rican
police in a bar in
Puntarenas on Friday
night, while the others
in downtown Alajuela.
The leader of the group,
according to Berrocal,
left Costa Rica a few
days earlier to get more
manpower, who are
supported by Costa
Ricans, one of who is
owner of a farm in San
José, who gave the
gunmen a place to stay.
"We are dealing with the
most dangerous men we
have detained in many
years. They surpass all
levels of violence we
know", said immigration
director Zamora.
The presence of the
hitmen in the country
came to light to
officials some 10 days
ago, information coming
from wiretaps of drug
traffickers.
In the wiretaps a number
of the drug traffickers
are overheard speaking
of the elimination of
higher ups in the
government.
Involved in the
investigation were
officials of the
Organismo de
Investigación Judicial (OIJ),
lthe Dirección de
Inteligencia y Seguridad
Nacional (DIS) - Costa
Rican secret service,
the Policía de Migración
and the Fuerza Pública.
The ministers were given
added protection and
asked to limit their
public activities and
stay in as much as
possible. Officials say
that the operation was
carried out under
extreme measures of
confidentiality.
The hitmen made their
way into Costa Rica on a
speed boat used to
carried drugs into the
country, landing at
Punta Burica in the
Pacific coast. They then
separated, staying in
different locations.
Two of the hitmen
apparently contracted
marriage with two young
women in Aserrí and
Desamparados, marriages
that were registered
last year, in an attempt
to remain in the country
legally, while some of
the others had made an
application for refugee,
claiming persecution in
their home country. |
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