Costa Rica/Latin American Digest, Oct. 15

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Costa Rica/ Latin American News Digest
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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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*Feature Article: *Anti-Corruption Crusade Targets Nicragua's
President

*Calendar, exchange rates, weather forecast, movie link

*News Digest

*Latin American News

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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*Anti-Corruption Crusade Targets Nicragua's President

GRANADA Nicaragua - After three years of basing his administration on
an aggressive anti-corruption campaign, President Enrique Bolaños could

become the next political casualty to get caught in his own dragnet.

The Nicaraguan Comptroller Gene-ral's Office this week presented the
National Assembly with a report on campaign-finance irregularities
committed by the Bolaños team in 2000, and called for the President's
removal from office.


Bolaños

The report says tens of millions of dollars of unreported campaign funds
from unknown sources were allegedly used to finance Bolaños' presidential

bid. At least five checks totaling $326,000 were moved through an offshore

bank in St. George, according to the report, of which The Tico Times has

obtained a copy.

UNDER Nicaragua's Electoral Code, foreign campaign donations are not
illegal, but unreported funds from unknown sources are. The Comptroller

General's Office claims it requested information from private banks and

President Bolaños to explain the mystery donations, but was unable to
shed any light on the suspicious funds.

Bolaños, reportedly on advice from his lawyers, never answered the

Comptroller General's request for donor information, and the private
banks - protected by banking secrecy legislation - provided few
additional clues.

The Comptroller General's Office concluded Bolaños violated electoral
law and should be docked two months' wages and stripped of the
presidency by Congress.

Nicaraguan lawyers consulted this week explained that the Comptroller's

report is not legally binding, but can be administratively binding.
In other words, the Comptroller General could exercise the authority
to withhold Bolaños' salary, but does not have the competency to remove
him from office.

Bolaños, who was in Libya this week on a diplomatic visit, did not
respond directly to the Comptroller's report by press time. His
lawyers, however, insisted the President will not resign. They said
Bolaños would use all legal recourses at his disposal to remain in
office, including the Supreme Court and the Democratic Charter of the

Organization of American States (OAS).

IN Nicaragua, leaders of the Liberal Constitutional Party and the
Sandinista National Liberation Front are calling for Bolaños' head.

Daniel Ortega, former revolutionary president and secretary general of
the Sandinista Front, blasted Bo-laños as a "liar" and a "ridiculous
clown" who had tricked the "innocent people of Nicaragua" who elected
him "in good faith."

Ortega accused Bolaños of trying to subjugate Nicaragua to the yanki

government, and insisted that Nicaragua, not the United States,
would have the final word about whether Bolaños remains in office.

Congressional vice-president Wilfredo Navarro, vice-president of the
Liberal Constitutional Party, also called for Bolaños' resignation.

"He should follow the example of the Secretary General of the OAS
(former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodríguez) and resign to
spare us further embarrassment," Navarro said.



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CALENDAR
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October 15


*Theater for Kids
A play about a black boy's adventures, presented at the National
Auditorium in the Children's Museum, San José, Friday at 9 and 11 a.m.,
and Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Info: 222-7647.

*The Cemetery Club
A comedy by Ivan Menchell, performed in English by the Little Theatre
Group at the Blanche Brown Theatre in Escazú, Friday and Saturday at
7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. through Oct. 24. Info: 355-1623.

*Groups to Protest Shark Finning
The Sea Turtle Restoration Program (PRETOMA) invited everyone to march
in protest against shark finning, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.
More than a dozen non-governmental organizations have said they will

participate in the march, which starts at the Plaza de la Cultura in
downtown San José. PRETOMA will also circulate a petition - which already
has 50,000 signatures - asking government officials to put an end to shark

finning, the brutal practice of slicing the fins off a shark and
discarding the carcasses in the ocean.

*Thank-You Concert by the Youth Symphony:
Playing selections from the concert it performed in the Santa Cecilia
Academy in Rome, Italy, the Youth Symphony will play the Festive Overture,
by D. Shostakovich; Huapango, by Pablo Moncayo; Costa Rican Inspirations,
by Carlos Guzman; and pieces by Tchaikovsky and Ginastera, 8 p.m. Saturday
in the National Theater, 221-5341.

*Team Aventura Mudman 2004
Sports and lots of fun, starting at 8 a.m. Sunday in Fossil Land,
Patarrá, Desamparados, 276-6060, 276-8103.


Central Bank Exchange Rates
Reference Rate


Buy
¢448.54

Sell
¢450.14
CR Colon:


CAD
349.471

GBP
788.259


EURO
542.469

JPY
4.001


NIO
27.261

RUB
15.039

US Dollar:


BZD
0.5063

GTQ
0.1234


HNL
0.0527

SVC
0.1142


NIO
0.0621

PAB
0.9950

15 Oct 2004


5-Day Forecast for San Jose
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

78° | 75°
78° | 75°
78° | 73°
78° | 73°
75° | 71°
T-storms T-storms T-storms Chance of T-storms Rain

Movie Guide:

http://entretenimiento.co.cr/entrete.../cine/cine.asp

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NEWS DIGEST
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*Ex-President Declined to Answer Legislative Commission's Questions

Former President Rafael Ángel Calderón (1990-94) appeared yesterday
before the Legislative Assembly's Commission on Public Expenditures, but

declined to answer the legislators' questions.

Members of the commission, headed by Luis Gerardo Villanueva of the
National Liberation Party (PLN), asked Calderón numerous questions
about payments of more than $500,000 he allegedly received from a $9.2

million "commission" that was paid to government officials in connection
with a $39.5 government contract with a Finnish medical supply company,
whose products are distributed in Costa Rica by Corporación Fischel. The

plan, called the Finland Project, aimed to modernize the hospitals of the

country's Social Security System (Caja), which provides cradle-to-grave

health care to most Costa Ricans.

Calderón, who has been prohibited from leaving the country during the
Caja investigation, was also asked whether he had any involvement in the

alleged payment of a "prize" to former President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez

(1998-2002) and members of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE)
in connection with a government contract for 400,000 cellular phone
lines awarded to the French telecommunications firm Alcatel.

Legislators asked several questions implying a direct link between
Calderón and Rodríguez, who today will step down from his post as
Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) amid

allegations of accepting the payments.

Several lawmakers made reference to a "ring of corruption" allegedly

involving Calderón, Rodríguez and other members of the ruling Social

Christian Unity Party (PUSC).

Calderón's lawyer, Gonzalo Castellón, called the inquiry the beginning
of a "long, arduous" process that could take two to three years to
complete, and after each legislator's questions said that Calderón, in

keeping with his professional advice, would abstain from answering.

The legislators vocally expressed their disappointment with Calderón's

decision not to testify, using remarks that at some points became almost

scolding.

Heredia legislator José Francisco Salas asked Calderón, who played a
leading role in founding PUSC, whether he also founded the "ring."

Humberto Arce, of the Patriotic Bloc, said that if Calderón were to end
up in jail because of the alleged payments, he would have "time to
reflect."

Other deputies urged Calderón to testify because he owed it to the
citizens of Costa Rica.

Mario Redondo of the PUSC party, said Calderón owed an explanation to
the women "who stay up late at night making sandwiches" for family
members, while Peter Guevara, a Libertarian Movement Party legislator,
said the ex-President owed an explanation to the children of the country.



*Political Party Founder Takes His Own Life

Mario Quintana, one of the founding members of the Social Christian
Unity Party (PUSC), which is now in the spotlight for corruption

investigations into some of its most prominent members, took his own
life Wednesday around 5 p.m. with a .357 Magnum, according to the
Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ).

OIJ spokeswoman Margarita Morales said Quintana, 58, wrote a note
before firing a round into his right temple, but the note was "ambiguous"
and did not outline the exact reasons for his suicide.

She said Quintana's family members described him as "sad" and "depressed"
in recent days, but never thought him to be suicidal.

Morales said Quintana was not being investigated in connection with the

corruption scandals linked to former Presidents Miguel Ángel Rodríguez

(1998-2002) and Rafael Ángel Calderón (1990-94), both members of the
ruling PUSC party.

Quintana, though he never served in public office, was the political
party's president from 1990-92.

Neither PUSC president Lorena Vásquez nor party secretary Jorge
Eduardo Sánchez could be reached for comment by press time.



*Fallen Angel

Costa Rican authorities say that they will arrest and transport former
Costa Rican president and former Secretary General of the OAS in
handcuffs when he arrives today in Costa Rica.

Rodríguez will be immediately arrested as he sets foot on Costa Rican
soil when he arrives at the Juan Santamaria airport, leaving his post
at the Organization of American States.

Marco Badilla, director of immigration, told a Repretel news channel
last night that he has received the "order of capture" for Rodríguez and
that his agents have been instructed to detain the man as soon as he is

spotted at any of the entry points to Costa Rica.

The question that has been asked the last day, was would be Rodríguez be

handcuffed as a common criminal? The answer would be left up to the
agent or agents who first come into contact with the former president.

The origins of the current damage to the prestige of Costa Rica at the

international level, because of the corruption charges against former

President date back 10 years, that is the time that this country
invested to get one of its citizens elected as Secretary General of the

Organization of American States (OAS).

Rodríguez was president of Costa Rica for the period 1998-2002, leaving
the seat to the current president Abel Pacheco, who belong to the same

political party, the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC).

Rodríguez took office at the OAS last September 15, but lasted less than
one month at the post, since he was forced to resign after his alleged

involvement in accepting bribes from the French telecommunications firm

Alcatel and the government of Taiwan.

"From pride to shame" is the description local analysts have for the

situation, which has marred the image of Costa Rica at the international

level.

Rodríguez is expected to return to Costa Rica, where he will face
prosecutors who have many unanswered questions about the former
president's involvement as related to them by former ICE directors and

employees.

Rodríguez's arrival in Costa Rica as early as this morning or as late as
this evening, with the last commercial flight arriving from the U.S.

Speculation is that he could arrive in a private plane and could land at
the Liberia airport, to avoid the crowds and press.

No matter, Costa Rican authorities are demanding his immediate detention
and that be brought before the tribunals as soon as possible following his

arrival in Costa Rica.

There still exists the possibility that Rodríguez will not return to
Costa Rica, be arrested in Washington as his immunity expires with his
final act as Secretary General of the OAS and be brought back by force.

Rumours still circulate of possibly Venezuela or the Dominican Republic
as possible safe havens, where he would be granted diplomatic asylum.

However, the man has stated repeatedly that he has done nothing wrong
and will return to Costa Rica to defend himself.



*Alcatel and Taiwan Investigate Corruption in Costa Rica

In an statement published on the Alcatel worldwide website, Alcatel
tells the world the situation in Costa Rica.

On their website, Alcatel reiterates that its policy is to conduct its

business with transparency, following laws and regulations, both locally
and internationally.

Alcatel tells that it established on October 4, 2004, an internal team
to conduct an inquiry regarding its operations in Costa Rica.

"The first conclusions of this inquiry have confirmed that local
consultants may have acted in violation of their contractual obligations
with Alcatel. These clearly forbid the consultants from offering
promises or give any undue pecuniary or other advantage to any public

official for any purpose, which may contravene any applicable laws. "

The French telecommunications firm says, it has been recently revealed
that the president of Alcatel Costa Rica violated the Alcatel Group's
Code of Ethics, which is enforced across the entire company. This
employee, who had been immediately suspended, is now being terminated.

The company, who reserves the right to take further legal action to
seek appropriate remedies, pursues its internal inquiry, and will fully

cooperate with local authorities.

Despite these difficult circumstances, Alcatel has asked its employees
to continue to perform their duties to support our customers in
maintaining quality of service to the Costa Rican telecom network.

In a separate action, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
is studying Costa Rica scandal about reports that MOFA had given Miguel
Angel Rodriguez us$200,000 in 2001 and that the embassy gave him the same

amount in 2002

MOFA spokesman Michael Lu said that Taiwan would not get involved in
Costa Rica's judicial procedures. He said the government offers aid to
allies through mutual negotiations and that the foreign ministry would try
to understand the allegations

A spokeswoman for the embassy in Costa Rica told the Taiwan Central
News Agency that the embassy "had no information" about the alleged

donations. "The ministry is trying to understand the reports. Our
country offers aid to our allies through mutual negotiations. These aid

projects primarily aim to help our allies' national development," Lu said.

Opposition officials in Costa Rica have called for the country to sever

diplomatic ties with Taiwan after news about Rodriguez's alleged
acceptance of the donations broke. Answering questions about the demand,
Lu said, "We would not interfere into another country's domestic politics."



*Former Alcatel Manager and Servicios Notariales Lawyer Arrested

Edgar Valverde, who was fired last week as manager of the French telecom

Alcatel in Costa Rica was detained yesterday in connection with the

ICE-Alcatel scandal.

Valverde was on his way to testify before a Legislative Assembly
committee investigating the payment of millions of dollars in kickbacks,

allegedly to allow Alcatel rights to 400,000 cellular telephone lines
in a contract worth us$149.000.000 dollars with the Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE)

Valverde is accused of having paid out kickbacks. His accuser, Guido
Silbaja, said he had received us$196,000 dollars in hush money from
Alcatel.

The French firm iss suspected of having made millions of dollars in
payments to intermediaries to gain access to the market for some us$230

million dollars in sales of mobile telephones and equipment.

Also, yesterday, in a separate action, police arrested Luis Adrián
Quirós Carmona, lawyer at Servicios Notariales Q.C. located in San Ramón
de Alajuela, the law firm that received us$14.000.000 from Alcatel for

distribution to former ICE directors and employees.

Servicios Notariales also donated money to the presidential campaigns
of president Abel Pacheco and Rolanda Araya.

Last night Quirós was in the custody Fiscalía de Delitos Económicos in
San José, awaiting a judge's decision on his fate.


*Agriculture and Industry Slow Down

The amount of agricultural and industrial goods -not including the

high-technology sector- is growing this year, but at a slower rhythm than
in 2003, according to the Monthly Economic Activity Indicator, which
shows the variations in the amounts of goods and services produced in
Costa Rica.

The agricultural sector grew 2.7 percent last August, as compared to the
same month in 2003, confirming a de-acceleration that started last year
and that also involves the industrial sector, which grew 2 percent.


*Citrus Sector Likely to Benefit

As a result of the hurricanes that devastated the crops in Florida, the
Costa Rican citrus sector expects increased exports and higher prices for
its production.

Carlos Odio, of the local Ticofrut -the largest Costa Rican exporter
of orange juice concentrate- forecast a rise from $0.56 to $0.95 per
pound by the end of this year.

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OTHER LATIN AMERICAN NEWS
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*Bolivia Calls for Extradition of Ex President

A year ago, on October 17, the then-president of
Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez de
Lozada (a.k.a. "Goni") resigned and fled his
country for Miami, after a
storm of public protests against his deals to
sell Bolivian gas to foreign
companies and an even greater torment after
Goni's troops massacred Bolivian
civilians who had protested against the gas deals.

Last night, at 12:30 a.m., 126 members of the
Bolivian Congress (out of 140,
making the vote against Goni a crushing 90
percent on the second roll call)
voted that Goni and members of his cabinet can
now be subjected to trial as
civilians for their alleged roles in the deaths
of more than 80 civilian
protestors during what is known throughout
Bolivia as the "Black October" of
2003.

The gauntlet was thus thrown down to the Bush
administration in Washington,
which, according to U.S. Ambassador David
Greenlee responding to Bolivian
journalists last night, has allowed the former
president, Goni, to remain
legally in the United States for the past year...

Read more, with instant translations from the
Bolivian press, on The
Narcosphere...

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/sto...0/14/93626/924

So far the only news agencies in English to
report the news are the BBC,
reporting, "The Bolivian Congress has voted to
put former President Gonzalo
Sanchez de Lozada on trial over the deaths of up
to 80 people in October
last year," and the faded UPI.

As of 9:20 a.m. on Thursday morning, the major
North American news
organizations - AP, CNN, the New York Times, and
Goni's new hometown
newspaper, the Miami Herald (a.k.a. Oligarch's
Daily), etcetera - despite
their large budgets and well-paid correspondents
in South America and in the
Andes, have so far remained silent. a silence
that may have the intended
result of allowing Goni just enough lead time to
slip through the fingers of
justice...



*Central American leaders seek new OAS candidate

The Central American foreign ministers met Thursday in El Salvador to
try to agree on presenting a single Central American candidate for the

secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The Central American ministers met at 9:30 am local time (1530 GMT)
at El Salvador's International Airport in Comalapa, according to reports
from San Salvador, capital of El Salvador.

The meeting was attended by foreign ministers of Nicaragua, the
Dominican Republic, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador.

The ministers tried to agree on a single candidate for the vacancy left
by former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez who resigned as

secretary general of the OAS on Oct. 8 due to a corruption scandal
in his country.

El Salvadorean foreign minister said his country was committed to seek
a single candidate for the post of OAS secretary general


*Venezuela sentences 7 coup participants

A Venezuelan judge on Thursday sentenced seven people for their
involvement in a 2002 coup against President Hugo Chavez.

Three were sentenced to six years in prison and four others to three
years. An eighth person was acquitted.

The lawyer of these people appealed against the sentences.

The coup on April 12, 2002 ousted President Chavez for 48 hours.





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