In a foreign land: Undocumented African migrants listen to instructions from a Costa Rican immigration official upon their arrival at a detention center in San José Sunday. Around 54 African migrants, who were believed to be heading for the United States, were detained when their boat arrived on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast Saturday.

Kent Gilbert | AP

Costa Rican law enforcement intercepted a boat Saturday carrying 54 Africans and three crew members suspected of human trafficking off the country's Caribbean coast.

A Public Security Ministry spokesman said the boat was in poor condition and the passengers had gone several days without food or water.

The authorities believe most of the 54 passengers, seven of whom are women, are from Eritrea – a north African country sandwiched by the Red Sea, Sudan and Ethiopia – and nearby Somalia (see map).

Police believe the group could have been abandoned at sea by an international human trafficking organization, which could charge as much as $7,000 to transport them possibly to the United States. Three Colombian crew members were detained on suspicion of engaging in illegal human trafficking.

It's not the first group of African would-be immigrants to arrive. Before this group arrived, more than 30 people from countries such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Africa were already waiting in Costa Rica's immigrant holding center in Hatillo, south of San José.

See related story:
In C.R., Stranded Refugees Look for Freedom
TT, Aug. 14

The cost of electricity will be less expensive in Costa Rica during the final three months of 2009. The Administrative Contention Court ruled in favor of the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) on Wednesday, meaning that electricity rates will be discounted an average of 7.3 percent for the remainder of the year.

The approval of the discounted rates concludes an ongoing dispute between ARESEP and the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which opposed the drop.

In late August, ARESEP announced that electricity rates would be trimmed due to the large amount of savings earned by the lessened cost to produce thermal (fossil fuels-based) energy due to lower petroleum costs. According to ARESEP, the cost of producing thermal energy fell from $97.97 million in 2008 to $45.48 million in the first nine months of 2009. Because the savings for energy producers were so high, ARESEP said savings should be passed on the customers, and thus proposed the lowered rates, which were intended to go into effect on Sept. 1.

ICE, the primary electricity provider in the country, opposed the rate reduction, and the dispute was taken to court.

During court hearings, ARESEP asserted that by not cutting rates ICE was overcharging consumers. ICE contended that the money saved over the year was being redirected into investment plans and the discounting of the rates would put those plans at risk. On Wednesday afternoon, the court ruled in favor of ARESEP, ordering the discounted rates to take effect immediately.

“The court ruled that ICE didn't have a strong enough argument to keep the rates from dropping,” Carolina Mora, a spokeswoman for ARESEP, told The Tico Times. “Therefore, the discounted rates begin immediately and will last until December 31 of this year.”

ARESEP estimates that a family in San José that uses 300kw/hours will save an average around ¢ 1,400 per month.

Early run: Runners take off at 5 a.m. Saturday during the third Tamarindo Beach Marathon at the northern Pacific beach town of Tamarindo, Guanacaste.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Lebeaux

TAMARINDO – In its third year running, the Tamarindo Beach Marathon drew a field of nearly 900 participants to this northern Pacific coastal community on Saturday, including some of Costa Rica's top runners.

Beginning on a dirt road just south of the town's main drag, the race followed main roads north as far as Brasilito. Though spectators were sparse, runners pounded along to the music of howler monkeys and enjoyed a splendid sunrise over empty fields.

A combination of a 10k, 21k, 20k and full marathon (42k) races opened the field to runners of all types and abilities.

Bernard Kimwetich Sangoka of Nairobi, Kenya, had the first place time for the full marathon clocking in at 2:37:16, but he started late. Because Costa Rican Adrian Canossa crossed the finish line first, he was awarded the first place prize for an end time of 2:38:05.

The women's full marathon was won by Costa Rican Sonia Rojas (3:32:29) of San José, followed by fellow Costa Rican Jackeline Chaves (3:37:07), of La Aurora, Heredia (northwest of San José ).

The top male and female winners of the half marathon were Francisco Cháves of San José (1:10:14) and Gabriela Traña of Alajuela (1:22:35). In the 30k race, Carlos Zamora of Alajuela pulled in first place (1:59:43) and Josefina Sancho (2:29:29) of San José won it for the women. In the 10k, Roger Coto of Cartago won it for the men and Eva Gordon of Guatemala won the women's race (43:11).

The Tamarindo Beach Marathon, which is still in its infancy, began in 2007 when a group of Costa Rican athletes decided to expose some of Costa Rica's treasured landscapes to the international athletic arena.

“The main idea and purpose behind the marathon (was to) establish an internationally certified race that would attract both national and international athletes to visit and enjoy one of the most beautiful sceneries of Costa Rica's natural paradise,” the founders wrote on their Web site. “Furthermore, the race would serve as an opportunity for rural communities to participate in a local athletic event and engage in a health and active lifestyle.”

Since last year, the field has nearly doubled in size, drawing runners from the United States, Argentina, France, Germany and Mexico.

Staffers for Laura Chinchilla's campaign expect to be cruising around the city in little electric cars this fall.

As part of her plan to introduce a fleet of at least 15,000 electric vehicles for government use (and cut down on gas consumption with 22.7 million fewer gallons), the presidential frontrunner is testing the vehicles now.

Converting Costa Rica into a carbon neutral country “will undoubtedly be our mark in this century,” she said in a statement, adding that “electric development in the country – based on local and renewable energy sources – is one way to prevent the increase of oil prices.”

Her campaign is also planning to test out a Toyota Prius and Mitsubishi's hybrid model before the February 2010 elections.

“We are going to try several vehicles, which will primarily be used in the metropolitan areas, to see which is the best for use (during her administration),” said Carlos Roverssi, chief of communications for Chinchilla's campaign.

Asked whether he was concerned about the presidential candidate's safety, given the size of the vehicle, Roverssi said, “That is something we are looking at. We think the cars will be used primarily for campaign activities, not necessarily for her, because safety concerns do exist.”

Another aspect of Chinchilla's plan is to install 15,000 solar roof panels in public and private schools, in new construction projects and in private homes with the goal of reaching 2 percent of consumers.

“The idea is to stimulate the use of renewable energy,” Roverssi said. “Whether it's through solar panels or electric cars, Chinchilla is expecting to initiate a very strong campaign in this regard.”