Hand-in-hand with renovating Limón's tired infrastructure, authorities are looking to revive the Costa Rican Caribbean port city's tranquillity.

President Oscar Arias on Thursday celebrated some small successes in the initiative, including a drop in rates of homicides, property damage and domestic violence in a part of the country that traditionally reports higher crime rates.

From 2008 to 2009, domestic violence cases dropped from 232 to 147 (36 percent). During that same time period, property damage decreased from 460 to 424 (7.8 percent).

Thirty-six fewer crimes may seem like a small number, but the downward trend shows that police actions are having an effect, according to a press release from the Public Security Ministry.

The number of homicides also fell, according to the release.

“We have had more than 55 days without a homicide,” said Celso Gamboa, deputy prosecutor in Limón. “Targeted killings related to drug use are gone. The local sales by cartels have been cut off and most of the offenders are in custody. Far from being a lost cause, this battle is being won. ”

Andrés Shum León, who owns Cocorí Hotel Bar and Restaurant between the ports of Moin and Limón, has noticed a difference.

“Each day there is improvement,” said the lifelong resident. “Many of the famous gang leaders are in jail, and it's safer.”

In fact, León said he feels safer in Limón than the Costa Rican capital of San José.

“Here (in Limón), I don't have to be worried about car jacking,” he said. “There's no problem with people smashing your windows. In San José, there are professionals. Not here. Here, the only problem is with gangs.”

Janina Del Vecchio, public security minister, noted that authorities have seized 115 more weapons this year than last year and confiscated 14 boats that were linked to drug trafficking and wildlife violations.

Despite the recent improvements, Inter-Institutional Coordination Minister Marco Vargas said Limón still has some work to do before it can be considered a modern port community.

Vargas, who is spearheading an $80 million investment project to revitalize the city, reported that cases of extreme poverty are 1.3 percent higher in Limón than the rest of the country, unemployment is 1.4 percent higher in Limón, and course load for students over 15 is 1.3 percent lower.

In his presentation to public officials Thursday, Vargas said, “the transformation that Limón requires will only be achieved if improvement to citizen safety goes hand-in-hand with social and economic development.”

The government of Nicaragua is rejecting what it calls U.S. “meddling” in its internal affairs, after the U.S. State Department released a statement Thursday saying it is “very concerned” about last week's controversial ruling by Sandinista judges to overturn a constitutional ban on presidential re-election.

In a letter to José Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Nicaraguan Ambassador Denis Moncada said the position of the United States is “unacceptable” to the government of President Daniel Ortega.

Moncada accused the United States of pretending to represent the view of all OAS member states, and called on Insulza to clarify that the United States' position is not reflective of that of the international body. At press time, the OAS had not responded to Nicaragua's appeal.

The U.S. Department of State said in its release, “We share the concern of many Nicaraguans that this situation is part of a larger pattern of questionable and irregular governmental actions, beginning before the flawed municipal elections of November 2008, that threatens to undermine the foundations of Nicaraguan democracy and calls into question the Nicaraguan government's commitment to uphold the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”

U.S. Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also came out strongly against the Sandinista ruling.

“Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's manipulation of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court this week to circumvent constitutional limits on his term in office reeks of the authoritarianism of the past,” Kerry said in a statement. “Coming on the heels of universally condemned municipal elections last year, his power grab deepens a crisis that Nicaragua can ill afford.”

Kerry said that the situations in Nicaragua and Honduras are “obviously different,” but said “unconstitutional actions are unacceptable anywhere.”

“President Ortega appears to be following the cues of the coup-plotters in Honduras,” Kerry said.

Despite a constitutional ban on consecutive presidential re-election, six Sandinista Supreme Court magistrates loyal to Ortega ruled Oct. 19, apparently behind the backs of opposition judges, that a law prohibiting re-election is unconstitutional (NT, Oct. 23). The political opposition, business chambers and civil society groups have all criticized the ruling as illegal, and issued statements claiming they don't recognize the verdict.

Opposition parties in Nicaragua's National Assembly are expected to present a bill against the court verdict this week.

The rain stopped just in time for Costa Rican singer-songwriters Mal País to take the stage Saturday night at the environmental awareness event Festival 350.

Hundreds of University of Costa Rica (UCR) students gathered in San Pedro, in eastern San José, at the UCR engineering parking lot to see the beloved Tico band during an activity to raise awareness about climate change.

The event, which took place on the International Day of Climate Action, was named to draw attention to a safe amount of airborne carbon dioxide. Scientists agree that in order to avoid cooking the planet to a point that humans can't bear, atmospheric CO2 levels must be at or below 350 parts per million.

The current level is 390 parts per million.

Costa Rica's event coincided with festivals and rallies in as many as 180 countries that sought to press for action on climate change, according to the organization 350.org.

Saturday's event featured a number of activities and information to help people reduce CO2 emissions and adopt healthier and more sustainable practices, all in hopes of reaching the magic number 350.

Attendees test-drove electric cars, bought shrubs to plant in order to sequester airborne CO2 and received brochures with tips on conserving water. According to the UCR's Integral Environment Management Program (PROGAI), an open faucet consumes 12 liters of water per minute.

To avoid such waste, PROGAI advised students to open water valves only half way and turn them off when not in use.

Bruce Callow, political and press officer of the British Embassy, kicked off the day with his multi-media performance “Odyssey 2047,” a frightening portrayal of what the world could look like in fewer than 40 years.

“Thousands of Costa Rica's coastal residents will have to leave their homes and flee to higher ground,” the presentation notes.

And between signs that read “Let's contribute to the well-being of the planet,” Mal País hammered home the day's message with lightning violin and guitar solos.

“It's not impossible to save our planet,” said bassist Jaime Gamboa into the microphone. “If we start to change now, we will see the result soon.”

Costa Rica's newly opened telecommunication market was on display last week as 40 national and global telecom companies participated in Expo-Telecom at the Hotel Real InterContinental in Escazú, a suburb west of San José.

The event, which was organized by the company Octametro, serves as a meet-and-greet for telecoms and visiting executives and aims to broaden industry networks and encourage potential commercial relationships. The three-day event included speeches and seminars from several international telecom experts and representatives, as well as exhibitions and presentations from the local companies.

The hosting of the Expo-Telecom is a well-timed move on the part of Octametro. Over the past six months, several companies have gained approval to compete in the Costa Rican telecom market, which opened to competition in 2009. The approval of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) dissolved the long-standing state-run monopoly held by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE).

“The opening of the telecommunications market has been responsible and organized, which is what we promised to the country of Costa Rica,” said President Oscar Arias, who opened the Expo-Telecom with a speech Wednesday morning. “I have no doubt that this will be the first of many exchanges for the market, which will bring immense opportunities to contribute not only to the economic development of Costa Rica, but also to human development.”            

Expo-Telecom also held a virtual job fair that encouraged applicants interested in a career in telecom to send in their resumes online. As of Thursday, the organizers said they had received 14,000 online resumes.