Anderson’s Citizenship
Still Unresolved
Exercising all his client’s legal options, Keith Anderson’s defense lawyer Moisés Vincenzi this week filed another Habeas Corpus with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV), asking the High Court to rule on the legality of Anderson’s disputed citizenship.. 
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Grupo Taca Links
C.R./Chicago
Grupo TACA announced Thrusday that starting Nov. 1, it will begin operating flights between San José and Chicago. “The Windy City,” home to the 110-story Sears Tower and the six-time N.B.A. champion Chicago Bulls, will be TACA’s 10th U.S. destination and its first in the mid-western region of the U.S.
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Security Minister Orders
Investigation of Coast Guard
Following a complaint filed by Libertarian Movement deputies alleging that the Costa Rican Coast Guard was using patrol boats for non-authorized purposes, Public Security Minister Rogelio Ramos this week suspended indefinitely Coast Guard Director Claudio Pacheco and ordered an extensive investigation.
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Anderson’s Citizenship
Still Unresolved
By Tim Rogers
Tico Times Staff

Exercising all his client’s legal options, Keith Anderson’s defense lawyer Moisés Vincenzi this week filed another Habeas Corpus with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV), asking the High Court to rule on the legality of Anderson’s disputed citizenship.

The case was originally to be decided last Tuesday by a judge in the First Circuit Criminal Court (TT, Aug. 30). However, the Sala IV’s authority supersedes that of the First Circuit Court, so the judge never got a chance to rule on the case.

The Sala has until next week to decide whether Anderson – the 62-year-old founder of Anderson’s Ark & Associates – is legally a Tico.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General has officially requested an annulment of Anderson’s Costa Rican citizenship, suggesting that he is in fact a Tico.

“If don Keith is not a Costa Rican, what are they going to annul?” demanded Vincenzi.

Anderson was arrested here Feb. 9 and faces already-approved extradition charges to the U.S. for defrauding the U.S. government. He was approved for Costa Rica citizenship Aug. 9 while doing jail time, but the Civil Registry later admitted it had made a mistake and tried to suspend the process (TT, Aug. 16).

Vincenzi claimed the government was not following due process by suspending his client’s citizenship, and is now in the process of appeal. He hopes Anderson’s citizenship will prevent him from getting extradited.

See next week’s Daily Page and Print Edition for the latest on Anderson.

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Grupo Taca Links
C.R./Chicago
By Benjamin Witte
Tico Times Staff

Grupo TACA announced Thrusday that starting Nov. 1, it will begin operating flights between San José and Chicago.

“The Windy City,” home to the 110-story Sears Tower and the six-time N.B.A. champion Chicago Bulls, will be TACA’s 10th U.S. destination and its first in the mid-western region of the U.S.

The Salvadoran-owned airline plans three weekly flights between San José and Chicago, with a stopover in Guatemala. Flights originating here will leave Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at seven in the morning and will arrive in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport at 1:40 p.m.

Flights from Chicago will leave just before three in the afternoon with touchdown in San José scheduled for approximately 9:30 p.m.

To accommodate Costa Rica’s high tourist season, between Dec. 9 and Jan. 13, TACA will add an additional flight on Mondays.

TACA, which recently became the first Latin American airline to establish a direct flight route to Boston, also services the U.S. cities of Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, New York City, and San Francisco.

TACA’s decision, which links Costa Rica with the U.S.’ third largest city and will mean the arrival of thousands of new visitors each year, is good news for the local tourism industry.

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Security Minister Orders
Investigation of Coast Guard
By Tim Rogers
Tico Times Staff

 Following a complaint filed by Libertarian Movement deputies alleging that the Costa Rican Coast Guard was using patrol boats for non-authorized purposes, Public Security Minister Rogelio Ramos this week suspended indefinitely Coast Guard Director Claudio Pacheco and ordered an extensive investigation.

According to the Libertarians’ complaint – which was supported by photographs – the Coast Guard abused an 18-month-old scientific research contract by using the “research outings” as an excuse to go out on the water for the day and catch some sun. According to the complaint, very little, if any, scientific research was conducted.

Before applying permanent sanctions against anyone, Ramos said, the investigation will seek answers to questions such as: how many of these “recreation” trips did the government pay for? How much gas was used? And who knew about this?

Oscar Quirós, Director of the Golfito-based Institute of Tropical Studies – which led University of Kansas biology students on semester study-abroad programs – claims his organization is different from the Organization of Tropical Studies. 

Quirós says his organization did maritime research, but never used Coast Guard boats, even though the Coast Guard is also headquartered in Golfito. He claimed that the Organization of Tropical Studies is a U.S.-based group that never even conducted maritime research, raising further questions about the relationship between the Costa Guard and the “research” group.

Alejandro Sotela, a biologist who has worked for several years with the Coast Guard, will replace Pacheco as director during the suspension.

Pacheco was unavailable for comment at press time.