Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, June 16,  2003

C.A. Promises a 'Sword Fight'
in 5th Round of CAFTA Talks
TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) - Some 350 trade negotiators from the five Central American countries and the United States are meeting today in the Honduran capital to initiate the fifth - and, to date, most important - round of talks leading to the eventual free-trade agreement (CAFTA).
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Accused Gringo Pedophile Deported
By Tim Rogers
trogers@ticotimes.net

Sussman shows off his blackeye after getting jumped by a youth gang in 2001 Tim Rogers/Tico Times

U.S. citizen and four-year resident of Costa Rica Charles David Sussman, 42, was detained in Panama City's airport Friday and deported to the United States for possessing child pornography that was allegedly produced in Costa Rica.

Sussman, who had been working in Costa Rica as an English teacher for the last several years, left Costa Rica for Chile last Monday but was stopped by immigration officers for possession of falsified Mexican passport, according to a Casa Alianza press release.

When police searched his belongings they reportedly found $12,000 in undeclared funds and several pornographic videos with minors - including a "snuff" film - that were thought to have been made in Costa Rica. At least one of the videos was shot on June 9, 2003, while Sussman was still staying at his San José apartment, two blocks from the Hospital Calderon Guardia.

Chilean authorities reportedly notified Casa Alianza that they were deporting Sussman back to Costa Rica to face criminal charges. But authorities in Panama intercepted Sussman off a connecting flight in Panama City and deported him to the U.S., where he is considered a fugitive from justice and faces an international arrest warrant in Miami for sexually abusing children.

Casa Alianza has asked the Costa Rican authorities to request copies of the video tapes from U.S. police to determine the identity of the Costa Rican victim from the video made last week so as to provide her with emotional support and to press charges against Sussman, according to the press release.

"We are concerned that Costa Rica continues to be seen as a destination for sex tourists and for the production of child pornography. But times have changed and the abusers of children will be caught," said Casa Alianza director Bruce Harris.

Sussman, a New York native and father who claims to have degrees in psychology and criminal justice, had a history of finding trouble in Costa Rica.

In April of 2001, Sussman was reportedly abducted, robbed and beat up by a youth gang outside of the popular commercial and nightlife center El Pueblo, in the northern San José neighborhood of Guadalupe. He had been smoking pot and drinking beers in his van with several young Costa Rican women shortly before being attacked, and he suspected that he was set up by one of the girls.

The four assailants, allegedly armed with a handgun and several knives, took Sussman by surprise when they approached his van at 1:00 a.m. and forced him into the back seat, stabbing him in the back, pistol-whipping his right eye and choking him to the point of unconsciousness. Three of the young men reportedly beat Sussman on the floor of van, while the four man drove to nearby ATMs to try to withdraw money from Sussman's savings accounts. He claims he was robbed of $3,000 in cash and jewelry, but was thankful that the assailants did not steal his $600 ostrich-skin cowboy boots (TT, April 6, 2001).

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C.A. Promises a 'Sword Fight'
in 5th Round of CAFTA Talks

C.R. trade representative Anabel Gonzalez meets with U.S. counterpart Regina Vargo during 4th round of CAFTA talks in Guatemala. AFP/Tico Times

TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) - Some 350 trade negotiators from the five Central American countries and the United States are meeting today in the Honduran capital to initiate the fifth - and, to date, most important - round of talks leading to the eventual free-trade agreement (CAFTA).

Central American trade negotiators have already started rattling their sabers and insisting that this round they are playing for keeps.

"In Guatemala (during the fourth round of talks last May) we unsheathed our swords, and now we are ready to begin the sword fight," said Norman García, Honduran Minister of Industry and Trade. "In this round the negotiating we will really begin with proposals and counter-proposals."

Following the U.S. trade proposal in fourth round of talks in Guatemala, the Central American trade teams met in Managua, Nicaragua at the end of May to draft the region's counter proposal.

The Central American proposal divides products into five categories: A,B,C,D, and E. Products on the "A" list will be traded tariff-free immediately after the trade pact goes into effect, while products on the "E" list will be slowly phased into the trade agreement in order to protect local producers, according to the Central American trade draft.

But apart from generalities, very few details about the Central American counter-proposal have been made public.

Central America's attempts at forming a unified negotiating bloc began to fall apart last week when Guatemala presented its own variation of the Central American proposal.

"Guatemala is offering a proposal that is much more ambitious because it includes close to 80% of its products on the 'A' list," explained Honduran trade-negotiating chief Melvin Redondo.

The U.S.' trade proposal, presented last month in Guatemala, caused some concern in Central America because it did not include all of the products that currently enter the U.S. market tariff-free under unilateral trade initiatives such as the Caribbean-Basin Initiative and the System of Generalized Preferences. The U.S. trade team, however, said it would sweeten its deal in the fifth round of talks (TT Daily Page, May 19).

To ensure security at the trade talks, some 175 police officers will be detailed to protect the participants, and the U.S. is reportedly going to protect its own negotiators by coordinating efforts with the Honduran military.

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Colombian President to Visit
By Tim Rogers
trogers@ticotimes.net

Hard-line Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will arrive in Costa Rica Thursday morning to meet with President Abel Pacheco and business leaders in an attempt to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

In recent years, the relationship between the two countries has become increasing tied by the wave of Colombian refugees migrating here to escape the war.

"We have always loved Colombia and the situation of that country pains us deeply," Pacheco said last week.

Uribe is scheduled to arrive here Thursday at 7:30 a.m. and will visit the National Art Museum, where he will receive the keys to the city, before traveling to the Casa Presidencial to meet with Pacheco. He will also visit the Inter-American Human Rights Court and the National Theater, where a concert will be held in his honor.

In addition to anti-drug trafficking policies and anti-terrorism initiatives, the two Presidents are expected to discuss Costa Rica's controversial Colombian visa policy.

Pacheco said last week that the visa policy in place for Colombians entering Costa Rica will not change.

"The visa policy is in place because of the war in Colombia. We need to know who is entering the country and we need to protect Colombian refugees who are already here," Pacheco said. "We have the visa policy in place and we can't get rid of it."

A group of Colombian refugees here called the Colombian Refugee Human Rights Association claims that the visa policy has not been able to keep Colombian paramilitary killers from entering the country and putting contracts on the heads of the refugees seeking asylum here. Some 30 members of the refugee organization stormed and occupied the Inter-American Rights Court last February, claiming that their lives are at risk here and demanding to be relocated to a third country. Police quickly broke up the occupation and the refugees retreated to their homes (TT, Feb. 7).

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 7,200 Colombian refugees are living in Costa Rica. Last year alone, 4,500 Colombians were approved for refugee status here as they fled the escalating violence in their native country.

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