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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, November 25, 2004
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| CONTROVERSIAL nomination: On Saturday, Central American heads of state meeting in San José for the 14th Latin American-Iberian Summit named Francisco Flores, former President of El Salvador , as the region's candidate for the position of Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). However, the nomination has been heavily criticized by the opposition party in El Salvador , the Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN). Yesterday, FMLN legislator Gerson Martínez, Central American Parliament member Nidia Díaz and FMLN coordinator Schafik Handal (from left) announced a commission to investigate allegations of corruption against Flores . The OAS position was left open when former Costa Rican President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez resigned amid corruption allegations (TT, Oct. 15). |
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Two U.S. Citizens Deported
Two U.S. citizens, both wanted on charges of robbery in the United States , were deported Tuesday by Costa Rican immigration authorities.
(Click for more)
Latin American-Iberian Parliament
To Be Formed by 2005
Less than a week after the conclusion of the 14th Latin American-Iberian Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in San José Nov. 19-20 (TT Daily Page, Nov. 22), a new project for next year's event is already under way.
(Click for more)
Mel Gibson Scopes Out
Costa Rican Location
Hollywood came to Costa Rica this week, as actor and director Mel Gibson met with Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar to discuss possibilities for a film project here.
(Click for more)
November 25
March Against Violence
Toward Women
Everyone is welcome to walk from Plaza de la Cultura to Plaza de la Democracia at noon , wearing an orange ribbon to protest violence and celebrate women's lives.
U.S. Embassy Closed
The U.S. Embassy will be closed today in honor of Thanksgiving Day. Happy Thanksgiving – enjoy your holiday lunch and/or dinner! The embassy will reopen Friday with its regular hours, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Concert by Guillermo Anderson
The Honduran singer is performing songs from his most recent CD, including his greatest hits from the last three years. The concert begins at 10 p.m. at the Arts Festival Stage of the Former Train Station to the Pacific. Info: 225-2692.
Edited By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net
Two U.S. Citizens Deported
By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net
Two U.S. citizens, both wanted on charges of robbery in the United States , were deported Tuesday by Costa Rican immigration authorities.
Stephen Warburton, 39, a martial arts expert, was captured Nov. 19 at the Hotel Imperial in downtown San José after authorities received confidential information about possible passport irregularities, according to an Immigration Police statement.
Warburton had entered Costa Rica Sept. 12 with a British passport bearing the name Omer Barnea.
Warburton left Costa Rica at 2:50 p.m. on Tuesday on a U.S. Airways flight bound for Pennsylvania, where his police escort turned him over to U.S. immigration authorities.
According to the press office of the U.S. Embassy in San José , Warburton is wanted on charges of bank robbery in Pennsylvania and is currently in custody there.
Another U.S. citizen, Armin Vossooghi, 22, was also deported Tuesday. Immigration Police director Marco Badilla told The Tico Times Wednesday that Vossooghi, who has both U.S. and Iranian passports, was turned away by Mexican authorities when he arrived in Mexico on a flight from Costa Rica .
When Vossooghi returned to Costa Rica , authorities here deported him to the United States on an American Airlines flight to Miami , Badilla said.
“We don't know why Mexican authorities refused to let him enter,” he added, “but Costa Rica has a policy that people turned away by immigration authorities in other countries are not allowed to enter here.”
The U.S. Embassy's press office, however, said the Mexican authorities had received information that Vossooghi was wanted for robbery accusations in California , and Vossooghi is now in custody in Miami.
Latin American-Iberian Parliament
To Be Formed by 2005
By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net
Less than a week after the conclusion of the 14th Latin American-Iberian Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in San José Nov. 19-20 (TT Daily Page, Nov. 22), a new project for next year's event is already under way.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos announced yesterday that the government of Spain plans to create a Parliamentary Assembly of the Latin American-Iberian Summits, according to wire service EFE. The goal of the assembly is to involve the Spanish House and Senate in future summits, beginning with the 15th Latin American-Iberian Summit in Salamanca , Spain , scheduled for October 2005.
Spanish senators and congressional representatives attended the San José conference last weekend, making it the first Latin American-Iberian Summit to include a legislative delegation. The legislators met with members of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly.
Congresswoman Delia Blancos said at a press conference Saturday that an ultimate goal of the Spanish delegation is to increase participation in future summits on the part of legislators not just from Spain , but from all Latin American countries.
Senator Luis Fraga said the absence of six heads of state from the summit, creating the lowest attendance by heads of state since 1991, is “worrying,” and that legislative participation would help ensure governments follow through on the proposals made at the yearly conferences.
“It is important not to lose the impulse from previous summits,” Fraga said, emphasizing the need for cooperation among political parties as well as among countries.
Moratinos told the Spanish parliament yesterday that the results of the San José summit are “highly satisfactory” and that the meeting produced a return to the “initial spirit” of the summits of 1991 and 1992, according to EFE.
(See Friday's edition of The Tico Times for the full story on the Summit .)
Mel Gibson Scopes Out
Costa Rican Locations
Hollywood came to Costa Rica this week, as actor and director Mel Gibson met with Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar to discuss possibilities for a film project here.
Tovar offered Gibson the collaboration of the Costa Rican government in film projects that the U.S. star, who is originally from Australia , is considering producing here, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
Gibson spent the weekend visiting beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, looking for possible film locations, and met with Tovar for an hour on Monday.
The star, who arrived for the meeting accompanied by his son and wearing a white hat, shorts, a pink shirt and a cameraman's vest, caused a commotion among Foreign Ministry employees, who told the press he was friendly.
Gibson is the director of the controversial “Passion of the Christ” and star of films such as “Lethal Weapon” and “Bird on a Wire.”
-AFP
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