U.S. Chamber of Commerce
To Lobby for Free-Trade Pact 

Washington, D.C. (EFE) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced yesterday that it will pressure Congress to approve the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), and reiterated its support for pacts being negotiated with Colombia , Peru , Ecuador and Panama .

“We will lead the fight for the approval of free-trade agreements with Central American countries and the Dominican Republic , as well as Bahrain ,” said chamber president Thomas Donohue at a breakfast with the press.

With three million members, the Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the United States and an important ally of the White House as it negotiates commercial agreements in Latin America .

The government of U.S. President George W. Bush signed CAFTA with Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic last year, but for it to take effect the legislatures of the United States and at least one other country must ratify the pact. El Salvador became the first party to ratify the pact last month (TT, Dec. 24).

Donohue emphasized the importance of the agreement and of the successful conclusion of negotiations with Colombia , Peru , Ecuador and Panama .

Nevertheless, he indicated the most urgent task at hand is not the approval of CAFTA but the renovation of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which is set to expire on June 1.

The TPA stipulates that the U.S. Congress can ratify or reject trade agreements but not modify them, which in practice permits the White House to negotiate accords with the knowledge that the legislature cannot alter them.

Donohue said he expects CAFTA will be ratified soon, but did not give additional details.

Although Republicans have the majority in the U.S. Congress, CAFTA faces challenges from groups such as U.S. sugar producers, who oppose the agreement's expansion of sugar import quotas for Central America .

Despite its name, CAFTA does not permit the free trade of sugar.

Donohue made it clear that the Chamber of Commerce sees the agreement as a step toward the creation of a Free-Trade Area of the Americas , which is what ultimately interests U.S. businesses.

“For the United States to be able to compete with East Asia and Europe, it is essential to have a free-trade agreement in the Americas...that has to begin with CAFTA and other agreements,” he said.

The negotiations for the free-trade area, which proponents originally hoped would take effect at the start of 2005, have been stalled for more than a year, but Donohue insisted its success is “essential for our future.”

Preventive Detention Confirmed for
Suspects in Journalist Murder Case

A court confirmed yesterday a six-month preventive detention order for Catholic priest Minor Calvo and businessman Omar Chaves, the alleged intellectual authors of the murder of journalist Parmenio Medina.

The Heredia court, 18 kilometers north of San José , dictated this resolution Dec. 24, 2004, but the suspects' lawyers appealed the decision last Monday, the Judicial Branch said in a statement.

After studying the appeal, the court confirmed its previous resolution, so both suspects are expected to remain in prison until late June awaiting their trials.

A Jan. 24 preliminary audience will determine the date of the trial for the murder of the Costa Rican nationalized Colombian journalist. Medina directed a controversial radio program called “ La Patada ,” famous for condemning corruption.

Medina 's last shows made reference to Calvo's alleged homosexuality and the misuse of funds from the Catholic station “Radio María,” which belonged to the priest and Chaves at the time.

Medina died on July 7, 2001 after being shot repeatedly as he traveled in his car toward his home in Heredia, north of San José .

Apart from Calvo and Chaves, another seven people remain in preventive detention for alleged ties to this crime.

They are Nicaraguan Jaime Aguirre, Colombians John Gilberto Gutiérrez, Jorge Castillo, Danny Smith, Juan Fernando Pereira and Costa Ricans Randall González and Juan Carvajal.

--EFE