[dailyarchive/2005_03/exchange_rates.htm]
Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, March 09, 2005
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Three Killed, Hostages
Taken in Bank Robbery
At least three people were reported killed and many more taken hostage yesterday after five heavily armed and masked people held up the Banco Nacional in Santa Elena, near the popular tourist destination Monteverde in the mountainous north-central region of Costa Rica.
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Archbishop Emeritus
Román Arrieta Dies
San José Archbishop Román Arrieta died at 5:15 p.m. yesterday afternoon, after being in delicate health since a surgery in December of last year.
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Women Commemorate Their Day
Protesting CAFTA, Calling for Equality
Women in Costa Rica celebrated their rights as well as exercised them yesterday in honor of International Women's Day.
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Mexican Couple Arrested
At International Airport
Drug Control Police (PCD) from the Public Security Ministry arrested a Mexican couple carrying a total $405,745 in cash Monday at Juan Santamaría International Airport northwest of San José , according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.
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March 09
Young Artists Program Opens with Free Concert
The Compañía Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica is pleased to announce a free concert to launch its newly established Young Artists Program. The concert will feature Karolina Rodríguez and Sofía Corrales (sopranos), Joaquín Yglesias (tenor), and Eddy Arguedas (baritone), ages 19-26, who will perform duets and ensembles from well-known operas and zarzuelas. The singers will be joined by five singers from the School of Music of Florida State University , tonight at 8 p.m. at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, C.R.- North American Cultural Center in Barrio Dent. Info: 222-8571.
Movie Forum
Movie critic Gabriel González and part of the “Caribe” film crew will analyze the Costa Rican-produced movie at 7:30 p.m. at Cine Norma, at the University of Costa Rica campus in Turrialba.
Edited By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
Three Killed, Hostages
Taken in Bank Robbery
At least three people were reported killed and many more taken hostage yesterday after five heavily armed and masked people held up the Banco Nacional in Santa Elena, near the popular tourist destination Monteverde in the mountainous north-central region of Costa Rica.
As of 8 p.m. there were two people reported dead outside the bank and a third inside, according to TV Channel 6's Repretel news, reporting live from the scene. An estimated 19 people were being held hostage inside the bank.
The assailants, reportedly armed with AK-47s and other guns, entered the bank at approximately 3:25 p.m. and by nightfall at least two assailants still held bank staff and clients hostage inside.
Shots were fired several times throughout the afternoon. Whether the dead were part of the group that carried out the assault was not clear at press time last night. Repretel reported two of the dead were wearing hoods, suggesting they were part of the group of assailants, and the other victim may have been a bank security guard.
Nicolás Aguilar, head of press for the Ministry of Security, could not confirm the information from the news reports, saying that the number of people dead and held inside was coming from area residents interviewed by the news stations.
Officers have been at the scene since yesterday afternoon, Aguilar said. However hostage specialists did not arrive until early evening and “just started going over attempts to establish contact with the suspected attackers,” he said at 7:45 p.m. last night
Repretel reported the suspects have shown “no interest in negotiating.”
“Our priority is the lives of the people inside,” Aguilar said, adding that the situation could last “much longer.”
Archbishop Emeritus
Román Arrieta Dies
San José Archbishop Román Arrieta died at 5:15 p.m. yesterday afternoon, after being in delicate health since a surgery in December of last year.
Arrieta, 80, was San José archbishop until Oct. 18, 2002. He held the position for 23 years and was later named Archbishop Emeritus.
Arrieta was operated on Dec. 23, 2004 because of a lesion he suffered on the left side of his brain when he fell in his home in La Ribera de Belén, Heredia, according to the daily La Nación.
Arrieta's funeral will be held tomorrow, according to Channel 6 news.
Women Commemorate Their Day
Protesting CAFTA, Calling for Equality
By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
Women in Costa Rica celebrated their rights as well as exercised them yesterday in honor of International Women's Day.
A group of women's organizations, collectively called Mesoamerican Women in Resistance, formally presented to the Legislative Assembly their objections to the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).
During a morning ceremony, the women told legislators the trade agreement will negatively impact the quality of life of Costa Rican women by limiting employment, causing deterioration of public services, and preventing access to generic medicines.
Hours later, the National Women's Institute (INAMU) announced a plan to improve women's access to employment and services by developing a national policy of “equality and fairness in gender.”
The long-term plan aims to create a national, inclusive policy to guarantee the human rights of women, confront discrimination and promote development.
Specifically, the project will create a diagnosis of the current situation of women in Costa Rica and delineate necessary strategies to accomplish goals.
The policy will be formed through consultations with public and private organizations, including the Ombudsman's Office, the Supreme Elections Tribunal, the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches, women's organizations, churches, political parties and private businesses. State institutions as well as women's organizations will monitor it.
While this process is just beginning, President Abel Pacheco yesterday celebrated what his administration has already done in improving the lives of women.
Roger Carvajal, president of the National Training Institute (INA), announced during Pacheco's regular weekly Cabinet meeting that INA is students away from achieving the administration's goal of training 260,000 women from 2002-2006. Since 2002, 234,170 women have been trained by the institution, representing 52.7% of all students.
“Every year, more women are participating,” Carvajal said.
In addition, the Mixed Institute for Social Aid (IMAS) boasted success in the “Growing Together Program,” an inter-institutional program aimed at decreasing poverty among women through programs promoting self-esteem, abuse prevention and job training.
Through the program, 2,758 women were trained last year, a figure that well surpassed the program's 2004 goal of 1,480 women.
International Women's Day was officially declared March 8 by the United Nations in 1975.
Mexican Couple Arrested
At International Airport
Drug Control Police (PCD) from the Public Security Ministry arrested a Mexican couple carrying a total $405,745 in cash Monday at Juan Santamaría International Airport northwest of San José , according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.
Public Security Minister Rogelio Ramos yesterday identified the suspects by the last names of Castillo and Aburto.
According to Ramos, the money, of doubtful origin, is the highest sum confiscated in recent years.
Castillo, a 49-year-old woman, and Aburto, a 28-year-old man, entered the country Monday on a flight from Mexico , with Panama as their final destination.
Anti-drug police searched the couple and found the cash in their wallets, pockets and the lining of their suitcases.
Neither suspect offered explanation about the origin or destination of the money. However, authorities said they suspect it might be international drug-trafficking money, destined for a South American country, according to the statement.
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