[dailyarchive/2005_03/exchange_rates.htm]
Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, March 14, 2005
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Monteverde Assailant Receives
One Year Preventive Prison
A Costa Rican judge ordered one year of preventive prison for Erlyn Hurtado, the Nicaraguan man now in custody after participating in a failed bank robbery that resulted in nine deaths and 17 injuries last week in the north-central mountain town of Monteverde , a popular tourist destination.
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Comptroller's Office
Approves
Phone Line Contract
The Comptroller's Office has approved the purchase of 600,000 GSM mobile phone lines from Swedish firm Ericsson.
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Central America Joins Forces
To Combat Drug Trafficking
Anti-narcotics officers from Costa Rica , Panama , Mexico , Nicaragua , El Salvador , Ecuador , Belize , Guatemala and Honduras participated last week in a special course for drug control authorites, presented by specialists from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
(Click for more)
March 14
Round Table
Lara Blanco, Coordinator of the Document on Human Development, Rodrigo Carazo, former Costa Rican President, and Oscar Rojas, Professor of the Institute for Latin American Studies will discuss “Building a Culture of Peace – Education and Human Development,” at 6:30 p.m. at the Paraninfo of the Distance Education University (UNED), on the road to Sabanilla. Cantando por La Paz Chamber Choir will be performing as well, 233-6168, 253-2421.
Francophone Cultural Week
Opens today with the following films: Malí: L'Enfant Terrible and Le Géme Helvétiqueat at 6:30 p.m., at the Alliance Française, Barrio Amón, 234-4167.
Poetry Festival
Conversation and awarding of best poems of the literary contest, at 7 p.m., at Café Expresivo, Barrio Escalante.
Edited By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net
Monteverde Assailant Receives
One Year Preventive Prison
A Costa Rican judge ordered one year of preventive prison for Erlyn Hurtado, the Nicaraguan man now in custody after participating in a failed bank robbery that resulted in nine deaths and 17 injuries last week in the north-central mountain town of Monteverde , a popular tourist destination.
Hurtado, 27, faces charges "for homicide, aggravated robbery and kidnapping," according to a statement Friday from the Prosecutor's Office.
The frustrated robbery began Tuesday, Mar. 8, and resulted in the confinement of 31 hostages in the Banco Nacional branch in Santa Elena de Monteverde. Two other assailants -- Santos Agenor Hurtado, Erlyn Hurtado's brother, and Santos Marjory Cruz, their half-brother -- police officer Oscar Quesada, two bank employees and four clients were killed during the initial attack and the 28-hour standoff that followed.
The lengthy negotiation came to an end Wednesday night when Hurtado gave himself up to authorities and released his last hostage (TT, Mar. 11).
The other hostages killed, all Costa Ricans, were identified as Juan Pablo González, 26, and Rosa Marchena, 23, both bank employees, as well as María Rosa Bolaños, 54, Mario Enrique López, 39, Víctor Badilla, 39, and William Suárez, 49, all bank clients.
Among the 17 wounded were U.S. citizens David Saunders and Jennifer Zewin, as well as Nicaraguan Corelia Medina .
The Public Security Ministry is investigating why police failed to act on a warning from the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ), that an armed band of robbers was operating in the area, according to the daily La Nacion. The band is suspected of three other murders as well as 18 assaults on businesses throughout Costa Rica .
-EFE
Comptroller's Office
Approves Phone Line Contract
The Comptroller's Office has approved the purchase of 600,000 GSM mobile phone lines from Swedish firm Ericsson.
The contract for the GSM lines, which ran out in Costa Rica on Dec. 1, 2004, is worth $130 million and will be financed by the Central American Economic Integration Bank (CEIB).
According to estimates by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which has a monopoly on all telecommunications in the country, the new lines will go on sale in October. The institute expects to sell approximately 200,000 lines that month.
The new network will allow users to send photographs, animated images and music from their cell phones, as well as navigate the internet.
Despite the multi-million dollar investment, cell phone costs will not increase as a result of the purchase, institute president Pablo Cob told the daily La Republica.
The new network will allow lines to be available to 37% of the country's population, which totals 4.5 million.
The institute signed a contract with Ericsson for the purchase on June 7, 2004, but the Comptroller's Office struck down the contract on two occasions (July 23 and September 22 of that year), citing flaws in the contract. Ericsson appealed the Comptroller's decision, and the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) found in favor of Ericsson on Dec. 17.
The contract was sent once again to the Comptroller's Office and was approved Friday.
-EFE
Central America Joins Forces
To Combat Drug Trafficking
Anti-narcotics officers from Costa Rica , Panama , Mexico , Nicaragua , El Salvador , Ecuador , Belize , Guatemala and Honduras participated last week in a special course for drug control authorites, presented by specialists from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in San Jose, the concepts studied during the course included administration and time management, narcoterrorism, management of informants and undercover agents, operational planning and supervision, risk evaluation, officer safety, biological reactions to stress, case studies and other issues crucial to the day-to-day operations of drug control authorities.
In all, 25 officers received the training, which took place at the Hotel Cariari outside of San Jose , the statement said.
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