ENCOUNTERS with Iran : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited newly sworn-in Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega yesterday in Managua as part of his tour of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador. The two leaders visited an Islamic center in Managua's Barrio Cuba Libre, cemented plans to open up diplomatic relations between their two countries and discussed collaborating on economic, industrial, and energy matters, according to the wire service

The Costa Rican Consulate in Managua Saturday began operating with extended hours in an effort to keep up with the increasing number of Nicaraguans requesting visas to Costa Rica, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

Police this weekend arrested two Peruvians alleged with trafficking people to Canada via Costa Rica, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.

National Police, together with Intern ational Police (INTERPOL), had been searching for a Peruvian identified by the last name Del Risco, suspected to be part of an alleged human-trafficking ring.

Their investigations led them to another Peruvian, identified by the last name Moreno, “suspected of acting as a coyote in Costa Rica,” who was arrested Friday at Juan Santamaría Intern ational Airport, northwest of San José, the statement said.

Moreno had allegedly arrived to the airport with three Peruvians who planned to travel with false Guatemalan passports. Authorities discovered they had stayed a few hours in a hotel in San José, where they received the falsified passports to make their journey, according to the daily La Nación.

On Saturday, Del Risco was arrested in San José after National Police were alerted by INTERPOL that he was attempting to leave Costa Rica.

Immigration Director Mario Zamora told La Nación that Del Risco and Moreno were allegedly paid between $5,000 and $10,000 per person they helped enter Canada.

“This reveals the threatening presence of more groups of traffickers in the country,” Zamora said.

-Tico Times

Traffic police confiscated the cars of 33 drivers during the first three days of annual festivities in the town of Palmares, northwest of San José, according to the daily La Nación.

Among them were a man whose blood alcohol content registered 2.35 milligrams of alcohol per liter of blood, five times the maximum legal limit to drive, and a young woman who was so drunk and disoriented that upon leaving Palmares, she headed toward the neighboring town of San Ramón rather than toward her house in Curridabat, east of San José, the daily reported.

These two drivers, as well as others who had their cars confiscated, were asked to make their way home in a taxi or get a ride with a sober friend. To regain their vehicles, they must pay a ¢26,000 ($50) fine, obtain a certificate proving they have no outstanding fines from the Roadway Safety Council (CONSEVI) and appear before a judge.

Although 33 may sound like an alarming number of drunk drivers caught in a few days, Traffic Police Director German Marín told La Nación this figure is down from years past, when up to 60 cars have been taken away from drunk drivers during one night of the Palmares festival.

Marín attributed this decrease to many festival-goers heeding advice and assigning a sober driver or taking a rented minibus to Palmares.

In addition to the 33 cars confiscated Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 590 drivers got traffic tickets and numerous drivers got their license plates taken away for lacking up-to-date circulation permits, or marchamos.

Traffic Police plan to continue their strict operative to crack down on drunk driving during Palmares, which runs through Jan. 22, Marín said.

Officers are stationed at strategic points from Juan Santamaría Intern ational Airport in Alajuela, northwest of San José, heading northwest to the town of San Ramón.

-Tico Times

The Costa Rican Consulate in Managua Saturday began operating with extended hours in an effort to keep up with the increasing number of Nicaraguans requesting visas to Costa Rica, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

The consulate is now open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Additionally, a new official has been hired to help Víctor Láscarez, the Costa Rican Consul in Managua. Mario Charpantier, who has worked in the Costa Rican consulates in Panama and Poland, is moving to Managua in the next few days to help with “methodology and visa procedures,” the statement said.

The consulate has become flooded with visa requests, in addition to increased activity it traditionally sees in December and January, when thousands of Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica travel home for the Christmas holidays and back to Costa Rica.

On average, 2,500 people come to the Managua consulate with various immigration requests every day. During the past few weeks, the consulate has extended its regular hours, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., to as late as midnight to meet this demand, the statement said.

According to Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno, opening the consulate on Saturdays is an attempt to improve its services and better attend the public.

The Managua consulate moved to a new location in June 2006. It also acquired new personnel, computers and furniture. It is located in Managua, 100 meters east and 250 meters north of the U.S. Embassy.

-Tico Times