A total 339 people died onsite in traffic accidents last year – more than in any year since 2003, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT). The biggest causes were speeding, drunken driving, and carelessness by pedestrians, in that order.

Copa del Café International Tennis Finals
Through Jan. 5, 3 p.m., Costa Rica Country Club, Escazú. Info: 208-5000.

Rock Concert
Featuring Bill Kreutzmann of The Grateful Dead, Mike Gordon from Phish and Scott Murawski from Max Creek, 8 p.m., Hotel Docelunas, tickets at the door, or in advance at www.mike-gordon.com and at The Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce office located in the Central Pacific Center in Front of Cable Tica; Local #26 or call 643-2853.

Disney's “Encantada”
A benefit showing of “Enchanted” (in Spanish) to help Escuela Esmeralda Oreamuno in Tibás, is 10:30 a.m., Cinemark Escazú.

By Tim Rogers
Nica Times Staff | trogers@ticotimes.net

After two weeks of silence, the family of Eric Volz released a statement yesterday reaffirming that Volz is out of Nicaragua and “remains in a secure location because of the danger of the situation and continues to take every precaution necessary to keep all involved out of harm's way.”

Volz, a 28-year-old real estate agent and magazine publisher who last year was convicted of murdering his Nicaraguan ex-girlfriend, Doris Ivania Jiménez, and had his 30-year sentence overturned by a Granada Appeals Court in December, left the country Dec. 21 by a deportation ordered by the executive branch, not the judicial system, according to the statement by his family.

“The deportation was orchestrated by a faction of the Sandinista Party in Nicaragua, now in control of the executive branch of the government, so that the case could be taken to the Supreme Court in absentia,” the family statement reads.

The family also alleges that the recent Supreme Court investigation into the two Granada appellate judges who overturned Volz' conviction is in violation of the law. (See tomorrow's Nica Times print edition for more on this story.)

“We would support a fully informed investigation that includes a comprehensive study of the case file, but the nature of this investigation is both subversive and illegal,” the family statement reads.

The two appellate judges who ruled in favor of Volz are scheduled to go before the Supreme Court for questioning next week.

“The Sandinistas are supporting the investigation in an effort to gain control of the Appeals Court in Granada by prosecuting and potentially imprisoning judges Estrada and Rodriguez, in order to gain control of the court and replacing them with Sandinista Magistrates,” the statement reads.

The statement also seems to allude to a private criminal investigation of the Jiménez murder that has been kept under wraps until now.

“Over the past 13 months, out of concern for Eric's safety in prison and a very delicate appeals process, the results of a parallel investigation have been protected. Those days are over and the truth must come to light,” the statement reads. The family claims the private investigation has revealed that the “main perpetrator of Doris' murder is from a powerful and influential Nicaraguan family” who has been protected by an elaborate conspiracy among high-ranking government officials, police and state prosecutors in order to scapegoat Volz.

The family's declaration ends by saying that Volz's legal team is “studying every avenue available to redress the multiple injustices committed in the lower court, including pressing charges against those who contributed to Eric's unjustified conviction.”

Rob Bartlett
Tico Times Staff | editorial@ticotimes.net

Coffee and pineapple exports continue to show strong growth according to recent figures.

Coffee exports grew by just over 7% in December compared with the same period in 2006, according to Costa Rica's National Coffee Institute (ICAFE). In total, the country exported 168,915 60-kilogram sacks of coffee between October and December, an increase of 2.28% compared with the fourth quarter in the previous year.

Pineapple exports have also gone up dramatically. The industry was worth $470 million to the Costa Rican economy in 2007, reported newswire EFE, citing the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer). This figure, however, is less than originally forecast – at the beginning of the year, experts had predicted that the sector would be worth $500 million in 2007 (TT, Jan. 19, 2007).

Costa Rica is the world's leading pineapple producer and the fruit is now the fourth most valuable export in the country after microprocessors, bananas and medical supplies. However, activists are concerned about the impact of intensive pineapple cultivation on the environment, particularly given the extensive use of agro-chemicals in the industry (TT, Nov. 30, 2007). There are now 40,000 hectares of pineapple plantations in Costa Rica, up from 12,000 hectares in 2000, providing direct employment for 20,000 people.

By Gillian Gillers
Tico Times Staff | ggillers@ticotimes.net