The Bomberos reported that the collision, recorded at 6:38 a. m., was lateral and affected patients who traveled on the bus. Approximately 80 people were on the bus, but not all of them required attention.
On the other hand, train passengers did not require attention.
“The train was heading towards Belén and, at the intersection, it is hit by a bus,” said Andrés Céspedes, shift supervisor at the Bomberos.
“28 people were valued, two in the red category (serious), six yellow (delicate) and 20 green (stable)”, mentioned Antonio Gaitán, Chief of Operations of the Cruz Roja (Red Cross), of the 28 people requiring medical attention, two were serious (red), six delicate (yellow) and the rest in stable condition green).
Nicolás Medrano, one of the people who were on the bus, mentioned that the train blew its horn, but the bus was already very close, so the crash could not be avoided.
The collision generated considerable prey near the Numar factory, where the incident occurred.
Right after I graduated from college a boyfriend took me to a restaurant in New York City to experience eating aged steak after the removal of the mold and grilling to no more than medium. At first I thought, mold, ugh!
My mouth still waters at the memory. As a result, despite my family eating only well-cooked beef, I learned to enjoy rare steak after that. Occasionally, over the years I bought Omaha meats and splurged at a number of restaurants in Dallas, Texas that serve wonderful if pricey beef.
Think of my disappointment when I arrived in Costa Rica to find that butchers cut meats differently and literally chop chickens in unusual pieces. In addition, steaks were not edible.
Unfortunately, this is still the case in some areas of the country.
After settling in Puriscal, Costa Rica when I arrived, I started my quest for tender meat and good poultry. I found a mom and pop meat market across the street from the back door and covered parking area of the main Super Mora grocery store.
Due to my many purchases, I won a contest the owners held and received free meat. Steak was not a choice. As the owners spoke only Spanish, I learned words for the cuts of meats in Spanish and pointed to items in the showcase to show the butchers what I wanted.
One birthday I was out with a group of friends at a restaurant (that changed tenants more than once since then) in Santa Ana. The waiter told me their steaks were tender. I have to say that it was by far the worst piece of meat I ever tried to chew. I do not recall bringing the leftovers home for my dogs.
When I moved to Cariari, a fishmonger would come to my door sporadically. I bought meat from the high-end chain Auto Mercado. Sometimes I would go to the restaurant supply company Belca, one of the wholesale sources for restaurants and caterers, where I could buy some meats and other products for cash. A friend, who grew up in San Joaquin where I went to a clinic for checkups, introduced me to Hansel who owned Carniceria Muñoz. Every time I had a doctor’s appointment, I would stock up with as much protein as I could carry on the bus.
The best steaks were cuts we considered cheap in the States. Hansel would tenderize them before I marinated them so they were flavorful and chewable, if not melt-in-your mouth tender.
Of course, one should not forget the meat market and restaurant chain Don Fernando. Facebook here. The family has a farm where members regardless of their abilities work to supply the branches. They sell frozen ducks suitable for ducka l’orange. In the restaurant part of their stores, one picks a steak and sides a la carte making it costly. By the way, locally grown ducks are best prepared in a slow cooker.
Finally, when I moved to a renovated Tico house in Santa Ana in February 2012, the owner introduced me to Carniceria Obando on the Calle Vieja (old road) across from the Sevicentro Hermanos Montes gas station. 2282-955.
A family with at least nine members owns it and sells products from their farm, mostly with more recognizable cuts.
I buy a tenderloin called lomito, cut it into servings reminiscent of filet mignon, and marinate it with light soy sauce, lemon juice and whatever jam I have on hand. The original recipe for less expensive beef cuts called for orange marmalade. My two small dogs eagerly await a tough bite that rarely happens.
I have the butchers cut center-cut pork chops and cut the bone of each chop in half so I can share it with my dogs. The butchers grind hamburger meat called Molida Especial from leftover bits of better beef cuts. On Fridays, lean homemade chicharrones tempt me.
After the first bad experience of eating a steak in a Costa Rica restaurant, I avoided beef in any restaurant for years.
When the Outback opened, their beef was edible but not quite the same quality as served in branches in Dallas, Texas. http://www.outbackcr.com/ This chain that has a great employee ownership plan has served a rib eye for years but grills it without the bone, which would make it more favorable.
Years ago, I ate at a Tico restaurant in Escazú with live parrots that served a tasty beef stew. Other branches of La Casona de Laly are now in Santa Ana and La Bandera. La Casona and Facebook.
An expat told me that the owner had closed the restaurant for at least a year but it is open now. She reported that Laly sold it and opened another restaurant called La Posada de Las Brujas about five blocks away which is even more packed than Laly’s was even though it is more expensive. She added “The new owner remodeled Laly’s and raised the prices but it is still quite cheap and the food tasty. Some of our favorite food servers are still working there.”
A few places, where you trade your first born for beef, have served good steaks for years.
Finally, Porky’s Restaurant opened in Pozos near Santa Ana. Check Facebook The boneless rib eye served there is reminiscent of the aged steak of so many years ago.
Because I have not searched countrywide, I asked friends to tell me about restaurants they found that serve good beef. One told me about Furca in Sabana Norte/Rohrmoser, Facebook. Another friend recommended Leño y Carbón also on Facebook. The name means firewood and charcoal, but they cook with gas. A third person wrote, “The best steaks I’ve had here were eaten at restaurants El Avion listed on Facebook and Puerto Escondido. (See website.) Both are in Manuel Antonio and both serve imported beef.”
While some expats regret that Costa Rica currently offers more services and products similar to those in the United States, feeling it has changed the local culture, the ability to find tender beef plus lamb and frozen duck for a l’orange is a plus to me.
Price Smart, a big box like Costco, sells a slice of Virginia ham among other items. The downside is that being single, I have to buy large amounts and repackage them into serving sizes.
Bottom line, we no longer have to fly to the United States to fill cravings for many foods. Now if butchers would only learn how to carve a chicken. Sigh!
The low-cost airline, Volaris Costa Rica, announced that it will temporarily suspend its operations in Managua, Nicaragua, as of July 1, 2018.
“We have taken the decision to temporarily suspend our operations in Nicaragua. Unfortunately, market conditions do not allow us to maintain the operation, and that is why we have adopted this provision,” said Fernando Naranjo, general manager of Volaris Costa Rica.
Those who have already purchased a ticket to and from Nicaragua can call the call center in Costa Rica at (506 ) 4001-7982 for claims.
According to the company, the goal is to protect passengers and ensure that they arrive properly and without inconvenience at their destination.
Nicaragua is submerged in a political and social crisis since April 18, due to a reform in pensions.
The bloody wave of violence has claimed more than 200 lives in the last two months, due to clashes between the police and pro-government forces and different social sectors that demand of the people for Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice-president, Rosario Murillo, to leave power.
The game went well for Costa Rica, playing strong, good defense and several good scoring opportunities. But in the end, when the clock had ticked 90 minutes, Philippe Coutinho was able to cross the Tico defense and from 6 meters out, put one past Keylor Navas.
Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho puts one past Keylor Navas at the 90′ mark.
This gave the Ticos only a few minutes to tie the game and possibly get the needed win.
But it was not to be.
The Brazilians made good use of the time to pass the ball around, keeping the ball at midfield for most of the few minutes left on the clock, scored the second goal and did not give the Ticos a chance for an attack or two.
The Ticos now play Switzerland On Wednesday and then its goodbye to the World Cup 2018, as they head home
The Ticos had done well. Until then. Had they not only kept up a strong defense, but they had also taken the chances to counter. However, Brazil were too good, winning their first match of the World Cup 2018. They tied with Switerzland in their first.
For Costa Rica’s national team the loss with Brazil and tie with Serbia last Sunday removes any possibility of advancing to the last 16.
But they have gone down fighting.
The third and last game is on Wednesday, June 27, against Switzerland. After that, it’s a one way trip home.
Leonora Jiménez say she was a victim of a cyber attack almost a month ago, as she now tries to recover lost ground on Instagram and return to normal in her professional projects.
The model and businesswoman say that her account on Instagram was stolen to be sold, as she understands it. The information systems of her magazine Traffic was also hacked.
The attack occurred after a publication of La Nacions’ Viva on the most powerful Costa Rican figures of Instagram, where Jiménez stood out as the ethos in the country with the most followers. As of May 20, she had 363,000 followers on Instagram. Today, June 21, she has 40K followers.
“It was a very contrasting process because I happened to be, according to La Nación, one of the most followed and influential figures to rob me of my platform and sell it. I went from almost 400,000 followers on Instagram to none. It has been a long process of almost a month where I have been evaluating different options,” Jiménez said.
Jiménez says she learned of the cyber attack from an assistant. “I was just working in the store when my assistant showed me, the first thing that happened was that the account @ leonorajimenez1 appeared with zero followers, then it appeared blocked, as if I was not the owner, and after that they changed the name (of the account) keeping all the information and photos, then they put the name on it again and then disappeared,” Jiménez explained.
The promoter of projects such as the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week San Jose and Guanacaste added that, according to the information received so far, the account was stolen in Costa Rica and was acquired by a person in Europe, which makes it impossible to take concrete actions beyond opening a new account.
Leonora does not know what motivated the cyber attack against her. “I try never to take things personal, probably it was like that, but I do not know. In the same way I never waste time trying to explain evil because it is not in my nature and I never understand it. I better try to invest that time in solutions and positive things,” she said.
Leonora Jiménez Monge (born 1983 in Santa Ana, Costa Rica) is a Costa Rican beauty pageant titleholder and the original winner of 2005 Miss Asia Pacific International. She was dethroned because of her participation in Miss World 2005.
On Friday Costa Rica and Brazil face off in the only match between Latin American teams of the entire first phase of the 2018 World Cup Russia. Neither of them can afford the defeat after their stuttering start, so the match promises maximum emotion. Who do you think will win? Do you dare to venture a result?
Translation:
On the ninth day of this World Cup in Russia 2018 we will have the only game between Latin American teams of this first phase: Costa Rica against Brazil. And neither of them is for jokes: in their first matches, Costa Rica lost to Serbia and Brazil drew against Switzerland, so they both have a lot in play a lot in the second (game).
What will happen in this match? Will the ‘ticos’ pay for the disappointing start of the tournament, or will Costa Rica extend its legend of ‘matagigantes’ mundialista (giant slayer of World Cup)?
Learn about the analysis of this meeting that the Portuguese coach and current coach of Manchester United, José Mourinho, shared with RT exclusively, as well as the views of Costa Rican fans directly from the streets of Moscow.
A six-year-old boy, of Costa Rican nationality, was rescued by US Border Patrol, abandoned by a smuggler in the Arizona desert, just north of the Mexican border.
Image for illustrative purposes
The Cost Rica Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the minor was found in good condition and was identified on Tuesday afternoon and is receiving attention from the Consulate General of Costa Rica in Los Angeles.
According to the report from the US Customs and Border Protection Office, the minor indicated that he was left there by an uncle, who asked him to continue alone and told him that at some point he would be rescued by the border patrol.
The boy added that he was on his way to see his mother in the U.S.
The US Customs and Border Protection Office said the incident highlights the dangers faced by migrants at the hands of smugglers. Children, in particular, are extremely vulnerable, not only to exploitation but also to the elements in the environment. “Arizona’s desert is a merciless environment for those unprepared for its remote, harsh terrain and unpredictable weather. The Border Patrol advises anyone in distress to call 9-1-1 or activate a rescue beacon as soon as possible.”
“The child did not talk much and did not provide further details, he only indicated that he lived in Costa Rica and that he made a trip with his uncle, we are attending the case in a priority manner and with an integral approach,” said Mabel Segura, Costa Rica’s Consul in Los Angeles.
The Foreign Ministry, this is the first minor found at the US border in the last five years. The Consulate of Costa Rica made sure that it is in a safe, quiet space, with the necessary care and that it is approached with all social services.
The Foreign Ministry maintained that this case is not related to the US policy of separating families that cross the border illegally, which President Donald Trump repealed on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that it has contacted the also contacted the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI) – child welfare agency – to talk with the child’s relatives in Costa Rica.
The World Cup is a party! Some Russians are supporting Costa Rica in Saint Petersburg.
Brazil will need to step up their game when they mee Costa Rica on Friday (June 22) in a must win for the Ticos to at least have a chance at advancing in the World Cup 2018.
Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rica’s captain
Sitting at the bottom of the heap of Group E, with 0 points, having lost their first game last Sunday to Serbia.
Brazil drew 1-1 with Switzerland in their opener last weekend, a tie gives the Ticos a slim hope of advancing.
A win against Brazil on Friday and then Switzerland on Wednesday (June 27), and a combination of losses and ties Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia, might just give the Ticos the mathematic advantage to advance to the group of 16.
In 2014 Brazil World Cup, Costa Rica were quarter-finalists.
Selección Nacional captain Bryan Ruiz was quoted as saying that Brazil is a team that Ticos could probably manage only 1 win out of 10 games. We can only hope Friday is that one win.
The World Cup is a party! Some Russians are supporting Costa Rica in Saint Petersburg.
“We have evolved a lot and futbol (soccer) has changed even in this World Cup. In futbol anything can happen, although it is true we have faced Brazil twice and we have not won, but we have made good tries, so I think the third one will be the winner,” said Ruiz.
“It is going to be a difficult game as are all games in the World Cup. They (the Ticos) are a good team. We saw the game against Serbia, and it was only decided through a dead ball situation,” Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho was quoted as saying.
How to Watch Costa Rica vs Brazil
Time: Friday, June 22 at 15:00 Saint Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
For years flowers have provided a way to show sympathy, congratulations or endearment. With today’s convenient and efficient delivery systems, sending flowers anywhere in the world has never been easier. Getting flowers delivered to a home can warm a heart. But having flowers delivered to an office can be a huge thrill and can make any co-worker green with envy.
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also indicated that Nicolás Maduro and he are brothers and comrades, because "they are Chávez's children".
Rico’s TICO BULL – Last week we learned that the Venezuelan government company, Alunasa, based in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, under the control of Venezuelan strongman Diosdado Cabello, was allegedly laundering money in the country.
Nicolas Maduro (L) embraces Diosdado Cabello, outside the National Assembly in Caracas on January 5, 2013 to dispel rumours of any rift between the two.
The allegations, though issued by the U.S. Treasury Department on May 18, was only learned last week of the news broke that the US had confiscated US$800 million from Cabello, and deported his daughter.
Last week, the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica closed the accounts of Alunasa, leaving the company broke and millions in debt with the state bank and the Caja, according to company officials. The BAC San Jose and Credomatic followed the Banco Nacional in closing Alunasa accounts and that of several Venezuelans named officials of the company.
The company, that has been operating in Costa Rica for decades, currently employs almost 300, who are in jeopardy of keeping their jobs and maybe even getting paid.
Of course, the company president, General Carlos Peña, denies the allegations and according to him, he is trying to keep the company afloat, seeking money and the intervention of the Carlos Alvarado administration.
With me so far?
From all accounts, this Diosdado Cabello is a bad guy, but a necessary evil in the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.
Cabello also said that Nicolás Maduro and he are brothers and comrades, because “they are Chávez’s children”.
Cabello, who also serves as the vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), takes over the powerful lawmaking body from Delcy Rodriguez, who was appointed as the nation’s vice president last week.
The ANC, an elected body tasked with drafting a new Constitution to fulfill late president Hugo Chavez’s vision of Venezuelan-style socialism.
Widely regarded to be the second most powerful player in Venezuela, Cabello has longstanding links to drug trafficking, though it is all denied.
Cabello has often been described as “the octopus” because his tentacles extend to virtually every political and economic facet of the nation.
Yet, he is right there with Maduro, leading Venezuelans to despair.
Last Wednesday, June 13, the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR) closed all the bank accounts of the Alunasa company, owned by the Government of Venezuela, after the US Treasury Department issued an alert about an alleged money laundering operation through the company.
Alunasa, the Venezuelan government owned company is located in Esparza, Puntarenas.
The BNCR, in addition, took the “management decision” to cease all commercial relations with Aluminios Nacionales S. A. (Alunasa), based in Esparza, Puntarenas, employing almost 300.
The alert from the U.S. was issued on May 18, 2018.
Ten days later, on May 28, the BNCR informed General Noel Martínez Rivero, president of Alunasa, that the accounts would be closed on June 13. This is stated in a letter signed by Jaime Murillo, an official of the Banco Nacional.
The bank argued that the company’s level of risk in the ‘client classification’ of clients with a risk of legitimization of capital (money laundering) and financing of terrorism.
Despite the closing of accounts, the company maintains a debt with the BNCR for a revolving line of credit granted in 2015, for up to US$2.5 million dollars. Carlos Peña, legal manager of Alunasa, confirmed the loan but did not specify the amount pending. The line of credit is The guaranteed by the raw material, aluminum, used in manufacturing, said Peña.
According to Peña, the company had, prior to the account closures, intended to extend the line of credit to US$6 million, with the objective of covering a debt with the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) for the non-payment of worker-employer contributions. According to Peña the Venezuelan company owes the CCSS over US$1 million dollars.
Peña denied the US Treasury Dept allegations that the company laundered money through imports of raw material, by way of Panama.
Following the BNCR action, the BAC San Jose and Credomatic also closed accounts held by Alunasa and those of five company officials of Venezuelan nationality.
The company, trying to stay alive in the country, has asked for the support of legislators Carlos Ricardo Benavides and Franggi Nicolás, to intercede with the government of Carlos Alvarado to find a solution to the crisis of the company.
An action the company said it would accept is to operate under strict government controls.
Alunasa, a State company created in 1976 that was privatized in 1990, has decades of operaating in Costa Rica. In 2000, the Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) acquired 100% of the shares and, in 2015, became part of the National Aluminum Corporation of Venezuela.
Nicaraguan police and pro-government paramilitaries moved to reassert control over the city of Masaya by force Tuesday. The city that had declared a breakaway government the day before, prompting clashes with protesters, resulting in the death of at least six people, according to human rights workers.
Nicaraguan police and pro-government paramilitaries moved to reassert control over the city of Masaya by force Tuesday after residents of the opposition bastion declared themselves in rebellion against President Daniel Ortega. / AFP PHOTO / INTI OCON
That brought the death toll in two months of nationwide violence to 186.
Bursts of gunfire resounded in three neighborhoods, including the main entrance to the city, where government forces have gained control, the head of the Nicaraguan Human Rights Association Alvaro Leiva said.
Masked gunmen in civilian clothes and riot police descended on the city of Masaya. Video from the scene showed protesters shielding themselves behind street barricades amid gunfire.
As night fell, people in Masaya set up barricades to protect against another government assault. Trucks carrying armed men rumbled through the streets.
Earlier, Leiva said residents were resisting “within the scope of their possibilities” but were under “disproportionate” attack by the security forces.
Masaya, about 24 kilometers south of the capital, Managua, was a bastion of support for Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista rebels, who overthrew the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in 1979.
Anti-government demonstrators take cover behind a barricade, during clashes with riot police and members of the Sandinista youth, in Masaya some 35 km from Managua on June 19, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / INTI OCON
A onetime leftist guerrilla, Ortega led the country from 1979 to 1990 and then returned to the presidency in 2007. Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who was elected vice-president in 2016, have held near-total power for years.
For the past few weeks, Masaya has been controlled by protesters opposed to President Daniel Ortega, protest leaders say they don’t recognize the Ortega’s government, forming a five-member “junta of national salvation” to administer Masaya. City hall is abandoned.
On Tuesday, pro-government forces used tractors and tow trucks to clear barricades from the main road leading to Masaya.
The auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Baez, appealed to the government to back off. “Stop the attack on Masaya. Respect the life of the population,” he tweeted.
On Monday, leaders of student protesters and civil society groups in Managua said they were ending negotiations, the National Dialogue sponsored by the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua, with Ortega.
“Masaya is on strike, there is no presence of the central government, nor of the municipal government, and it’s logical that facing so much repression and death, the population does not feel represented,” said Alvaro Leiva, director of the Nicaraguan Association for the Defense of Human Rights.
Among the dead in Masaya on Monday is Marcelo Mayorga López, who was shot in the head and left in the middle of the street. “In a cart I took him (the body),” his wife, Auxiliadora Cardoze, told El Nuevo Diario.
“A policeman who was standing next to me laughed,” said Auxiliadora Cardoze. “Help me, help me get him out …” the woman shouted at the protesters, who could not help because of the presence of police. A video of her, screaming desperate to be allowed to recover the body of her husband, went viral on Tuesday.
In the end, said Cardoze, four policemen (two women and two men) helped her to lift the body onto a cart, but not the officer who laughed at her misfortune. When all this was happening, gun shots and mortar fire were being heard.
Diosdado Cabello, a prominent Venezuelan politician and close aide to late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, was sworn in as the new president of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) on Tuesday.
Venezuelan strongman Diosdado Cabello, left, with President Nicolas Maduro
Cabello, who serves as the vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), takes over the powerful lawmaking body from Delcy Rodriguez, who was appointed as the nation’s vice president last week.
In his first address as the ANC president, Cabello urged fellow assembly members to get close to the grassroots to better serve the people.
“Let’s go into the streets … Let the people tell us what they want to tell. Let’s put ourselves at the service of the people,” Cabello said.
The ANC, an elected body tasked with drafting a new Constitution, still has a lot of work to do, especially to fulfill Chavez’s vision of Venezuelan-style socialism, he said.
“We owe a large debt to the commander, and that is the construction of the communes,” he said.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Thursday “a partial and profound renewal” of his cabinet, making 12 new appointments, among whom seven are female.
Since Maduro was re-elected to a second term in May, he has pursued a policy of renewal and reconciliation between supporters of the PSUV and the conservative opposition coalition.
Some 80 prisoners serving sentences for politically motivated violent crimes have received pardons.
Last week, the US confiscated US$800 million from Diosdado Cabello, and deported his daughter. Miami journalist Oscar Haza reported Tuesday, Juune 12, during his morning radio show on Miami’s Spanish-language Zeta 92.3, the U.S. government froze about US$800 million in assets from Cabello.
Haza, who said his information came from “important sources” in the Trump administration, also said that Cabello’s daughter, Daniella Cabello, was turned away when she flew to the United States and was put on a plane to Caracas.
A Costa Rica businessman was entrusted to oversee the transfer of millions of dollars of U.S. government funds, but stole the money for his personal use, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Mauricio Andulog Hidalgo, 43, was the president of SafetyPay-Central America and was a contractor for the U.S Department of State, according to U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lydon “to handle the processing of visa application fees for the United States Embassy,” in Costa Rica.
Evidence presented at the plea hearing established that Hidalgo used his position to divert government funds from a SafetyPay bank account in Costa Rica, that was supposed to be transferred to a bank account maintained by the Department of State’s Global Financial Services Center in Charleston, South Carolina, to another Costa Rican account under his sole control.
SafetyPay-Central America had been hired as a subcontractor.
Hidalgo pleaded guilty to the charge theft of government funds on June 14. United States District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy, of Charleston, accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Lydon stated the maximum penalty for Theft of Government Funds is imprisonment for 10 years and/or a fine of USD$250,000.
The Ministry of telecommunications moving forward to switch from analogue to digital television by the end of the year
Fixed and mobile internet subscribers in Costa Rica surged by double figures in 2017, according to new data from the country’s telecommunications regulator Sutel.
Fixed internet accesses rose 11.2 percent year on year to 744,041 at the end of December, nearly two-thirds of which were in the 2-10Mbps range, while mobile internet accesses grew 10.4 percent to 4.78 million.
Total mobile subscriptions came to 8.84 million, around 77 percent of which were prepay lines, with state-owned ICE still dominating the market with 51.8 percent of lines (down from 53.3 percent in 2016), followed by Movistar (26.3%) and Claro (21.3%).
Fixed telephone accesses fell to 747,428 at the end of 2017 from 779,972 reported a year earlier, while pay-TV subscribers inched up by around 10,000 to 831,907 at the end of December, said Sutel.
Manitoba Premier's home in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. (Jimaco Constructores )
Manitoba’s premier, Brian Pallister, has failed to reassess the value of his tropical vacation home for the past decade, contravening Costa Rican property tax rules and adding more questions as to whether he owes unpaid taxes to the government.
Manitoba Premier’s home in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. (Jimaco Constructores )
A Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, municipal official — the municipality where Pallister’s vacation home is located — said that Pallister’s property has not submitted the required property declaration form at the municipal level since it was built in 2008.
It takes time to go through [the Costa Rican government’s] process.
– Premier Brian Pallister
“Every five years they should update it … it should have been [updated in] 2013,” Ramon Guevara, who is in charge of the Santa Cruz Department of Housing, said in an interview with CBC News. The Canadian news media said Pallister has denied a request for an interview, but his director of communications says he is willing to pay any tax he is found to owe the government.
Starting in 2009, Costa Rica has an additional tax on “luxury” homes valued at more than ¢100 million colones (US$180,000 dollars) planning to put the money toward housing for low-income Costa Ricans. In 2018, any home worth over ¢129 million colones must pay the tax, at a sliding scale based on the assessed construction value of the home.
Valverde said because Pallister’s home is recorded as over the ¢100 million colones.
President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice-president, Rosario Murillo, are turning to paramilitary groups to suppress the civic rebellion – that began two months ago, on April 18 – because they are “cornered”, according to security experts.
This pick-up truck used by the paramilitaries is registered to the Managua municipal office. Photo Uriel Morlina, La Prensa
Roberto Orozco and Roberto Cajina, both experts in security and public forces, consider that the paramilitaries respond to the orders of the Ortega government, whose administration has developed a strategy of “State terrorism”.
The last atrocity attributed to the irregular forces in conjunction with the National Police was the arson in the Carlos Marx neighborhood of Managua on Saturday morning, in which a family of six died.
The irregular groups have staged an escalation of violence in Nicaragua in recent weeks. With war rifles and mounted on vans, they patrol the neighborhoods of the country where citizens have erected tranques (barricades) to defend themselves against repression.
“The operational part of the paramilitaries is directed by officials still loyal to the party (Sandinista Front) … but the coordination comes from the highest level,” said Orozco, who for years has studied police dynamics.
The expert pointed out that public resources are being used, such as minivan & trucks, to finance and give rise to paramilitary dynamics. “That can only come from the central command of the government. It is State terrorism that pursues social domination through illicit mechanisms that cause terror, “Orozco added.
Cajina said that the National Police and its anti-riot squads do not have the “tactical or operational ability to face crowds,” as those who have mobilized in civic protest against Ortega.
“The National Police requires the ‘para policias’ (irregular groups) to do the dirty work, although the police also do dirty work. These groups are an extension of the Police and the Executive,” said Cajina in the program Esta Semana. “The paramilitary role is to create terror. They receive a payment of between 300 and 500 córdobas (US$10 and US$15 dollars).They are mercenaries on the one hand and terrorists on the other,” the security expert revealed.
Cajina said that the National Police and its riot police do not have the “tactical or operational ability to face crowds,” as those who have mobilized in civic protest against the regime.
“The National Police requires the police officers to do the dirty work, although the police also do dirty work. These groups are an extension of the Police and the Executive, “said Cajina in the program This Week. “The paramilitary role is to create terror. They receive a payment of between 300 and 500 córdobas. They are mercenaries on the one hand and terrorists on the other, “the security expert revealed.
The Army’s Silence
Not only security experts highlight the “silence” of the military high command of the Nicaraguan Army in front of paramilitary groups. Also the citizens. According to Cajina, the military’s silence on the sociopolitical crisis in general responds to two factors: That the Army tries to “detach itself” from the Ortega-Murillo regime, and, second, that it protects its corporate interests; including investments they have in the United States.
Several social sectors are calling on the military institution to act against these paramilitary groups. If the government’s narrative is talking about “common crimes”, then why is the military not breaking these up like they did in the past with people who took up arms in the countryside again for political reasons?
“If the army has attacked and wiped out groups that took up arms again, why aren’t they doing the same thing with paramilitary forces who are carrying war weapons illegally and violating law 510 of our Arms control regulations,” Cajina asked. The expert pointed out that Daniel Ortega, as the Army’s Commander-in-Chief, has never given an order to fight against those who took up arms again in the countryside. “The Army gave this order on its own. It’s part of their annual security plan in the countryside. The question is why they aren’t giving the order to disarm the paramilitaries?”
Orozco said that the Army is in a very complicated position because it isn’t the same as the Police or Attorney General in nature, these being the ones responsible for chasing after criminals. Orozco pointed out that the Army needs to receive a constitutional order from their Commander-in-Chief, Daniel Ortega, in order to disarm the paramilitaries.
“Ortega won’t give this order. There is a conflict of interest which the army is maneuvering,” Orozco claimed. The expert stressed that if Ortega were to hypothetically give this order of disarming paramilitary groups to the military leadership, then this would be dangerous.
Dangerous because disarming them could lead to an even greater massacre, where civilians are caught in the crossfire. Orozco said that if Ortega gives a direct order to the Army, all of the responsibility will fall on his shoulders and he won’t be able to “politically play” like he has been doing with the paramilitaries, who has “washed his hands of”.
Cajina agrees with his colleague on this point: If Ortega orders the Army to suppress paramilitary groups, he would be contradicting his own discourse that these irregular groups don’t exist and function in this country, despite more than enough evidence gathered by the Nicaraguan people proving the opposite.
Police Rift
Regarding the National Police, Orozco doesn’t believe that the institution’s capacities exceed their scope, as Cajina believes they do. Rather the repressive acts by police have increased alongside the violence of paramilitaries.
“What is happening within the police force itself is what is serious. They are suffering a huge rift,” Orozco warned. There are reports that police abandoned their barracks in Diriamba, La Trinidad and San Nicolas.
“This can have serious consequences. Human rights organizations are already talking about 250 policemen who have resigned. They aren’t deserters, because deserters don’t resign,” Orozco explained. “There’s a divide in the police command which might have short-term consequences. This is their weakness today. The problem isn’t that the police are overstepping the line because of the climate of insecurity, but because they are creating this insecurity themselves alongside the paramilitary,” Orozco claimed.
The travel agency Destinos TV has so far spent more than US$500,000 to enable to get 270 people to Russia through regular flights. The agency had sold some 300 all-inclusive travel packages that included a direct (charter) flight from Costa Rica to Russia and back, for the World Cup 2018 games.
José Cortés, general manager of Destinostv holds a photo of Scott Smith, the Canadian who defrauded him.
The charter flight was scheduled to leave on June 13, to be in Russia in time for the first game of Costa Rica’s national team on June 17. But it didn’t happen, the charter company reneged on its deal, leaving Destinostv to place its customers on scheduled airlines, at higher costs, paying up to US$2,900 per person for a flight when in normal market conditions would cost one third that.
The travel agency said that 270 of the customers did travel to Russia, 31 asked for a refund, said José Cortés, general manager of Destinostv.
Cortés, in an emotional television interview, said the charter company defrauded him. Cortés, before the cameras, held up a photo of Scott Smith, a Canadian who he says defrauded him, selling him on the “avion de los ticos”, a direct flight on a Boeing 777 which then changed to an Airbus 340. And then no airplane at all.
To make good on his customers, Cortés said he was able to recover on Monday, with the help of BAC Credomatic, US$525,000 dollars of the US$ 1 million he paid the charter company in advance and was able to recover another US$1 million from a Venezuelan provider.
The first Auto Mercado began operating in 1960, in Los Yoses. Photograph by John Durán.
The planners at Auto Mercado drew up an expansion map for operations in Costa Rica that included the opening of at least six stores per year, from 2016 to 2024. However, what is planned does not always occur.
The first Auto Mercado began operating in 1960, in Los Yoses. Photograph by John Durán.
“Sales have been low in everything that is retail since 2016. We wanted to slow down investment a little and be prudent, we are waiting for the moment to move forward,” explained Guillermo Alonso, president of the board of directors of Auto Mercado.
In April 2015 – the year in which they announced the expansion plan – commercial activity in the country grew at a rate of 3.28% (year-on-year variation), while, last April, it did so at 2.05%; according to the Monthly Index of Economic Activity (IMAE).
That is to say, we are not in crisis, but there is a deceleration as consumer confidence deteriorates as a result of expected increases in fuel prices and in the dollar exchange rate.
The economic slowdown and having to reduce the speed of its expansion does not frustrate the managers of Auto Mercado. In the end, they are changes of plans caused by external factors; neither should it be a strange matter for a company with 58 years in the market, having overcome economic crises, delays due to bureaucracy and the arrival of strong international competitors, such as Walmart.
What the change means, for now, Auto Mercado will open at least two stores each year (each with an average investment of US$4 million dollars) and four or five Vindi format convenience stores (each costing US$200.000 dollars).
The cutback also means fewer jobs created. Each Auto Mercado employes 100 people, Vinid stores 16.
The Auto Mercado is 100% family owned by the Alonso family, that is now in its seeing its fourth generation of Alonso’s at the helm.
Guillermo Alonso stresses that to work in the corporation, it is not enough to carry the surname Alonso, they must have work experience in other companies and professional training at the master’s level, as well as in some cases, have proven performance in managerial positions.
The “Qué Comemos” express delivery meal application will close operations on July 15. The announcement was made through an email sent by the firm to its affiliated clients.
The business of food delivery platforms experience effervescence with players leaving and entering the market. In the case of Qué Comemos, an application that allows people to see view the menus of restaurants closest deliver their meals, place and order and pay for it online. The affiliated restaurants prepare the deliver the order.
The company annoucement: “Sabés que por ahí llegó una empresa grande a nivel mundial que nos puso fuerte competencia en el tema de las entregas de comida exprés y que para nadie es un secreto que está haciendo las cosas bastante bien y es por eso que hoy (viernes 15 de junio) quiero anunciarte que este es nuestro último mes de funcionamiento de la plataforma, pararemos de brindar el servicio de Qué Comemos el día 15 de julio del 2018”.
The Aoo was the first in Central America, developed in Costa Rica and has been in operation for more than six years. In the end, competition ate away (pun intended) at its market, such as the arrival of UberEats last December.
Multidelivery on-demand companies are also gaining popularity in the Tico market. Other apps, such as “Eats On” and “Go Pato” are readying to gon online.
There is no guarantee for their either. Qué Comemos is not the first to close. Not long ago “Apetito24” also closed operations after more than two years in operation.
Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) building in downtown San Jose
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), during a visit to Costa Rica from June 12 to 15, 2018, warned that although the measures announced by the authorities to confront the fiscal situation are a step in the right direction, a more comprehensive reform strategy would be needed to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability.
Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) building in downtown San Jose
The organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., estimates that, in a scenario of an absence of policy measures, the fiscal deficit is expected to reach 7.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, placing the central government’s debt on an unsustainable path.
This figure is slightly higher than the 7.1% of GDP estimated by the Banco Central (Central Bank) in its macroeconomic program published last February.
Finance Minister Rocio Aguilar, announced on May 30, a series of measures to contain public spending, such as the establishment of a fixed amount for annuities (pluses in Spanish) of central government workers and not a percentage as is currently, and the reduction of the percentage for new civil servants.
The IMF team, led by Mr. Trevor Alleyne, met with the Economic Coordinator Edna Camacho, the Minister of Finance Rocio Aguilar, the President of the Banco Centraal (BCCR) Olivier Castro, and members of the Legislative Assembly, including some members of the Treasury Affairs Committee and the Special Commission of the Legislative Assembly for Fiscal Reform.
Following is the ‘Concluding Statement’ describing the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of the official visit:
1. Economic activity continues to be solid but has slowed down, and strengthening the fiscal position remains a major policy challenge. The average growth rate of the monthly economic activity index (IMAE) was 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018 (compared to 3.3 percent in the same period last year). Both the inflation rate and inflation expectations remain within the target range, and the monetary policy stance is adequate. The external position remains stable as robust growth in merchandise exports and tourist arrivals are dampening the negative effect on the current account of recovering oil prices. However, in the absence of policy measures, the fiscal deficit is expected to reach 7.2 percent of GDP in 2018, putting the debt of the central government on an unsustainable path.
2. In this context, the IMF’s technical team believes that the fiscal reform being considered by the Legislative Assembly, together with the initiatives for cutting public spending proposed by the Minister of Finance two weeks ago, constitute an important first step towards restoring fiscal sustainability and removing the main risk to economic growth facing the country. Given the magnitude of the required adjustment, it is appropriate that the plan incorporates a strategy of both revenue mobilization and expenditure containment.
3. While the authorities’ announced measures are a step in the right direction, a more comprehensive reform strategy would be needed to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability. However, delaying the implementation of the reform that is in the Legislative Assembly, awaiting the preparation of a comprehensive plan, will only increase the cost of the adjustment and prolong the uncertainty in the financial markets and among investors that is contributing to the slowdown in the economic activity.
4. It is necessary to start implementing the proposed measures as soon as possible. At the same time, it is important that the government carry out a detailed analysis of the expected savings of each of the measures considered in the fiscal reform, and ensure the credibility of its commitment to implement other structural reforms to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability.
5. In this effort, the IMF stands ready to assist the authorities in whatever way they deem most convenient.
In 2014, the Fuente de la Hispanidad in San Pedro was the scene of massive gatherings as the Ticos (national soccer team) for each win in the World Cup in Brazil.
But, this year, in this World Cup 2018, with the loss on Sunday the the illusion was quietened.
Starting at 6:00 a.m. on Monday a group of truckers began applying “tortuguismo” (slow down) on the main roads in the country, causing tremendous congestion. More than the Monday morning usual.
Cartago La Lima. Accidentes de Costa Rica Facebook
The most affected by the truckers was the autopista General Cañas; the Ruta 27 from the Coyolar-Orotina toll to El Coyol, in Alajuela; and the Ruta 1, the Cambronero section. On the Ruta 32, the slowdown was from Guapiles heading to San Jose; in Limon, in the area of the docks. On the east side of San Jose, the Florencio de Castillo, the road to Cartago was also targeted by the truckers.
Ruta 32, Accidentes de Costa Rica Facebook
The objective of the protest is that the Presidents Carlos Alvarado receives them Casa Presidencial (Presidential House) to deliver a list of petitions. The movement has the support of the Sindicato Nacional de Traileros de la ANEPP.
Ruta 27, Orotina to San Jose. Accidentes de Costa Rica Facebook
“We gave the president a month of time to come to us, so he would listen to our problems that are affecting us here in Costa Rica for many years. We have been working very hard throughout the country to unite the sector, unite the guild. We will take our list of requests and we are not going to move from there until we are attended,” said one of the leaders.
On the government website, Presidencia.go.cr, Deputy Minister of Social Dialogue, Nancy Marín said on Sunday the government says maintains its willingness to respectful dialogue and to talk with the representatives of the truckers movement to find solutions to their problems.
“In the absence of blockages or interruption to free transit, the Executive Branch undertakes to open a dialogue table to assess the demands of trailers and explore possible solutions, as well as carrying out a joint analysis on the situation between the sector and the institutions. involved,” assured the Vice Minister of Diálogo Social (Social Dialogue).
A new flow of water and volcanic material at high speed descended today on Sunday from the Fuego volcano in Guatemala, two weeks after its largest eruption since 1974.
A bulletin from the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (INSIVUMEH) stated the lahar was headed towards the Las Lajas ravine and is 35 meters wide and two meters high.
According to the scientific institution, the passage of this abundant fine and pasty material, with blocks of up to three meters in diameter, produces vibrations in the ground, as well as destroying what is in its path.
Heavy rains in the disaster zone caused by the awakening of the colossus on June 3 are causing the lahars, considered the main danger to neighboring communities.
On Sunday, rescue forces entered the so-called ground zero for several hours in search of human remains, but had to leave the area.
Fuego volcano´s fury has left more than 100 dead, nearly 200 missing and 1.7, 000,000 affected.
INSIVUMEH also warned the rain of recent days has saturated the ground, particularly in the volcanic chain and the northeast and southwest of the country.
According to experts, the volcano expelled some 300 million cubic meters of volcanic material from all the ravines, but there is still a large part of it at the top of the complex which may fall at any moment.
INSIVUMEH report stated that water accumulation in the northeast of the country exceeded 170 millimeters, which means that the humidity is maximum, as well as the probability of sudden flooding of rivers, landslides and erosion.
With bad weather predicted to continue, scientists called on local authorities to maintain constant monitoring and take precautions to avoid further tragedies.
President-elect Ivan Duque appealed for unity after winning a runoff election over a leftist firebrand whose ascent shook Colombia’s political establishment and laid bare deep divisions over the nation’s peace process.
Colombia’s President-Elect Ivan Duque celebrates his victory in the presidential runoff election, in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 17, 2018. Duque defeated Gustavo Petro, a former leftist rebel and ex-Bogota mayor. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Duque, the young conservative protege of a powerful former president Alvaro Uribe, is projected to win the presidential race with approximately 54% of the vote, according to the country’s National Registry of Civil Status.
Duque, promising to roll back a fragile peace accord that has divided the nation, beat former mayor of Bogota, Gustavo Petro, a leftist and former FARC guerrilla who got about 41% of the vote, according to numbers released on Sunday.
When Duque takes office in August at age 42, he will be Colombia’s youngest president in more than a century.
As president-elect he vowed to work tirelessly to heal divisions and govern on behalf of all Colombians. He also promised a frontal attack on corruption.
“The peace we all dream of demands corrections,” he told supporters. “So that victims are the true center of the process and so that there is justice, reparations and no repetition.”
Ivan Duque with his running mate Martha Lucia Ramirez who will become Colombia’s first female vice president. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
This presidential election the first election since outgoing President Juan Manuel Santo signed in the 2016 peace agreement ending five decades of armed conflict.
Duque is the son of a former governor and energy minister who friends say has harbored presidential aspirations since he was a child. The father of three ago entered public service almost two decades as an adviser to then Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos, whom he will succeed as president.
“This is the opportunity that we have been waiting for — to turn the page on the politics of polarization, insults and venom,” Duque told supporters Sunday night, joined by his young family.
More than 170 people have died in Nicaragua since unrest began two months ago. Protesters have taken to the streets demanding President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice-president, Rosario Murillo, step down.
A framed photograph that shows Rosario Murillo, second from right, the first lady and vice president of Nicaragua, set on fire by protesters, burns during clashes with riot police in the Monimbo district of Masaya [Alfredo Zuniga/AP]
Police and pro-goverment (paramilitaries) have been accused of using “lethal force” to crack down on the protests.
On June 17, the day after a resumption of the National Dialogue where government and civic groups agreed to cease hostilities, remove roadblocks and allow for a foreign inquiry, at least eight people were killed in renewed violence.
Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega speaks at the opening of a national dialogue, in Managua, Nicaragua. the one and only day he attended personally. [Alfredo Zuniga/AP Photo]
Here is what we have so far:
What triggered the protests?
Demonstrations began on April 18, when the government introduced plans to cut pensions and social security, including decreasing pension payments by five percent and increasing worker social contributions by 0.75 percent. The change also increased employer contributions by 3.5 percent.
Sandinista Youth, a group aligned with Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), launched counterprotests in support of the reforms.
The government cracked down on the protests, and several people were killed, including journalist Angel Gahona, who was shot dead while reporting on the protests live on Facebook.
The first fatalities were reported on Thursday, April 19 when two civilians and a police officer were killed in clashes. The same day, a number of television outlets were reportedly taken off the air.
People carry a banner that reads in Spanish, ‘The future of a country is its children. The future is students. Stop killing them’ during a protest at the Jean Paul Genie roundabout against the government of President Daniel Ortega, in Managua [Alfredo Zuniga/AP]
“These are acts of repression and unexplainable censorship by the government, the government has been very secretive in releasing information to the public, but this censorship is at a new level,” Miguel Mora, director of 100% Noticias.
Ortega scraps pension cuts
The government maintained that the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS) was very close to insolvency and that if changes were not made, it would end without liquid assets by 2019.
Ortega, the last of the Latin American revolutionaries still in office, called for renewed dialogue with the private sector over the social security reform and welcomed modifications to implement the reforms “in a better way”.
But in a televised meeting, aired on April 22, President Ortega scraped the controversial reforms. In the meeting, Ortega denounced protesters for acting like “gangs killing each other”.
“We must re-establish order, we will not allow chaos, crime and looting to reign,” he said.
A demonstrator fires a homemade mortar towards the riot police during a protest against Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega’s government in Managua, Nicaragua [Reuters]
Demands for Ortega’s resignation
Due to the heavy-handed tactics used by the government to curb the demonstrations, tens of thousands of people continued to protest, demanding Ortega’s resignation.
“We are fighting not only for the INSS, we are fighting for all those years of pillaging of the people by the Sandinista regime,” an engineering student in Managua who identified himself as Cristofer told AFP news agency during the protests.
Ortega’s government has faced condemnation in recent years over plans to build an inter-oceanic canal, for hobbling political rivals, and consolidating power when his wife, Rosario Murillo, was elected vice president in 2016.
Ortega has been elected three consecutive times since 2007 after serving a first presidential term in the 1980s.
Anti-government protesters arrive by caravan from the capital to show solidarity with the town of Masaya, Nicaragua [Alfredo Zuniga/AP]
Reactions
The UN has called for access to investigate the deaths and has accused the government of using excessive force.
On May 29, Amnesty International released a report accusing the government of working with pro-government armed groups to suppress the protests. It also said authorities “adopted a strategy of repression, characterised by excessive use of force and extrajudicial executions”.
Nicaragua’s Catholic church was serving as a mediator between the government and the protesters, calling for a reduction of hostilities and dialogue and issuing an ultimatum to the government to push for international oversight. Talks between the government and opposition broke down in mid-May
On May 31, the church issued a statement saying it would not resume talks while the Nicaraguan people “continue to be repressed and murdered”.
On June 15, Ortega and civic leaders agreed to cease hostilities, remove roadblocks and allow for a foreign inquiry into the country’s bloodiest confrontations since a civil war ended in 1990. Despite the apparent truce, violence broke out a day later and at least eight people were killed. Both sides resumed talks, however, to address the Catholic Church’s proposal to anticipate general elections and implement political reforms.
Nicaragua’s main business lobby urged President Daniel Ortega to hold early elections to steer the country out of weeks of destabilising protests.
The Organization of American States and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have also said they would investigate the unrest.
Ortega told supporters that Nicaragua “is not private property” in response to the demand, according to local newspaper La Prensa.
MANAGUA (AFP) – For days, Maria Magdalena Saldana has hooked a gold chain encircling her waist to the gate bulwarking one of Nicaragua’s most notorious prisons.
A mother demands the release of her son captured by police and paramilitaries and held at “El Chipote” prison in Managua, on June 16, 2018. MARVIN RECINOS, AFP
And she vows to stay there — consuming nothing but water — until President Daniel Ortega’s government releases her son, who was detained last week without explanation during a police raid on his house.
“As a mother, I am desperate,” Saldana pleas, her voice cracking through streaming tears as several security guards observe across the fence.
“Let the world know what a Nicaragua mother suffers,” she says, clutching her son’s release order from a Managua appeals court, which she says has gone ignored.
“My heart hurts,” she says. “My soul hurts.”
Maria Magdalena Saldana declared a hunger strike and has chained herself outside “El Chipote” to demand justice for her son Wilder Octavio Garcia Saldana, who was captured by police and paramilitaries. MARVIN RECINOS, AFP
On June 12, police forcibly arrested her son Wilder Octavio Garcia Saldana, 37, and took him to the infamous El Chipote prison, shrouded in lush vegetation high atop the capital Managua.
The institution’s reputation for brutality is as deeply entrenched as its underground cells, which reach far beneath a rugged hill in the city’s center.
Saldana is one of an estimated 2,000 people who have been incarcerated at El Chipote since the start in April of a popular uprising against Ortega, a former leftist guerrilla who since 2007 has gripped power for three consecutive terms.
His mother has joined dozens of people protesting the sudden imprisonment of their relatives and friends.
“The only ‘crime’ I think my son has committed is to march,” she said, referring to mass anti-government demonstrations that have been met with a bloody crackdown, leaving at least 178 people dead in two months.
“He raised the flag of Nicaragua, the patriotic symbol of our country” she cries.
“We want liberty.”
‘Clear signs of torture’
Mothers and grandmothers demand the release of their children captured by police and paramilitary forces and held at “El Chipote” prison. MARVIN RECINOS, AFP
The compound now known as El Chipote once served as a nerve center of military dictatorship under the Somoza political dynasty, where the primary means to squash rebellion was torture.
Ortega himself was held at the complex, while fighting with guerrilla forces that ultimately toppled Somoza.
But upon assuming power, Ortega opted to keep the infamous prison open.
They baptized it El Chipote after the headquarters of the revered Augusto Sandino, a revolutionary who fought US occupation during the 1920s and 1930s, inspiring Ortega-era rebels decades later.
But among Nicaraguans today, the detention center with dark cells the size of closets still stirs fears equal to those that reverberated under Somoza rule.
And the allegation from families of detainees and human rights lawyers that Ortega is allowing thousands of his political opponents to be imprisoned has left a particularly bad taste.
In just one day, Braulio Abarca, a lawyer at the influential Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), says his agency received dozens of cases denouncing “illegal detentions with beatings; with cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, and with clear signs of torture perpetrated by the National Police.”
Some of the detainees, Abarca said, are as young as 15 years old.
“The crime in Nicaragua is to be young and defend your homeland,” reads one of several signs protesters hoist outside the prison fence.
A few feet away from the chained Saldana, 96-year-old Anastacia Morales Centeno clutches her face in her hands, sobbing for her grandson Bernardo.
The tiny woman, her face riven with wrinkles, says he was thrown into a truck early one morning by groups of armed paramilitaries loyal to the president.
“I cannot rest easy because I didn’t resist” the forces who arrested him, she says, as a relative uses an umbrella to shield her from the relentless sun.
‘State of terror’
Anastacia Morales demands justice for her grandson captured by police and paramilitary forces and held in a cell at “El Chipote” prison. MARVIN RECINOS, AFP
In the early days of the anti-Ortega protests that began April 18, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said it documented “a pattern of massive and arbitrary arrests.”
Detainees were sometimes stripped of their belongings and deprived of food and water, the agency said, with some “shaved, handcuffed with rigor and subjected to asphyxiating blows.”
The legal director of the CENIDH, Gonzalo Carrion, was 18 when the Sandinistas ousted Somoza, and now expresses shock when describing the “tragedy” of the past months.
“This police force is at the service of family and power,” he says.
As Nicaraguans grapple with what Carrion calls “a state of terror,” the government refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing.
When the Central American country’s Catholic bishops moved to rekindle mediation talks, Ortega’s foreign minister balked at laying blame on pro-government forces.
Late Friday, the bishops announced that rival government and civil delegates had struck a deal to create a “verification” commission, and invite groups including the IACHR to probe the violence that almost daily ends in bloodshed.
But Saldana has more immediate concerns.
“I will not leave until he gets out of that prison,” she says.
“We are constantly under attack,” she adds, weeping as relatives chant “freedom” behind her.
(FIFA.com) Serbia’s World Cup campaign is off to an ideal start after the Orlovi defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in Samara on Sunday. The only goal came from a pin-point free kick from captain Aleksandar Kolarov early in the second half, capping off a largely dominant display from the European side.
The team now go into preparation for what could be a crucial clash with Switzerland looking to build on the positives from their opening match, and to maintain the momentum that started with an impressive 5-1 friendly victory over Bolivia on June 9.
Costa Rica had opportunities in the first half and they did not take advantage of them. In the second half, Serbia were more confident and scored the decisive goal.
Here are four things that went right for Mladen Krstajic’s team against Costa Rica:
1. Combining youth and experience in defence
Led by Branislav Ivanovic, who now has a record 104 caps for Serbia, three members of the back four have over 200 national appearances between them and an average age of 33. The fourth member, 20-year-old Nikola Milenkovic, made his competitive debut for Serbia against Los Ticos, and looked like he had as much experience as his team-mates. He and his experienced partner at centre-back, Dusko Tosic, were concentrated, cool and committed to every ball when faced with threats from Bryan Ruiz and Marco Urena.
This game was about efficacy and accuracy and some players of Costa Rica did not have that this time.
Serbia’s most anticipated World Cup debut was that of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and the Lazio star did not disappoint. Combining with Dusan Tadic on the right wing, he forged a partnership that was a constant threat to Costa Rica’s defence, with the pair creating numerous chances between them and showing a creativity that has not been typical of Serbia’s more recent international performances. Both Switzerland and Europe’s biggest clubs will have taken note.
Costa Rica’s attackers were isolated throughout the second half and they did not create enough opportunities to score.
3. Shifting to two defensive midfielders
Serbia missed their last three major competitions, and while there was plenty of experience in the team, the fear was that World Cup jitters could easily take over after such a long period away from the big stage. The team survived a high-paced opening 15 minutes against Costa Rica with a host of early chances for both sides, but then did well to settle into a rhythm that they controlled. The catalyst for the calm and organized display was the defensive midfield duo of Nemanja Matic and Luka Milivojevic that soaked up Costa Rican pressure with ease.
This was a chess match that Serbia won.
4. Showing a united front
The key word in Serbia’s World Cup buildup has been unity, with Federation officials, staff and players alike insisting that the atmosphere in the national team has not been this healthy in decades. It was visible on the pitch of the Samara Arena, but just as much off it as captain Aleksandar Kolarov dedicated the team’s victory and his goal to the Serbian FA’s Sporting Director Goran Bunjevcevic, who suffered a brain aneurysm earlier this year.
“We dedicate this win to our Director, and we want him to know that we are all supporting him.”
This morning Costa Rica is sad. The debut game of the World Cup was a bust, La Sele losing to Serbia 0-1.
Serbian Aleksandar Kolarov bested Keylor Navas at the 56 minute mark with a goal off a free kick. Photo: AP
With the loss, the illusion of advancing to the second round dissipates, because the national team now faces Brazil and Switzerland, two teams with much greater power than Serbia.
The score by Aleksandar Kolarov, at 56-minute mark, on a free kick that was impossible even for Keylor Navas, was the only goal scored.
Keylor Navas keeps the Serbians at bay. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda
The Ticos worked on the tie, to get extra time to make a difference, but it was not to be. The last minutes of play were exasperating, the Serbians working on maintaining their one-goal lead.
A couple of chances came when the referee stopped the game twice to review the Video Assistant Review, or “VAR”, but nothing happened, except a yellow card to a Serbian for a blow to Johnny Acosta.
“We play against the second and sixth-placed teams in the FIFA Ranking. It’s going to be difficult, but I just told my team: ‘This isn’t over’,” Costa Rica’s coah Oscar Ramirez’s post-match thoughts
