(Prensa Latina) The minimum wage will rise 50 percent in Venezuela from September 1st.
During the announcement this Saturday president Nicolas Maduro stated forward that the rise not only benefit employees but also pension beneficiaries and families receiving Socialist Missions Cards, explained the head of government during a meeting with his government cabinet at the Miraflores Palace.
The minimum wage that before was of 15,051 bolivars (1 dollar equivalent to 10 Bolivars) rises to 22,576 Bolivars, emphasized the president.
He added that with the benefit card, which now increases to 42, 480 bolivars, the whole salary is now in more than 65,000 Bolivars.
Maduro stressed that this is the third increase of this year and that if necessary will increase again by the end of the year.
The comprehensive minimum wage stood at 33,636 bolivars, after rising 30 percent imposed last May, so the new rise means an improvement of 93.4 percent of the full wages, including benefits missions.
“These are measures of war to protect a people under the economic war of the bourgeoisie and an imperialism, which believes it can kneel down ‘, denounced the Venezuelan president.
What some many drivers have taken to, to beat the traffic congestion of San Jose, is moving about the city on a bicycle. Some starting to make it a daily habit of going to and from work like María José Suarez who now leaves her car a the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), in San Pedro and uses her bicycle to get to and from her work at the Hospital San Juan de Dios in the centre of San Jose.
Others, like Tana Salazar, 27, tired of the vehicular congestion said she tried the train, but found making her 12 kilometre trip from Guadalupe to Pavas was better on a bicycle.
These are just two of the stories people who told La Nacion of why they traded in their four wheels for two. Watch the video.
Are they leading a trend or are two isolated cases? We can only hope the former.
“I had about five years of not riding and I was a little afraid (…), but I can no longer deal with the traffic congestion in this country,” said Salazar. Her investment in a bicycle and safety accessories, such as helmet, reflective vest and lights, was about ¢150,000. Her savings on fuel alone each month is more than ¢25,000 colones and that the effort is worth is, she told La Nacion.
However, riding a bicycle in San Jose is no easy task. At the top of the list of the dangers is the lack of respect of drivers toward cyclists; and the few, almost non-existent bike lanes around the city. See Plans for Ciclovía (Bike Path) in San José Still A Only A Dream!
For example, in Hatillo, a bike lane was built some seven years ago, a path about one kilometre long. But is seldom used. In Cartago, the municipality, with the support of private and non-government organization has since 2013 enabled a bike path of about six kilometers. In Cartago, there is also a public bicycle rental service, primarily for use by university students there.
According to the Policia de Transito (traffic police), so far this year 25 cyclists have lost their lives on public roads; in 2015 there were 39; the year before that 30. The majority of the accidents were in rural areas, where bicycle use is greater than in urban areas.
Two groups promoting bicycle use in San Jose are BiciBus, which now counts with 109 ‘urban cyclists” who use they bicycles to and from work or school; the other is Cleteras de Costa Rica, founded by Brenda Zumbado, a 24 year old student in San Pedro.
“”We are seeing an increase in the number of cyclists on the streets, but we see few women and that is due to the fact that the city seems unsafe. So my idea was to bring together the few (women) who already use the bicycle in the city and are uniting more,” she said.
Two private companies and a state bank are encouraging their employees to use the bicycle. Hewlett-Packard, Universal Stores and the Banco Nacional (BNCR), have built special spaces for their employees to park their bicycles while at work.
And the public parking lot, located on Paseo Colon, offers free spaces during the day.
What do you need to know for safe riding in San Jose? Riding a bicycle on a public road has its responsibilities and restrictions. The La Nacion has put together an illustration, using information from the Ley de Transito (Traffic Act):
Essentials are the use of a bicycle helmet, a reflective vest, rear and front lights.
Ride on the right always. Passing, is with a vehicle or motorcycle should be on the left.
Riding should be single file.
Riding a bicycle is permitted only on roads where the speed does not exceed 80KM/h. That is no bicycle riding on the Ruta 27 or the Autopista General Cañas, as other so-called highways.
It is illegal to carry an excess of passengers.
Children under 3 years of age are not permitted to ride on a public road/
(QCOSTARICA) Despite the possibility of a removal of barriers announced early last week, on Friday Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega said the “border wall” against migrants will continue.
Ortega said the policy of barring migrants from entering their country is part of its continuing battle against organized crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
Almost 3,000 African migrants are in Costa Rica looking to move north, to reach their final destination, the United States.
Costa Rican officials report that more than 3,000 migrants left Costa Rica since April, presumably through Nicaragua despite the border closed to them. Earlier this month 10 migrants were found drowned in lake Nicaragua.
The flow of migrants, Africans and Haitains pretending to be Africans, are pouring uncontrollably into Costa Rica from Panama, Colombia and other countries in South America.
Last October, Nicaragua closed its borders to more than 8,000 Cuban migrants generating conflict in the Central American countries, forcing Costa Rica to find a solution, that came when Mexico relented and allowed a direct airlift, the Cubans then able to cross into the U.S.
In Nicaragua, the U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, Laura Dogu, said that Nicaragua was a right guard its borders, just in the same way the U.S guards its borders. “That is a political decision and not a decision of the Embassy here in Nicaragua, Nicaragua has the right to guard its borders,” said Dogu.
With the Nicaragua border remaining closed to the migrants, Costa Rica continues forced to endure the cost of providing shelter and health services.
The Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) reported Saturday two earthquakes of medium intensity in the department of Chinandega, in the western region of the Pacific n this Central American country, without reporting any damage.
According to the INETER, the first earthquake was recorded at 07:33, local time, with a magnitude of 4.2 degrees in the Richter scale and located 10.8 kilometers deep.
The second earthquake developed at 07:42, local time, with a magnitude of 3.7 degrees in the Richter scale and 6.2 kilometers deep, according to the source.
Faced with these two phenomena, experienced by the population from the different municipalities of the department, school students were evacuated as a preventative measure.
Nicaragua is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of more than 40,000 kilometers, where most of the active volcanoes in the world are and earthquakes occur more frequently and are stronger there.
Often, authorities carry out simulations at schools and throughout the country to increase the capacity of the population and the institutions to face this kind of phenomena and other threats.
South Korea Seeks Deeper Trade Ties with Latin America
(Prensa Latina) The Fifth Negotiating round for the Central America, South Korea Free Trade Treaty (FTT)concluded in this capital, this weekend, with the closure of four parts of the agreement.
South Korea Seeks Deeper Trade Ties with Latin America
An official report released Saturday, added that besides the four chapters agreed there are also progress in two other important matters.
The points finished after five days of discussions deal with sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, rules of origin and competition rules.
In addition, the negotiators advanced in aspects related to tariff reduction programs and the definition for the exchange of products.
To conclude the FTT negotiation, experts have planned two more rounds, one in Nicaragua and one here; although for the moment, the dates are unknown.
Negotiations began in 2015 and so far, they have held meetings in this capital, El Salvador, United States and Honduras, as well as two inter-sectorial meetings in Seoul and Costa Rica.
The fourth largest economy in Asia became, in the most recent two decades, in an important trading partner of several Latin American countries.
At least 10,000 officers will be assessed in Honduras
(Prensa Latina) At least 10,000 officers will be assessed in the coming days as part of a police clearance in Honduras, said the special commission in charge of the process.
According to the commission, the assessment of the officers from the basic level of the National Police, will be more complex and will take longer, so they encouraged people to present their complaints to define who is qualified and who is not.
With that purpose, the Honduran Government created a website (www.denunciapolicias.com) and an email address, along with a telephone number, 2213-1439, to receive complaints filed by citizens.
“Given that many of the police officer of basic level are scattered throughout the country, the complaints we receive from the population will be key to determine if those people continue or not”, said Omar Rivera, one of the three members of the Commission.
Rivera said that this new action in the investigation takes place after the conclusion of the restructuring of the police leadership, which left since April, 351 people suspended out of 790 senior officers assessed, including six generals.
The Four Seasons jet. Yep, they have their own jet!
(QCostarica Travel) Meeting the tree frogs, howler monkeys and sloths in Costa Rica; snorkeling or diving among playful spinner dolphins and tropical fish in Hawaii’s Hulopo’e Bay; exploring UNESCO Global Geopark’s mangrove swamps, rainforests, sandstone mountains, limestone caves and coral reefs of Malaysia and spotting lions, leopards, Cape buffalos, elephants and rhinos in the Serengeti are part of Four Season’s 25-day journey private jet experience. Yep, a private jet!
The other destinations include Austin, Texas; Sydney, Australia; Maritius; Marrakech, Morocco; and Lisbon, Portugal.
Can you imagine the luxury? The decadence? The 7-star treatment? That is the exclusive experience of flying to legendary destinations at every corner of the globe, with Four Seasons as your guide, that begins on September 17, 2016.
The private jet takes Four Seasons enthusiasts around the world, stopping at exotic locations for several days and then whisking them off to the next destination.
The Four Seasons Papagayo, in Guanacaste
The Costa Rica leg of the trip, with stay at the Four Seasons Papagayo, in Guanacaste, is from September 18 – 21.
The cost?
Only US$137,000 per person (double occupancy). US$11,000 more for single supplement.
(TODAY VENEZUELA) Availability of flights from and to Venezuela is becoming increasingly restricted. Reduced seat availability, a severe shortage of flights, and tickets sold in foreign currency are challenging issues when it comes to flying abroad.
Currently, just a handful of foreign airlines cover three direct connections to Europe – Air France flies to Paris, Iberia and Air Europa to Madrid, and TAP Portugal flies to Lisbon. But you need foreign currency to fly these carriers. Venezuela’s national Conviasa airline offers direct flights to Madrid and sells tickets in bolivars.
When it comes to make connecting flights, if you want to go, say, to Frankfurt, you must first fly to Bogota, via Colombia-based international airline Avianca, or to Panama via Copa Airlines, and then make the connection to your destination.
The outlook looks rather challenging for those who take indirect routes connecting with domestic airlines, because these “do not allow for connections with other carriers to other destinations” for lack of international agreements. In that case, passengers must buy two tickets: one for the route provided by the airline and the second, in foreign currency, for their final destination, as expert José Garelli notes in an article he published in the Miaerolinea web site, dated July 22.
According to Dante Salvatorelli, National Director of Venezuela’s Association of Travel Agencies (Avavit), Conviasa’s very limited international flights availability is a source of constant complaints from passengers.
In an interview with El Universal, Salvatorelli noted that there has been a 40% drop of international flights in the country since 2014. In his view, the most popular destinations are Miami, Panama and Bogota, while Madrid is the most popular European destination as it is served by direct flights from Venezuela.
According to Salvatorelli, of all international airlines, only US-based air carrier Dynamic Airways offers the opportunity to purchase tickets in bolivars for direct flights to Fort Lauderdale (Florida) and New York. He adds that travel agencies assess what options can be viable for customers.
National carrier Santa Barbara offers flights to Miami and Panama through its website. Salvatorelli argues that increased demand for those destinations can be explained by the large Venezuelan communities living in those cities.
According to Salvatorelli the criteria airlines use in setting prices “are utterly personal. They are based upon taxes and fees charged by their country, and capital repatriation.”
International carriers and the government
Since 2014 seven foreign carriers have crossed the country off their schedules, while the remaining 15 have scaled back or suspended their Venezuelan operations. A total of 15 direct international destinations on three continents have been slashed – Frankfurt, Tenerife, Rome, Funchal, Porto in Europe; Toronto, Dallas, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, San Juan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Americas; Damascus and Tehran in Asia.
Spanish airline Iberia, which has alliances and code-sharing agreements with different carriers worldwide, recently stated it would not rule out the possibility to suspend flights to Venezuela should the provision of such service “become pointless.”
“Today we have two daily Bogota-Caracas-Bogota flights and one daily Lima-Caracas-Lima flight. I must say that it is not easy to operate in Venezuela, but we are doing it because there are passengers and because we sell tickets in dollars,” said Avianca’s President Hernán Rincón in an interview with the Colombian weekly magazine Semana on July 2.
The conflict with the airlines dates back to 2012. “The possibility by international operators of retrieving their income has become gradually difficult for the past four years,” Salvatorelli said.
Salvatorelli added that the level of debt owed to foreign carriers has not increased because they are currently allowed to sell their tickets in dollars, but those airlines that leave will not return “out of lack of trust” in the economy and politics of the country.
“The national government should be making efforts to build bridges with international airlines to keep them in the country, ensuring them that the conditions they need to operate will be respected, and developing significant relationships with them. But we see that this is not happening,” Salvatorelli said.
Anabella Abadi said in an article in the Prodavinci web site, dated July 8, 2014, that as early as 2013 some airlines were considering to fly away on account of the accumulated debt of approximately USD 2.5 billion owed them by the former Commission for the Administration of Foreign Exchange (Cadivi), currently the National Center for Foreign Commerce (Cencoex).
In June 2014, the then Minister of Water and Air Transport Hebert García Plaza announced on Twitter that the national government had paid the 2012-2013 payments owed to six international airlines – Tame Ecuador, Avianca, Tiara Air, Aeromexico, Insel Air and Aruba Airlines.
The announcement came after the government signed an agreement with some international carriers on May 29, 2014 to convert turnover generated by their services in the country into forex.
So far, airline funds blocked from repatriation in Venezuela total USD 3.8 billion. This accounts for almost 80% among the top five countries blocking repatriation of airline funds according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which defends the decision made by airlines to leave the country.
International carriers that have flown away
Air Canada suspended all flights to Venezuela on March 19, 2014 “due to on-going civil unrest in Venezuela,” referring to the anti-government protests that began in February 2014. After two years, the carrier has not stated whether it would resume operations to and from Venezuela. “The last flight departed Toronto on Saturday March 15 and Caracas on Sunday March 16, 2014,” said the company in a communiqué.
Aruba’s Tiara Air complained in May 2014 that its inability to access over USD 20 million in funds locked up in Venezuela was seriously affecting its ability to maintain operations. It suspended flights shortly after. However, following a fourteen month-long hiatus the Aruban carrier resumed scheduled passenger flights on Monday, April 11 with flights to Curacao. This is the only international airline that has resumed its operations.
Alitalia suspended services in 2015. “We have closed down all our connections to Caracas until the Venezuelan government pays us the USD 250 million it owes us,” said Chief Executive Officer of Alitalia, Silvano Cassano. Back in May 2014, the airline also decided to slash its Caracas-Rome connection on precisely the same grounds.
President Maduro said in May 2014 that he would undertake a strategy to connect the country with the rest of the world. “Let’s start with Latin America and the Caribbean and then with the United States and Europe,” he said.
Brazilian carrier Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes was next to announce its farewell to the country in February this year after having reduced the frequency of flights from 28 to 2 flights per week since 2014. The company told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper that because of unsuccessful negotiations to repatriate R$ 351 million (USD 89.7 million) blocked in Venezuela, it had decided to discontinue the Sao Paulo-Caracas route operating since 2007.”
Aeromexico announced last June it had halted flights to Venezuela. The Mexican carrier said in a statement that “after almost five years of having started operations between Mexico City and Caracas, it has decided to suspend its flights indefinitely due to the complex economic environment that rules in the country.”
Latam, Latin America’s largest airline group has cut all its services to Venezuela “due to the inability to repatriate capital. “Flights on its Sao Paulo to Caracas route ended first, and the other routes it ran to Caracas from Lima and Santiago were halted by the end of July.
Salvatorelli said that in the wake of Latam’s decision “another window closes and it is our concern that our isolation from the global air traffic network is deepening.”
Short-term expectations
When asked about the chances of a coming back of those airlines that have left, Salvatorelli said that “if the conditions are right, if the government starts to build bridges as airlines expect, of course they will, because Venezuela remains a major destination for all international airlines from the economic and tourism points of view.
Salvatorelli emphasized the need to analyze why this conflict with the airlines arose with a view to finding ways of resolving the issues. One of the options would be to allow for a “free or preferential dollar” so they can assess their cost structure.
“The cause for an increase in ticket prices in dollars for Venezuelans lies with all those restrictions on international airlines placed by the government. That’s why we see such high ticket prices,” Salvatorelli said.
Regarding travel agencies operating in the country, Salvatorelli said that none has closed to date, but they have reduced earnings, especially because of tax payments accounting to 25% of their income.
“We have a minimum staff to operate. Nearly 15% to 20% of the workforce has been laid off. We charge a 6% commission on domestic flights, that is what keeps us in business,” Salvatorelli said.
For more what is happening in Venezuela, visit TODAY VENEZUELA.
(By Michael Miller, QCOSTARICA) Albert Brilliott died Thursday morning (August 11, 2016). Albert was also known as “Alberto,” and “The Sausage King,” and “The Mayor of Gringo Gulch.”
Alberto, a long-time resident of Costa Rica, was a prominent figure in Downtown San José, particularly the Barrio Amon and Barrio Otoya neighborhood. With his trademark white Panama hat, his quick smile, and his droll sense of humor, he was recognized and befriended by hundreds of people in Downtown.
With his trademark white fedora, and a glass of Chilean white wine, Albert Brilliott (Alberto) flashes the smile that won him hundreds of friends in Downtown San José. Photo from Mark Wise.
Alberto’s body was discovered by his housekeeper on Thursday afternoon when she went into his apartment to clean. When the medics arrived, they determined that he had died several hours earlier, but at this writing, the cause of death has not been determined.
Alberto grew up in Northern California. He became an accomplished electrical engineer and worked for a number of hi-tech firms in California’s Silicon Valley. After he retired to Costa Rica, Alberto continued to use his engineering and design skills to help local businesses set up state-of-the-art sound systems and WiFi connections.
He is perhaps most well know for his cooking skills. He loved to cook, particularly Italian food. Shortly after taking up residence here in Costa Rica, he decided that there was a need for a good quality Italian-style sausage. His sausages are now carried by many restaurants in Downtown San José, and that is how he earned the moniker: The Sausage King.
Because of Alberto’s gregarious personality, he made friends with people in all walks of life, including the best-selling author Steve Martini, who made Alberto a character in one of his novels.
Alberto was 65 years old. He has no family in Costa Rica. The U. S. Embassy has been notified, and they are in the process of notifying his family members in the U. S. At this writing, there are no services scheduled.
On one of Alberto’s business cards, he bills himself as: “Your personal leisure time advisor and information guru.” Perhaps Alberto now has a great new location to promote. He will be missed.
Alberto (aka: The Sausage King) poses with a Rod Stewart look-alike at one of Downtown San José’s nightspots. Photo from Mark WiseAlbert Brilliott (Alberto), (The Sausage King), (The Mayor of Gringo Gulch), Rest in Peace. Photo from Mark Wise
Michael Miller is the author of the only guide book that focuses on Downtown San José, titled: The Real San José.
(InsightCrime.org) Prosecutors in El Salvador have filed court documents alleging that MS13 leaders sought to arm an “elite unit” of the gang with high-powered weapons purchased in Mexico and Guatemala, an indication that the group’s transnational connections contribute to its domestic clout.
According to a 1,355 page document filed by El Salvador’s Attorney General’s Office, which was reviewed by La Prensa Gráfica and El Universal, alleged MS13 leader Marvin Adaly Ramos Quintanilla, alias “Piwa,” hatched a plan to train an “elite unit” of 500 gang members and arm them with powerful firearms from Mexico and Guatemala in order to carry out attacks against business owners, security forces, judicial workers and politicians.
“The gang project consists of collecting money monthly from extortion proceeds in order to purchase weapons…to equip 500 members of the MS, two from each of the 249 cliques at the national level and to form elite shock teams for attacks against the security system,” the document reportedly reads.
The document, which was filed as part of a massive new case against dozens of suspected gang members, reportedly alleges that the purpose of these “shock teams” was to carry out “selective and simultaneous” attacks against high-profile targets, “all with the goal of destabilizing the state.”
It is unclear from the press reports exactly how far the gang advanced with this plan. However, La Prensa Gráfica reported that between April of this year and his arrest in late July, Piwa oversaw the purchase of 30 bulletproof vests and several shipments of high-powered firearms and grenades.
The news outlet also reported that the prosecutors accuse suspected MS13 members of seeking to acquire weapons in Mexico and Guatemala “for prices that varied between $2,000 and $3,000 and that had the capability of taking down helicopters.” It is not clear whether those purchase attempts were successful.
There is significant debate among experts about the extent of coordination between MS13 in El Salvador and cliques that operate in countries like Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and the United States. However, the recent allegations indicate the MS13 is actively seeking out partnerships with criminals in nearby countries, which in turn is facilitating the gang’s activity inside El Salvador.
El Salvador has no domestic gun manufacturing industry, which means that all of the firearms in the country — both legal and illegal — must at some point be imported. It would therefore not be surprising if gang members inside El Salvador get help from counterparts abroad when seeking weapons that they are not able to obtain domestically.
At the same time, gangs also have access to plenty of weapons in El Salvador that leak from police and military stockpiles. One witness cited by the prosecutors testified that officials from the armed forces sold three high-powered M-60 machine guns to gang members. This would hardly come as a shock; Salvadoran security forces have repeatedly been implicated in arms trafficking activities in recent years.
The Banca Kristal was created by the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) to cater exclusively to women
(QCOSTARICA) The restriction on the use of a cellular phone inside a bank is a measure that has lost force in most financial institutions in Costa Rica, both public and private, according to a survey by La Nacion of 11 banks.
The newspaper says that only 2 of the 11 banks responding to the survey reported they still maintain some kind of limitation on cellular use within their branches.
The prohibition on the use of cellular telephones in banks in Costa Rica went into force in 2005, when the Constitutional Court upheld a ban by the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) after a client filed a complaint with the court.
La Nacion report says that it surveyed the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR), Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), Banco Popular (BP), BAC Credomatic, Scotiabank, Davivienda, Cathay, Lafise, BCT, Prival and Banco General.
Of the above banks, only the Davidienda maintains an absolute restriction; while Prival allows cellular use only in designated areas. The Banco General did not respond to the survey.
Bank customers have noted that the ban on cellular use has been dropping since 2013, many banks becoming more tolerant of cellular phone use. At some banks, cell phone use is allowed while waiting in line, but not at the counter. For example, our experience at the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) in Santa Ana, the use or not of a cellular phone depends on the security guard on duty.
Another security restriction, introduced in 2008, that still applies at state banks (Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Popular) today is the restricted hours of ATMs still closing from 10:00pm to 5:00am daily. In some cases, such as some BCR ATMs, they close at midnight. State bank ATMs are predominantly located at branches.
Private banks don’t follow the same restrictions. Scotiabank, BAC Credomatic, Davivienda and Cathay keep their ATM’s open around the clock; the limit there being for ATMs located within a supermarket or shopping centre, for instance, where the use is limited to store or mall hours. Meanwhile, Lafise and BCT follow the state bank policy. Prival does not have ATMs.
PS. Dark shades (sunglasses), hats and helmets are still a no-no ar most banks, both public and private. A good policy is to remove sunglasses and hat or helmet prior to entering, to avoid the nasty look or being told to do so by security guards.
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What has been your experience in using cellular phones at banks lately? Post your comments below or to our Facebook page.
Digital invoicing - (facturacion digital in Spanish)
Digital invoicing (facturacion digital in Spanish)
(QCOSTARICA) The Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) and the state run power company ESPH (Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia) have been denounced by the Costa Rican Chamber of Information and Communication Technologies (Cámara Costarricense de Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación- Camtic), which brings togethertechnology companies, for anticompetitive practices in the market of digital technologies.
To evade the process ofregular procurement, the Ministry of Finance is said to have applied the exception in Article 2 of thePublic Procurement Act, which allows the contracting activity between public entitiesand direct contracting when there are no other bidders, or there is urgency.
The Camtic, in its filing of the complaint alleging anticompetitive practices, says the Ministry of Finance convened an ultra fast tender and received only two bids for US$27 million and US$8 million to develop an electronic invoicing system.
Fernando Rodriguez, Deputy Minister of Revenue, denied that the Article 2 was used to avoid bidding process, according to a statement circulated by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday (August 11).
Rodriguez explained that the legislation is clear, allowing the contractual activity on the principle of efficiency and the best of national interest.
The Camtic also denounced the case before the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría).
The Camtic considers that the ESPH has no technical expertise for the development of electronic invoicing.
According to Luis Carlos Chaves, president of the Camtic, there is an “abuse” by public institutions to use that article, fostering a situation that does not promote competition between public and private companies.
According to estimatesof companies in the sector, the solution purchased by the Ministry of Finance should not exceed US$3 million.
(Bloomberg) The Latin American refinery bust has proved to be a boon for U.S. fuel makers. From Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA to Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos, state oil companies have failed to complete nine projects worth at least US$36.4 billion that would have supplied 1.2 million barrels of gasoline and diesel daily.
U.S. refiners have stepped up to help fill the gap, with exports almost doubling in the past six years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Falling oil prices, high levels of debt and failure to find partners to help finance the plants are among the reasons cited by Pemex, Costa Rica’s Refinadora Costarricense de Petroleo SA and Colombia’s Ecopetrol SA for postponing their plans. Brazil’s Petrobras has been slowed by the price drop as well as a corruption scandal.
“Refinery investment plans in the region have really fizzled out over the past year or so,” Mara Roberts, a BMI Research analyst based in New York, said in an e-mail. “Latin America is keen to take in growing U.S. supplies.”
U.S. exports to the region have been rising steadily and reached a record 1.88 million barrels a day this year. Latin America now accounts for 42 percent of America’s fuel exports, up from 38 percent a decade ago. U.S. fuel output increased 4.1 percent over two years to a record 19.9 million barrels a day in 2015, EIA data show.
Companies including Valero Energy Corp., Marathon Petroleum Corp. and PBF Energy Inc. have boosted the operating rates of their refineries, and with U.S. domestic demand growing more slowly, the outlet to Latin America is helping sop up excess fuel supply. The utilization rate was at 93.3 percent in the week ended July 29, the highest since November.
Buoyed by cheap oil and gas from shale formations, U.S. refiners increased runs and invested in export terminals, said John Auers, executive vice president of Turner Mason & Co., a Dallas-based consulting firm. Latin America is an “obvious” destination for the U.S. fuel because of its proximity to the Gulf Coast and the delays in building refineries there, he said.
“It’s a hand and glove situation,” Auers said. About 25 percent of Latin America’s fuel demand is currently met by the U.S., he said.
A vessel carrying gasoline or diesel from the Gulf Coast can deliver to Mexico in two days compared with at least 15 for a cargo coming from European rivals.
Competitive Advantage “We have a competitive advantage going to Mexico and South America,” Gary Simmons, Valero’s senior vice president of supply and international operations, said on the company’s July 26 earnings call.
U.S. refiners are facing competition from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, where exports are surging. Brazil imported diesel from China and Hong Kong in May for the first time in at least five years.
“Certainly we are seeing stray barrels from the Middle East coming into Latin America, and we could see more if European distillate demand deteriorates, but U.S. Gulf Coast refiners are well-positioned to take advantage of LatAm demand growth,” Andrew Echlin, a New York-based analyst with Energy Aspects Ltd.
Petrobras has ended up with four unfinished refinery projects amid the slump in oil prices and a corruption scandal that broke in March 2014 when police arrested a former refining chief, accusing him of involvement in a pay-to-play scheme. The former chief, Paulo Roberto Costa, was found guilty of money laundering and is currently under house arrest after agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was little changed at $43.50 a barrel at 11:05 a.m. London time.
Halting Work. Brazil’s state-controlled energy company halted construction of two 300,000-barrel-a-day refineries, the Premium I and Premium II plants. It stopped work on the 165,000 barrel-a-day Comperj petrochemical complex and postponed an expansion of the Abreu e Lima refinery.
In response to a request for comment, Petrobras said decisions on the construction of new refineries will be announced as part of its next five-year investment plan. It didn’t disclose when that announcement will be made. Ecuador’s ministry of strategic sectors, which is in charge of the project to build the new Pacifico refinery, didn’t return calls and e-mails seeking comment. Valero, Marathon and PBF declined to comment.
Pemex Plants. Pemex shelved plans to build the 300,000-barrel-a-day Tula Bicentenario refinery and is seeking partners to operate its six existing plants after posting 15 consecutive quarterly losses. Last year for the first time Mexico imported more gasoline than it produced.
Pemex declined to comment on plans for future or existing refineries.
Ecuador’s government is seeking partners to build the Pacifico refinery, a project that would process 300,000 barrels a day. Colombia’s Ecopetrol said it suspended the expansion of the Barrancabermeja plant until oil prices recover. Costa Rica’s national refiner canceled plans to expand the country’s only plant.
Countries including Brazil are preparing for increased foreign shipments by seeking to expand import terminals, while others, such as Mexico, are building pipelines to connect with the supplies, said Roberts of BMI Research. Poor maintenance at Latin American plants and the shelved projects mean U.S. processors can rely on the region to absorb excess supply for years to come, she said.
“I don’t foresee a major risk to the U.S.’s role in Latin America,” she said.
OIJ detain security guard at the MOPT yard in Cañas on suspision of stealing at least one motorcycle confiscated by the Traffic police. Photo OIJ
OIJ detain security guard at the MOPT yard in Cañas on suspision of stealing at least one motorcycle confiscated by the Traffic police. Photo OIJ
(QCOSTARICA) Corruption is a thing of everyday life around the world. What sets Costa Rica apart is the “brazen” (‘descarado’ in Spanish) in which many public officials go about it.
In a round-up of the headlines, just this week, we have a former high-ranking official of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) – judicial investigative police, a unit akin to the FBI in the U.S. – convicted for embezzlement; a former prison guard arrested for introducing cellular phones in prisons; and, a guard at the MOPT yard in Cañas, in Guanacaste, for selling a seized motorcycle.
In the first, the former secretary-general of the OIJ, Marlon Schlotterhausen Rojas, was on Wednesday sentenced to 12 years in prison on four counts of embezzlement. According to the Ministerio Publico statement, Rojas will actually only serve out 9 years. The former official had been accused of the theft of ¢3 million colones from petty cash, that was used by the OIJ to carry out investigations.
A former prison guard is accused of bringing in cell phones for prisoners in the La Reforma maximum security prison in Alajueal. Photo OIJ.
In the second, the former prison guard, identified by his last name, Vega, was arrested on Thursday by OIJ officials, suspected of introducing cellular phones to La Reforma prison.
The preliminary report by the OIJ reveals that Vega, stationed in the Alajuela maximum security prison, allegedly offered prisoners, for ¢40,000 colones, to get a cellular phone to them in the prison. Once a prisoner accepted the deal, Vega would arrange for the phone to be delivered to his home in Puntarenas and then bring it into the prison without detection. Vega quit on July 29. Investigators believe that at least 7 phones were smuggled into the prison, the last on July 28.
In the third, the OIJ reports the arrest of a security guard at the MOPT yard in Cañas, on suspicion of stealing at least one motorcycle confiscated by the Traffic police.
The arrest of the man identified by his last name, Brenes, was on Wednesday after OIJ agents raided is house, located some 3 blocks from his workplace. According to the OIJ report, for months there had been reports of theft of confiscated motorcycles stored at the Guanacaste yard.
The B area of La Reforma prison in Alajuela, houses 617 inmates, when its actual capacity is 352 inmates. | JORGE ARCE
Currently, 617 prisoners are housed in the cell block B of La Reforma prison in Alajuela, when its actual capacity is 352. Photo Jorge Arce, La Nacion.
(QCOSTARICA) By order of a judge, the Ministry of Justice is forced to remove 200 prisoners from B block of the La Reforma prison, Costa Rica’s maximum security prison, located in San Rafael de Alajuela.
The inmates will be relocated in other prisons or, well, in semi-institutional care centres (half-way houses), where they would have to sleep one or more nights a week.
The ruling by Xinia Solís Pomares of the Ejecución de la Pena de Alajuela, criticized the overcrowding at the prison, the judge explaining that there were 617 prisoners in a cell block with a capacity of 352.
“Prolonged confinement ends up affecting the functioning of the senses, but in cramped conditions, sensory distortions are even higher,” said the judge.
The judge’s order also bans “indefinitely” more prisoners to the detention centre. And in addition to the relocation of the prisons, the Justice ministry is also required to make repairs to area, within a maximum period of one month.
Judge Solis, in criticism of prison administration, added “it seems that the (prison) administration paints the picture of a situation that is hopeless and resigns itself in considering that it is not responsible for the uncontrolled growth of the prison population.”
Reynalso Villalobos, director of Adaptacion Social (prisons), said that they will try to relocate some of the prisoners (of cell block B) to other cell blocks of the prison.
This is not the first time a judge has ordered a prisoner release or even the closing of a prison.
In August 2015 and in April of this year, the Ministry of Justice attempted to resolve prison overcrowding by releasing the “not dangerous” prisoners to halfway houses. This caused a negative reaction from legislators, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) and the public.
In July of this year a Judge ordered the closure of San Sebastian jail in San Jose for being a ‘giant black hole’.
On July 20 of this year, judge Roy Murillo of the Ejecución de la Pena de San Jose ordered the closure of the Unidad de Admisión de San Sebastián – the San Jose jail. The jail is exclusively for the dentention of persons accused of a crime and waiting trial and the convicted waiting for a spot in the prison system. The San Jose jail has an actual capacity of 559 people, but at July 6, had 1,278 prisoners. Of that population,1,144werewaiting their day in court and 134 already had a conviction.
Source: La Nacion
(Q24N) We hear people use Hispanic, Latino, and Spanish interchangeably when describing someone’s race, in actuality, all three terms mean very different things.
In this video by Bustle, Youtube personality Kat Lazo clarifies the difference.
In the video, Lazo says “Hispanic is basically based on whether you or your family speak the language of Spanish whereas Latino is focusing more on geographic location, that being Latin America.”
It’s important to note that just because people speak Spanish, it doesn’t mean they’re Spanish. It’s a language, and it’s also a term referring to nationality.
And there you have it. They may just be three words, but they pack quite a punch!
With an efficient transport service, taxi drivers and Uber could coexist, while the public would have the option to choose their preferred provider.
This could be achieved by, one, eliminating the excessive government regulation on fares and limiting the number of vehicles (concessions), while applying the same rules to protect the consumer; and two, taxi drivers would have to modernize the way they operate, such as applying apps similar to that used by Uber.
In this scenario, we would end the kind of situation that arose Tuesday, where for all accounts taxi drivers hurt themselves by angering hundreds of thousands of people. The video images and photos in the news media and social networks confirmed what the opinion by many of the taxi drivers.
While the Uber debate continues in many cities aren’t the globe, in Uruguay, Uber was declared legal. In China, Uber merged with the Chinese transportation network company headquartered in Beijing, that provides vehicles and taxis for hire in China via smartphone applications, Didi Chuxing.
(QCOSTARICA) In July, the consumer price index (CPI) recorded a monthly variation of 0.93%, placing annual inflation at 0.48%. The accumulated inflation so far this year is 0.94%.
The groups with the greatest contribution to the CPI in July 2016 were: Transport and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC) – the national statistics and census institute, in July 2016, of the 315 goods and services that make up the consumer basket (canasta basica in Spanish), 49% increased in price, 42% decreased in price and 9% had no change.
When analyzing the percentage changes of the twelve groups that comprise the index, it can be seen that the transport group is having a major effect on the variation of the general index.
In the last five years (2012 to 2016) the only negative cumulative percentage change from January to July was that of 2015, of -0.35%.
Rise in dollar. Economists attribute the resurgence of inflation to the increase of the dollar, which influences the cost of imported consumer goods and raw materials, affecting the value of production companies.
“With the information we have at this time (the rise in the consumer price index), is due to a temporary acceleration, probably related to the increase in the exchange rate. We have no information or evidence that this is going to sustain in the medium term”, said economist Hermann Hess.
(Q24N) The countries facing the greatest risk of fiscal unsustainability within three years are El Salvador and Honduras, followed by Costa Rica and with less risk, Nicaragua and Panama.
From the “Economic Outlook” section of the V Report on the State of the Region 2016:
With the data available on the non-financial public sector in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama, and of the Central Government in the cases of Guatemala and Honduras, debt sustainability based on the model developed by Deshon (2013) was analyzed.
With the time horizon of the year 2019, it was determined what conditions the countries will be in if:
the baseline scenario of public financing conditions is maintained as well as growth according to the projections for World Economic Outlook given by the IMF (2014, October),
there is an increase in the interest rate equivalent to one standard deviation of the average occurring in the 2010-2013 period,
tax revenues fall to the minimum level for the period 2010-2013, based on the baseline scenario, and
spending increases to the maximum observed between 2010 and 2013.
Texas Tech University announced an expanded global presence in the form of its new international campus, Texas Tech University Costa Rica.
Texas Tech University announced an expanded global presence in the form of its new international campus, Texas Tech University Costa Rica.
(Q24) Texas Tech University officials announced today the start of an exciting new chapter in the university’s growth: an expanded global presence in the form of its new international campus, Texas Tech University Costa Rica.
“This collaboration with our partners in Costa Rica will increase access to a Texas Tech education for students in Costa Rica and Central America. This project also supports the internationalization efforts at Texas Tech and advances our reputation and competitive position by preparing our graduates to live and work in different cultures,” Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec said. “Beyond the educational programs offered at Texas Tech University Costa Rica, there will be opportunities for our students and faculty to engage in international partnership and internships, research and study abroad.”
Texas Tech University Costa Rica will be completely self-sustaining and self-supported through revenue generated by student enrollment and revenues collected from Promerica Group, a highly reputable multinational conglomerate of companies operating throughout Central and Latin America.
“In Promerica, we believe the future of Costa Rica and Central America requires vision, leadership and 21st century skills in order to take our region to the next level,” said John Keith, director of Promerica Group. “The Texas Tech campus in Costa Rica will be a catalyst for progress, development and innovation. U.S. higher education engaging in Latin America can have a significant impact on the future growth of our emerging economies. We see Texas Tech as a leader in this regard and we are proud to be their partner.”
Initial program offerings include:
B.S. Electrical Engineering
B.S. Industrial Engineering
B.S. Computer Science
B.S. Mathematics
Dual B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics
B.S. Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management
Undergraduate certificate in Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management
Graduate certificate in Essentials of Business
The Texas Tech University center in Seville, Spain, facilitates Texas Tech students to study abroad, but Texas Tech University Costa Rica will be the university’s first degree-awarding international campus primarily serving students in that region.
In the last decade, international engagement increasingly has been a focus of Texas Tech. The university’s mission statement, adopted by the Board of Regents in May 2010, states: “The university is dedicated to student success by preparing learners to be ethical leaders for a diverse and globally competitive workforce. The university is committed to enhancing the cultural and economic development of the state, nation and world.” Texas Tech’s five-year Quality Enhancement Plan also focuses on international engagement with the theme “Bear Our Banners Far and Wide: Communicating in a Global Society.”
“Our flagship institution was founded with a vision of thinking on worldwide terms, and this endeavor strengthens Texas Tech’s mission of preparing global leaders and enriching cultures around the world,” said Texas Tech University System Chancellor Robert Duncan. “I congratulate and thank Dr. Schovanec and his team as well as our partners in Costa Rica for making possible this exciting expansion that will raise our international profile and increase opportunities for our students, faculty and higher education in a great country.”
The decision to place Texas Tech’s newest satellite campus in Costa Rica was not arbitrary. The country’s strategic location allows it to be a gateway to the rest of Latin America, yet still be easily reached from Texas. As the oldest democracy in the region, Costa Rica shares a cultural affinity with the United States as well as a tradition of stability. And it has a bright future ahead; more than 250 high-tech multinational companies already operate there, and its educational system is one of the best in Latin America.
“In a global community, the internationalization of U.S. higher education across borders is the new frontier. Texas Tech’s global outreach, starting in Costa Rica, has the potential to make a difference and be a game changer in Central America and beyond,” said Jack J. Bimrose, director of EDULINK, a subsidiary of Promerica Group. “University education in the United States is valued and admired worldwide, and we believe it has the unique power to change the lives and futures of students, families, communities, nations and the world. Our group chose Texas Tech as our academic partner on the basis of its high quality programs, outstanding reputation, commitment to international engagement and visionary leadership.”
Texas Tech University Costa Rica plans to open for Spring 2018.
(QCOSTRARICA) According to a recent study, the 4G market share in Costa Rica is expected to reach 23% of the mobile market in 2020, up from the current 5%.
Pyramid Research says penetration of 4G is expected to reach 1.89 million subscriptions, up from 420,000, in a study prepared for industry association 5G Americas.
Smartphone sales in Costa Rica are expected to total 882,000 in 2020 up from the 232,000 Pyramid estimates for 2016.
Costa Rica’s state-owned operator ICE (operating under the Kolbi brand) last year pledged to invest US$19.9 million dollars on network expansion by the end of 2016 and said mobile customers with LTE-enabled handsets could migrate to 4G for free while prepaid (prepago in Spanish) users would have to sign up to a data plan
Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo daughter of Rosario Murillo and step-daughter of Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua's power couple . Foto: Albert Marín, La Nacion
Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo daughter of Rosario Murillo and step-daughter of Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s power couple. Foto: Albert Marín, La Nacion
From her “self-exile”, Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo believes that the concentration of power held by her mother and step-father will affect Costa Rica.
The 45 year old sociologist, daughter of Nicaragua’s power couple, Rosario Murillo and president Daniel Ortega, who settled in Costa Rica some three years ago, when the government expelled her common-law husband, a Bolivian national who worked at the NGO she headed.
Zoilamérica has been fighting against her step-father for almost two decades, filing complaints of rape and abuse against him, charges that were buried by the courts.
Now, that her mother was appointed vice-presidential candidate in the upcoming November presidential election, a move many believe is one step closer for Murillo to become president and continue the Ortega dynasty in Nicaragua, Zoilamérica says the concentration of power, could have an effect on Costa Rica.
Zoilamérica believes that Costa Rica could see more Nicaraguans, excluded from the social and economic policies, seeking refuge here.
“In Nicaragua, it is not beneficial not to share a party structure at a neighbourhood or community level…ultimately, political exclusion will mean forced migration,” said Zoilamérica.
“When you arrive in Nicaragua by land or air, the first thing you see is advertising of ‘solidarity’ for the Party that has a control on the media,” added Zoilamérica.
“The mega publicity, as it is known in business and political marketing, is intended to generate an effect almost of omnipotence, supreme power. And I think many people in Nicaragua, so painful it is to see the country out of one dictatorship and to enter another (…),” continued Zoilamérica in her interview with La Nacion.
However, not all is pessimism. Zoilamérica is positive that the power couple’s reign on her native land won’t be for long.
“There are brave people there and also my fervent hope that where there seems to be no signs, we are seeing symptoms that show the deep weakness of this regime and the absolute illegitimacy that it is reaching…I will return to a Nicaragua free in less time than we think.
“We do not need heroes. Nicaragua does not need heroes, nor saviors. And how is it going to be saved? From a slogan of the (Sandinista) Revolution, ‘only the people can save the people’, and I believe it more today than ever, of course it is still an act of hope, there are leaders we do not see in newspapers or propagandizing in public, but who have been able to articulate,” said Zoilamérica.
Cuban and Haitian migrants board a boat to Capurgana, on the Caribbean Gulf of Uraba (northwestern Colombia) to enter illegally into Panama through the jungle, on Saturday 6 August. (AFP)
(QCOSTARICA) Costa Rica in “concerned” over Wednesday’s decision by Panama allowing migrants to cross the border, while it struggles around 2,500 migrants already in the country, at the Panama and Nicaragua border.
Cuban and Haitian migrants board a boat to Capurgana, on the Caribbean Gulf of Uraba (northwestern Colombia) to enter illegally into Panama through the jungle. (AFP)
Yesterday, Panamanian president Juan Carlos Varela, said that migrants arriving in Panama from Colombia will be received by local authorities and will be allowed to continue north into Costa Rica, as part of their journey to the United States.
“The border is closed to irregular migrants, but to those have already entered the country from areas such the Darien jungle, we will offer humanitarian assistance to allow them to follow their route,” said Varela.
“Panama is not going to allow anyone who has already crossed into our country to die on our land,” said the president during a public event.
Some 2,500 migrants are in Costa Rica, arriving from Panama and South America, hoping to continue their journey north, with the United States their final destination.
Many of the migrants are from Haiti (pretending to be Africans) and Africa, with some also from Cuba and Asian countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Varela explained that there are different points of control and assistance to migrants, besides the camp being built in the town of Metetí (province of Darien) where Panamanian authorities identify the migrants and provide them food and health services. “What it is is a humanitarian corridor,” said Varela, who added that two Colombians were arrested on charges of human trafficking.
“Costa Rica has been very generous, but is now overburdened. Many of the migrants stranded here have sold everything they have to pay for what they hoped would be a journey to a better life. Many are traumatized by abuse suffered and some want to go home, but do not have the resources,” said the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) mission in Costa Rica, Roeland de Wilde.
With Nicaragua’s border still closed to the migrants, getting through Nicaragua is proving extremely difficult for the migrants, some of whom have paid upwards of US$1,000 to coyotes (smugglers), many getting scammed in their attempt.
(Q24N) Joel Campbell’s days as an Arsenal player are looking increasingly numbered. Arsene Wenger has packed his squad with midfield quality and must ship out some of his fringe players if he wants to keep a happy, balanced squad. Campbell lost his place in the first team to Alex Iwobi towards the end of last season and will come into the new campaign well down the pecking order.
Despite the Costa Rican claiming his future at the Emirates is secure, a move back to La Liga is looking the most likely future destination. However, if Campbell wants to make the most of his considerable talents then he should do everything in his power to stay in the Premier League.
Recent studies have proven that the Premier League is much more competitive than La Liga. Home teams in England have the lowest win percentage compared to any other division, with away sides boasting a 31% win rate, second only to the German Bundesliga. On the other hand, home sides in Spain win 48% of the time, putting them joint top of the home win percentage table with Belgium.
Home sides tend to use possession based football to dominate games in front of their home crowd, so it’s no surprise to see Spain top of that list, as the style of football played by the majority of La Liga clubs is very one-dimensional. Away teams in England have found ways to overcome possession football. They have become extremely adept at sitting back, not allowing home sides to pass the ball around them and when they do finally get their feet on the ball, they utliste counter-attacks to hit the home side on the break.
Just look at the Champions Leicester. The Foxes ranked 18th in terms of possession and also had the lowest pass completion rate in the entire division. But they found a way to win the title, by being extremely well organised and packing their team with pacey, attacking options.
Joel Campbell is very quick, powerful and direct. A style perfectly suited to the counter-attacking tactics used by many Premier League teams. True, he has shown he can fit in well with a possession based team like Arsenal, but if he moved to another English team he could have a much greater impact on the division. I’m sure he wouldn’t be short of suiters, with plenty of Premier League clubs crying out for a pacey winger of Campbell’s quality and I’m sure, once he does decide to stay in England, that he will flourish into a top quality attacking midfielder and take his game to a whole new level.
(CONFIDENTIAL) Have you had a chance to see Suicide Squad (Escuadrón Suicida)? Did you know that some of the jungle scenes in movie that is currently playing in Costa Rica, were actually shot in the Costa Rica jungle?
No?
This was confirmed by local film producer Sergio Miranda, who provided exclusive details about the shooting in Costa Rica.
According to Miranda, a total of three scenes were filmed on Costa Rican soil, all appear right at the beginning of the film when the character presentation June Moone, the archeologist played by Cara Delevingne.
Miranda says one of the scenes was filmed at the Hacienda Sueño Azul in Horquetas de Sarapiquí. The location has a hotel and private reserve, the others on private property in and around the Ruta 32.
This is a great potential opportunity for the country, that according to Miranda, Costa Rica has great advantages to be promoted as a destination for audiovisual production. An activity that can not only provide large amount of foreign exchange, but also can become a great engine for tourism.
Suicide Squad is not the only movie to use scenes filmed in Costa Rica. In the last several years, several productions took place in the country, a notable one is After Earth with Will Smith, filmed in La Fortuna de San Carlos. More of the productions in Costa Rica are listed on Miranda’s website, Costa Rica Production Services.
Photos of the accident from Policias de Costa Rica.
(QCOSTARICA) It was on the night of March 17 of this year. The scenario Pavas, in the area a few blocks from the National Stadium. A street race was on. But this time it would end different than the others. A young woman would up losing both her legs.
Daryl Andrea Aguilar Cruz, 23, was a spectator of this controversial sport that the traffic police have been unable to curb. She was sitting on the sidewalk in the company of friends, when the car driven by Frech Salameh, 20, hits another car not involved in the race.
Frech loses control of his vehicle, hitting the young woman. In hospital, the following day, doctors at the Trauma Centre of the Hospital Mexico, in La Uruca, had to amputate her legs.
Photos of the accident from Policias de Costa Rica.
According to immigration records, the Frech, blamed for causing the serious injury and wanted for careless driving, had left the country, crossing into Nicaragua on March 18.
The young woman said she holds no grudges against the young man, telling the press, “I was there (watching the street races) because I wanted to.” However, the prosecution confirms that in June she filed charges against Frech.
On Tuesday, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) reported on Monday, that Frech had detained in Jordan, on August 3, by Interpol acting on an international warrant issued by Costa Rica, whe he tried to enter that country.
Daryl Andrea Aguilar Cruz, on March 21, 2016, talking to the press from her hospital bed. Doctors at the Trauma Centre of the Hospital Mexico, in La Uruca, had to amputed both her legs a result of her injuries. Photo Marcela Bertozzi
Given than Costa Rica does not have extradition with Jordan, on Tuesday, the Attorney General asked the Criminal Court of Pavas to authorize the extradition of Frech. The Pavas court has yet to rule on the request.
Meanwhile, Frech is being held by Jordan authorities, waiting on Costa Rica authorities to officially send the extradition request.
Costa Rica's leading Spanish language newspaper, La Nacion, calls taxi drivers in yesterday's protest "Big Losers". Photo
(QCOSTARICA) The leading daily Spanish language newspaper, La Nacion, calls the taxi drivers that blocked the streets on Tuesday in a protest against Uber, the big losers of their own making.
Costa Rica’s leading Spanish language newspaper, La Nacion, calls taxi drivers in yesterday’s protest “Big Losers”. Photo
The blockades of major routes in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) of San Jose began shortly after 5:00am, but by noon, it was all over. The quick and decisive action of the national police and traffic police, kept the protesters under control.
In total, some 3,000 Fuerza Publica and 300 Transito officials took part in the operations in various part of the city, from the outskirts of the international airport, to San Pedro where the most violent actions took place, to Curridabat where the majority of arrests and vehicle seizures took place.
The leader of the taxi movement, Ruben Vargas, called off the protest after hundreds gathered in front of the regulating authority offices in Guachipelin, announcing they had gotten a meeting (for next Monday) with the regulator.
Ruben Vargas, leader of the taxi drivers movement, outside the Aresep in Escazu.
However, what seems to have influenced the taxistas to cut their protest short may be the arrest of 75 taxi drivers, the seizure of 33 vehicles and the issuing of 119 traffic fines.
71 drivers of the drivers arrested with charged with minor offences (a fine basically and set free), the other four, however, face criminal charges. In addition, all have their concession permits in question and the those who had their vehicles seized face the trials and frustrations of getting them back. In all cases, all suffered economic losses.
The fact, that the government of Luis Guillermo Solis stayed firm in that there would be no dialogue if there were blockades and violence, many have also influenced the call to end the protest that was to have lasted all day.
To save face, supported by jeers of his fellow taxi driver, Vargas was adamant that, if the dialogue with the regulator doesn’t go well, they will be back, the next time “ready for war”.
Foreigners lending a helping hand to shuck cocoa in a small farm located in Matastal (south of Puriscal) Costa Rica. Photo by Rico, QCostarica
Foreigners lending a helping hand to shuck cocoa in a small farm located in Matastal (south of Puriscal) Costa Rica. Photo by Rico
(QCOSTARICA) In order to take advantage of the growing global demand for cocoa (cacao in Spanish) and fine chocolates, in the last three years the number of hectares dedicated to the cultivation of cocoa in the country went from 3169 to 4000.
Supporting efforts to obtain a high-quality grain, local producers are increasing acreage and diversifying final products, in order to export cocoa not only in its whole grain or chopped format, but also products such as chocolate, cocoa butter, liqueurs and other things.
Oscar Brenes, manager of the National Cocoa Program at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), told Nacion.com that “… during the last three years there has been a revival in the cultivation of this fruit thanks to more consumers being interested in a product with the qualities that we have in the country. ”
Cocoa small farm located in Matastal (south of Puriscal) Costa Rica. Photo by Rico
Figures from the Business Intelligence unit at CentralAmericaData com indicate that in 2013 the country exported 1962 tons, with a value of $7,845,319, in comparison, in 2015 the value of exports amounted to $10,185,865, with a total of 2,923 tons.
“… Increased demand for higher quality cocoa is also being felt by producers and traders of cocoa and its derivatives. Such are the cases of Nahua, Finca La Anita and Sibú Chocolates. ‘There is a preference worldwide for the finest products, if consumers want more fine chocolates or cocoa there is an opportunity. Cocoa from Costa Rica has unique notes, for example, Upala has notes of caramel but it also has advantages because of social and environmental aspects’, said Juan Pablo Buchert, owner of Nahua. ”
Among the main target markets for exports of this grain produced in Costa Rica are the Netherlands (31%), Panama (28%), Honduras (20%), Germany (8%), and Japan and the US (5% each).
Egina Sama (26) and Emensa Angela (30). Congo. “We have not eaten or slept well in weeks. We traveled by boat to Ecuador from the Congo with our children in our arms and we went up through the jungle with them until we reached Panama. We want to go to the United States to work.”
Dozens of Haitians crowd along a small breakfast table to secure a plate of beans and rice with shredded meat. Photos by Ariana Crespo
(By María Fernanda Cruz y Ariana Crespo, Vozdeguanacaste.com) Time creeps by slowly at the San Dimas shelter where hundreds of Haitians and Africans wait day after day for a miracle to open the closed border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, just 5 kilometers away.
In a 500-square-meter common room mats compete for space with scattered baby pacifiers, diapers, food and small pieces of luggage whose only contents are a few photographs of what were once passports. Mothers bathe their children in sinks while others wash dishes next to them. Some pass the time brushing their hair. Others blankly stare at cellphones for hours on end.
Washing clothes is one of the main activities in the community hall. The migrants take advantage of the entire perimeter and the neighbors’ fences to hang their garments.
On a recent Wednesday in July, the goal of most of the people here was just getting through another day. It has been that way for three months, when the local municipality’s emergency commission opened this shelter.
“I don’t even know what day it is,” says Sammuel, a Nigerian whose badly burned skin tells the story of pain and suffering at the hands of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. One day, the terrorists stormed his church, setting it ablaze and burning the Christian worshippers inside.
For Sammuel, time has stood still since the decision by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Nov. 15, 2015 to close its border with Costa Rica to the waves of migrants gathering here – first Cubans, and now Haitians and Africans. Sammuel has failed three times to cross Nicaragua’s border by attempting to trek across the rugged mountain forest. He lost $3,000 to smugglers in the process, and now he says he will try no more. But he also says he has nothing left to lose.
The others here are in limbo, too, with no money to return to their own countries or to try their luck with smugglers. Going back home, where they were poor to begin with or where they faced death threats, isn’t an option. They have WhatsApp messages and Facebook photos to prove their stories to anyone who will listen.
The Costa Rican government is keenly aware of the migrants’ plight. Communications Minister Mauricio Herrera says this new wave of migrants hopes for similar treatment as the Cubans received, but it’s simply not possible.
“We can’t deport them, we can’t provide them an air bridge, and Nicaragua won’t let them cross. We can’t do anything with them,” Herrera says.
Two weeks after this interview, the government has begun a process of detaining and deporting them to their countries of origin. Borders also have been closed to new migrants without proper documentation because Costa Rica lacks the resources to process them, according to President Luis Guillermo Solís.
La Cruz, already ranked as Costa Rica’s second to last canton in terms of social development, now faces another challenge: The migrants here want to leave, but they can’t.
Doing What They Can
Egina Sama (26) and Emensa Angela (30). Congo. “We have not eaten or slept well in weeks. We traveled by boat to Ecuador from the Congo with our children in our arms and we went up through the jungle with them until we reached Panama. We want to go to the United States to work.”
Muinga Mirielle is one of the cooks from the Haitian group. In the kitchen, they call her “Sexy” because she moves very gracefully. Alongwith two other Haitian women, she prepares three pots of rice and beans to feed about 150 people.
After waiting for two hours for the Haitians to finish using the kitchen, the group of Africans serve a dish of food in a very orderly fashion. The dish from Senegal, called Farci, contains onion, garlic, pepper, rice, meat and egg.The Government estimates that 300 people are living in this shelter, including men, women and their children.
It’s 3 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon in July and Red Cross paramedic Christopher Elizondo tries – and fails – to organize the tumultuous group that simultaneously shouts, laughs and cries while they eat.
This is the closest that Christopher and other members of the community of Las Vueltas de La Cruz will get to the violence and chaos caused by Boko Haram, or to the repression against those who speak freely in Ethiopia, or to the extreme hunger faced by countless Haitians after the devastating earthquake of 2010.
In this neighborhood, with its dozens of humble homes built with government bonds, some neighbors are concerned for their security. Others try to help with what they can, loaning a cellphone charger, withdrawing money from Western Union or bringing a simple cup of coffee.
“I let them (the migrants) camp here in my yard because it’s not a bother at all,” says Yuzel Rodríguez, who lives next to the shelter. “I heard the local (development) association was going around collecting signatures to remove them, but as I said before, I’m not signing anything.”
Other locals worry about the spread of dengue, Zika and other diseases they worry the migrants might bring with them or that could proliferate in the stagnant water accumulating at the entrance of the neighborhood, a large, green breeding ground for mosquitoes.
But at the shelter not a single mosquito is found, thanks to fumigation efforts by the Health Ministry. The only buzz here are the stories of horror – families who have hiked for six days through the rugged and unforgiving Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, and the months-long journey on boats from Africa. Others have fled Brazil, where they once worked but had to leave because of the economic downturn there.
The Journey
Mitta, 25. Ethiopia. “(Between Colombia and Panama) I hiked for six days through the mountains, it rained constantly, I lost my documents, but I arrived. In Nicaragua, on the other hand, they leave you in the jungle and you have to find soldiers because you’re dying of thirst. They don’t say a word, but they send you back without any money”.
Fallou Sourang. Senegal. “I got to Costa Rica seven months ago. I was among the first migrants. In Africa, I worked as a salesperson and earned about $350. I paid $400 to a coyote (term used for someone who smuggles people across the border) to take me to Nicaragua. He ended up stealing everything from me.”
Tabit Rodulf, 30. Cameroon. “I just want to keep walking, keep going. Going to America has been my dream since I was a child. I am an engineer and I supervised works in Cameroon. I want to work to send money to my wife. I spent a week in the jungle without food and cut off from communication. If I had known what was waiting for me, I never would never come.”Mohammed Awal. Frank Boadi Nyaneke. Ghana. Awal: “I studied journalism and communication at Kumasi Technical University. When I finished college, I did not have work and I decided to start giving talks in schools and colleges. Although the constitution in my country guarantees freedom of expression, few people have the courage to criticize the government. I do and that is why I started receiving threatening messages via Whatsapp and Facebook.” Nyaneke: “I had my own bar. I used the back part of it as a meeting place for the gay community because it is illegal and dangerous there. When neighbors found out, they burned the bar and my house and threatened to kill me.”
Mitta opens her mouth to reveal badly infected gums. The gap where two teeth had been is now filled with swollen flesh that causes her jaw to bulge and forces her to chew her words before she speaks them.
Now 25, she says she fled Ethiopia six years ago after she began to speak out against the government.
“I said what I felt,” she says in English, dragging out the vowels. “They were going to kill my parents if I stayed there.”
Her journey led her to Brazil, where she worked in a hair salon. But she had to leave there, too, when two men began fighting over her attention and threatened to kill her. From Brazil she traveled to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
–What was the most difficult part of the journey?
–Reaching Nicaragua.
Although there is a large police barrier preventing undocumented migrants from crossing into Costa Rica from Panama, the southern border is porous, and there are even some stores where you enter in one country and leave in another, says Herrera, the communications minister.
“Last week between 100 and 150 people entered (Costa Rica) each day. That’s unsustainable for a small country like Costa Rica,” he says.
At Paso Canoas, on Costa Rica’s southern border, undocumented migrants are placed under an immigration protocol that allows them 25 days in the country. Officials take their fingerprints and try to determine their identities, and a basic medical checkup is offered. All of the country’s community health clinics, known as Ebáis, in these areas of migration are under orders to administer care to the migrants.
–I’m in a lot of pain, so much pain, but I don’t want paracetamol for my teeth. The government has been good to us, but I don’t want to stay here. I want to continue to the United States.
–Do you have someone waiting there for you?
–No, I don’t have anyone.
–What do you hope to find in the United States?
–Education. I want to study politics to liberate my country.I want freedom for my people.
But wanting something requires an unimaginable degree of patience when hope is so illusory. As their watches strike 10 p.m., some migrants retire to bed. Sammuel takes pills to relieve his muscle pain and lies down on a foam mat with a blanket over his face. Next to him, a Muslim man quietly prays. Tomorrow is another day – one that most likely will be the same as today.
(by Henry Morales, Vozdeguanacaste.com) Two new legislative proposals are contributing to efforts by the community of Nosara to prevent drowning at local beaches, as well as crocodile attacks and environmental damage caused by both outsiders and local residents.
One of the proposals is a bill to create a National Lifeguard Corps, while the other is a program to recruit ad honorem environmental custodians.
Although Tourism Police and members of the coast guard currently patrol the beaches, the lifeguard proposal would provide more resources to government agencies for the training of additional personnel to keep beachgoers safe.
Technical studies would be conducted on various beaches to determine their level of danger and warning signs would be placed as needed, said Nogui Acosta, an aide to lawmaker Luis Vásquez, the bill’s main sponsor.
The Legislative Assembly is expected to discuss the proposed legislation as the safety of tourists continues to be threatened by growing populations of crocodiles at Guanacaste beaches and drowning deaths of tourists, including experienced swimmers.
Last year, for example, a 56-year-old Canadian man died at Playa Barrigona, near Sámara and Nosara. According to a friend of the victim, the man was an experienced swimmer, but emergency response time was too slow.
Days after the incident, National Police delegation chief Jorge Jiménez told The Voice of Guanacaste that his officers are not trained in aquatic rescue or how to react to these types of accidents.
If the bill passes, the National Lifeguard Commission would be composed of representatives from the Red Cross, the Costa Rican Tourism Board, the Public Security Ministry, tourism chambers and the Costa Rican Coast Guard.
Municipalities would be tasked with hiring squads of full-time, trained personnel and providing them with resources, equipment and budgets.
Marco Ávila, president of the Nosara Development Association, said the bill is badly needed.
“(The bill) would be a very good thing because in Nosara there is no signage or lifeguards with proper equipment. There are also numerous crocodiles in the Nosara River where many people bathe. Yet there are no preventive measures in place,” Ávila said.
Protecting Natural Resources
Another measure that would aid Nosara and other communities near refuges and national parks is a decree calling for the creation of Natural Resources Vigilance Committees, or COVIRENAS. The decree was signed by President Luis Guillermo Solís and Environment Minister Edgar Gutiérrez on July 25 in Nicoya.
Those interested in becoming ad honorem environmental custodians should present a formal request to a local office of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) or to the Department of Prevention, Protection and Control at SINAC’s executive secretariat.
Better organization could help prevent crimes such as theft of animals or plants from protected areas and illegal logging. In Costa Rica, Guanacaste is the province most affected by illegal logging, according to the most recent report by the Environment Ministry, published in June.
The COVIRENAS decree takes effect once it is published in the official government newspaper La Gaceta. The National Lifeguard Commission bill is expected to enter into discussion in the Assembly in coming days.
(TICO BULL) The hooligans, also known as official taxi drivers or ‘taxistas’ in Spanish were out in full force this morning, in their intent on bringing the government of Luis Guillermo Solis to its knees, for being soft on NOT stopping Uber.
The taxistas, for the longest time, have been a force to be reckoned with. Nobody has wanted to mess with them. They have shown over and over they can quickly unite in a single cause, be it against Uber or in an assault on one of their own.
But today was different. From the early hours, the President, his Security Minister, Chief of the Fuerza Publica (police) and the Policia de Transito (traffic police), among others, began their day early, around 4:30am, hours ahead of the planned start of the taxi protest, to set in a motion a quick and decisive plan of action against the threatened violence.
And so it was. Within minutes of hitting the streets the police were on them. In San Pedro, by the San Pedro mall, the favourite location for most protests, some of the taxistas literally hit the ground when taxi blocked the intersection and a small group started beating on a police officer, cutting his lip and knocking out three teeth, in the first (and as it turns out the only serious) confrontation.
In the area of the airport, as on the Ruta 27 by Escazu and in the area of La Galera (Curridabat on the east side) the riot squads quickly moved the taxis to a side, making room for vehicles to pass. It was slow, but the blockade was broken. Authorities showed their muscles, they weren’t afraid of the hooligans.
President Solis stood by his word, refusing to talk if there blockades and violence. Even the regulator of public services would only set a meeting for next Monday after hundres of taxistas gathered in front of the Guachipelin offices.
In the end, 78 taxistas were arrested, 33 vehicles seized and 119 drivers fined for all kinds of infractions, from blocking traffic to not having their vehicle’s paperwork in order, even some with expired drivers licenses.
At noon the television cameras could only repeat what had happened in the morning, as there were no blockades, and the only taxis on the roads where the ones working, picking up fares.
This had never happened before.
The brave men and women of the Fuerza Publica and Policia de Transito did their job well, they have to be given much of the credit, mobilizing quickly, stopping the hooligans before things really got out of hands. A job well done.
To save face and keeping in line their hooligan mentality, a number of taxi drivers promised to be back, the next time ready for “war”.
The meal of the day at La Galeria soda. Exclusive photo the Q
The lunch counter in La Galeria, between Avenida 2 and Avenida Central, offers up some of the best San Jose street food.
(QCOSTARICA) Though San Jose may not be on the CNN list of the “World’s 23 best cities for street food”, you can get some great food on the streets of San Jose, but, you have to really look for it.
San Jose typically doesn’t have street vendors, “street food” is usually under roof, in a soda and in the mercados (markets). This is not “food court” food, the sodas and mercados are an acquired experience.
The Copo, a shaved ice treat, is a favourite street food in Costa Rica, found nearly on every beach in Costa Rica, but difficult to find in San Jose.
So, what are the world’s best cities for street food, according to CNN?
Marrakesh, Morocco
Marrakesh is the street food capital of Morocco, offering everything from camel spleen kebabs to deep-fried sesame cookies.
Bangkok, Thailand
Few cities can rival Bangkok when it comes to street food variety and quality. Spicy noodles, glistening rice porridge, tender pork legs — all can be had for a handful of change and minimal fuss.
Bali, Indonesia
The best satay sticks in Bali are marinated in turmeric, barbecued over coals and then coated with a generous dose of peanut sauce.
Beijing, China
Jiumen Snack Street and Wangfujing Snack Street (pictured) are two popular destinations for tourists looking for a street food extravaganza. Unusual treats include grilled seahorse and scorpion skewers.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawaii doesn’t only dish out creative street cuisine. It also has a thriving food truck culture with interesting truck designs.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Some of the best banh mi sandwiches, one of Vietnam’s most loved exports, can be found on the sidewalk in Ho Chi Minh City.
Hong Kong
You know it’s a legit street food city when the Michelin Guide debuted a street food category there. A crispy Hong Kong-style egg waffle is one of the city’s favorites.
Cairo, Egypt
Travelers can explore a whole new world of street snacks in Cairo beyond just falafel and shawarma.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Coconut water and tropical fruit juice popsicles are some of the ideal foods to get when visiting Rio de Janeiro
Mumbai, India
Living in Mumbai, where there’s an unbelievable array of cheap eats in the streets, is both a treat and a threat to one’s waistline.
Sydney, Australia
The Sydney Fish Market is a wonderful place to get fresh seafood. Peter’s Seafood Cafe cooks it in its shop window.
Tokyo, Japan
Home to more Michelin-starred restaurants than any city in the world, Tokyo’s street food — be it raw or cooked — is hard to beat.
Rome, Italy
Gelato time in Rome is definitely an Instagrammable moment.
Paris, France
Delicious street food. Delicious views. That’s Paris.
Portland, Oregon
A churro sundae from Churros Locos, a venue in one of the hippest street food cities, Portland.
