by Rod Hughes

Here it is, not even New Year’s Eve yet, and already 40 drivers have had their cars confiscated because of inebriation—Including one who set a new record: 4 milligrams of alcohol per liter of blood, fully four times the .49 level to legally drive.

A 29-year-old man named Camacho was stopped Wednesday at a roadblock at Plaza Gonzalez Viquez just south of downtown San Jose. When he said he did not know how to exhale into the breathaliser, the cops showed him. But Camacho refused to accept the results, claiming the machine was “rigged.’

Police took a blood test but Traffic Police director German Marin says he cannot give an exact figure. “”These aparatuses do not register higher than four milligrams… because it’s assumed that any higher will induce coma.” By then, even the traffic cops could not trust the results, so an officer accompanied Camacho in taxi to a nearby private hospital, Clinica Biblica, for another blood test, which confirmed the incredible figure.

Camacho signed a release at the hospital to abandon his Honda Accord, which was towed away to a police compund. Camacho went home by taxi.

(At least, we presime Camacho went home and not to another bar. He could have explained to police that he had to drive—he was too drunk to walk!)

by Rod Hughes

The Supreme Elections Tribunal, placed in charge of referendums by the enabling legislation passed in 2006, has received five requests to mount nationwide voting on varied issues but has so far approved only one, the referendum that approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

Two were rejected outright: a plea to clarify the boundry between Guanacaste and Puntarenas provinces in the Gulf of Nicoya and a claification of marine and terrestrial divisions in Golfito on the southern Pacific coast. Both were considered purely local issues by the tribunal, not national concerns.

Two other issues are pending, one characterized by Magistrate Eugenia Zamora as “a little odd.” It would define the boundry between Costa Rica and Nicaragua which some cartographers and border residents say is marked incorrectly in some places. But the bizaare aspect is that the same proposal contains a requisite that each service window of the Social Security (Caja) health offices would have a bail of holy water. Zamora assumes this is aimed at inducing the Caja officials to give better service.

The difficulty about the boundry referendum is that it would require consultation of both countries’ voters, but so far the proposition has been referred back (with a straight face) to the gentleman offering it so he can remedy certain “procedural problems.”

The other proposal has environmental groups busily gathering the requisite number of signatures to vote on two bills currently stalled in congress.

by Rod Hughes

Crimes in which firearms are used may receive more severe sentences than those which do not, if Independent congress woman Evita Arguedas is able to get her bill passed in the Legislative Assembly. She would also see the courts more severely punish repeat offenders and crimes committed against residences when the family is home.

The bill is similar to that of many states in the United States but in years past Costa Rican lawmakers have not seen the need because such crimes utilizing guns have not been common. But in the first six months of this year, 125 of the 166 homicides committed were with the use of firearms. In the past five months, police have confiscated 2,600 firearms, including AK-47 fully automatic rifles.

Civilian ownership of such weapons was, up until the 1980s, relatively rare here except for a few small caliber rifles for hunting in the rural areas. But during the Nicaraguan civil war, automatic weapons trickled over the border, often borne by wounded Contra rebels or Sandinista army regulars. They often “paid” for their treatment in the San Carlos hospital by giving doctors their automatic weapons and other arms.

Reputedly, one could buy an AK-47 for a few dollars at Ciudad Quesada at that time. Even after the Arias Peace Plan bore fruit, the guns floated around the country, easily finding their way into criminal hands. As violent crimes increased and drugs crept into the society, homeowner handguns became more common in urban areas, often with tragic results when children found them.

Firearm laws have been tightened up meanwhile so that ownership of automatic rifles, handgrenades and other war material are no longer legal in private hands.President Oscar Arias has even expressed a desire to eliminate automatic weapons from police possession but this is not likely to happen since the massacre and hostage standoff at the bank in Monteverde several years ago.

Arguedas’s reform of the Penal Code has the backing of Deputy Minister of Public Security Rafael Angel Gutierrez who especially likes the repeat offender clause. “This will be an opportunity to pass (the responsibility) ti the tribunals those individuals and have them judged from recidivism instead of seeing them released,” he said, voicing the bitter complaint of both police and crime victims.

The congresswoman has appealed to victims of violent crimes and their families to support the Penal Code reform as relatives of traffic accident victims did in support of the Traffic Bill when they flooded lawmakers with tens of thousands of signatures on petitions. La Nacion, the nation’s leading newspaper, cited as examples Flora Gonzalez and Jose Fabio Lopez who lost a daughter and a son, respectively, in assaults with firearms.

by Rod Hughes

Henry Raabe of Cartago had his worst day yesterday and could have lost his lead in the Tour of Costa Rica bibycle race if it had not been for the assistance of two able BCR-Puzza Hut teammates, Federico “Lico” Ramirez, who took the lead in the mountains to give him a breather and then, Jose Adrian Bonilla performed the same service.

Two days ago, Raabe appeared to have an unassailable lead but Francisco Colorado of the Greatwall team proved the hardier mountaineer, threatening to take away the lead in this, the penultimate state of the Tour.

by Rod Hughes

Heavy rains poured down all over the country Christmas Day but nowhere was hit heavier than the Atlantic slope. Flooding sent hundreds into emergency shelters and damaged roads and crops.

Reports of damage were slow to trickle in, but now they tell of four deaths, two missing in the Matina area on the Caribbean coast and two bridges swept away. More than 400 persons left their flooded homes.

The National Meteorological Institute said a change in weather today will alleviate the inclement conditions. Weather experts say that the rains are to be expected in December and January on the Caribbean and the flooding was not caused by hurricane conditions.

Four persons died when their vehicle was swept off the road and into a flooded ditch at La Perla, Siquirres, where 100 homes were flooded. Three dikes also suffered ruptures which added to the havoc.

by Rod Hughes

By long-cherished custom, the Christmas-New Year holidays are a signal for the natives to charge off to the beaches on both coasts, which usually means that there is no room at the inn there. But the tourist who did not know that or forgot and finds himself stuck in a Central Valley hotel still has alternatives.

After Christmas, usually Dec. 27, (tomorrow, as this is written) the streets of San Jose fill with horses instead of cars. This is the annual tope, the horse parade. Usually 2-3,000 horses are brought in from all over the country and a word of warning: If your taste does not run to horseflesh, you will be mightily bored after the first 10 minutes. Unfortunately, very few riders are attired in colorful costumes, but a few are.

Worse, if you find yourself isolated from your car or hotel by the parade, you will be out of luck because the police are strict about crossing the street lest you be trampled. On the other hand, horse lovers will be enchanted and almost all the horses are well-behaved and in better physical shape than their riders.

Another alternative is the carnival at Zapote, a suburb of the capital. It begins in the afternoon and is held through Christmas and finishes usually New Year’s Day. There are rides on various machines and stalls where one can buy (usually) typical food. Although we do not recommend buying food from street vendors, Zapote is an exception, carefully supervised by the Health Ministry. Infractions of sanitary regulations result in immediate closure of the stall.

An evening event is the bullfighting (really, bull-baiting) at the temporary stadium (Redondel in Spanish) where young sports playing tag with bulls the size of Caterpilar tractors. The are a few demonstrations of traditional bullfighting but, unlike in Spain and Mexico, the bulls are not harmed. Main event is a bloodless sport where men race around a single bull in the ring, trying to pull his tail or do some other indignity to the fierce animal.

This reporter is an animal lover who cannot abide cruelty but the bulls seem to enjoy the whole affair and are not left in the ring for more than about 15 minutes. Some are not even breathing heavily when they are finally roped by men on horseback and dragged off. Unlike the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, no deaths of man nor beast as been recorded in the Redondel although some broken bones are suffered by the more intrepid–or slower–celebrants.

Rodeo clowns stand by to help distract the bull in case someone trips for the animal succeeds in running down a young man. Police try to keep out of the ring anyone who has over-consumed “liquid courage” enough to be coordination- or judgment-impared.

The downtown restaurant Balcon de Europa has historic photos on its walls, including one of a last-century reveler suffering the removal of his trousers by a bull’s horn. In Costa Rica, the bull sometimes has the last word.

by Rod Hughes

One of the most difficult adjustments foreigners must make at Christmas here is the sound of explosions. No, it isn’t a Latin American revolution—Costa Rica’s last civil violence was in 1948 and after that, they swore off completely. The tradition is to set off fireworks in the neighborhood, which many from countries where the loudest sound heard in the holidays are carollers’ songs, may consider barbaric.

So when La Nacion, the nation’s largest paper, announced this morning that fireworks vendors were bemoaning low sales, gringos and Europeans have a tendency to cheer—quietly. Unfortunately for them—and this reporter is one of them—sales have a tendency to pick up after Christmas. Peace on earth–BANG!—good will toward men—BAM! Meanwhile, your terrified dog is trying to take cover under the Christmas tree…

So, in a country accused of adopting North American customs slavishly—after all, Santa Claus is an import—it is unlikely that this country will give up its rockets and firecrackers (bombetas) easily, despite burned children in the emergency room. Makeshift stands selling gunpowder noisemakers still sprout every late November. The United States may have largely relegated July 4th fireworks to the shopping mall, but Costa Rica’s disarmament has not reached that point, yet.

We here at American-European Real Estate wish all our readers a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad and a Buon Natale. Have a safe holiday.

by Rod Hughes

Well, it was no real surprise, what with Saprissa going into the final match with a two-goal advantage from a 2-0 win over Herediam, but the boys from Tibas are the champions of the Opening Tourney by way of a 2-2 tie last night.

Soccer being the fast, ever-changing sport it is, perhaps we should not be so blase. We can remember a classic some years ago with Saprissa ending the second half with a comfortable 3-0 lead only to lose it against Alajuela, 4-3. Of course that was a Saprissa of young, talented but irratic players and this year’s model is ful of mature, steady veterans. Except in international play, where they still tend to fall apart unexpectedly.

It was a much more competent Heredia than in the first 2-0 match, as the 2-2 tie shows. But, perhaps it would have been a more resounding victory if the Saprissa fans hadn’t gone wild at minute 41 with the score 2-1 in their favor, setting off fireworks in celebration.and forcing referee Walter Quesada to call a halt and later add a whopping nine minutes overtime.

Nine minutes is an eternity in soccer, plenty of time for Felix Montoya to send a bullet into the goal’s back netting for the tie. Certainly, this was as unexpect as Try Bennett’s goal for Saprissa in the first half, after only two minutes, that signaled to fan that this would be a “purple” runaway. Then, at minute 33, the unfortunate Heredia player Jose Chan committed a self-inflicted goal. But as the half was ending, Marvin Angulo found the range against Saprissa.

With the goals by Angulo and Montoya (the latter a clear standout for Heredia) honor was served. Make no mistake that Heredia is a pushover–the fans in that town are no less soccer crazy than are Tibas or Alajuela. But through the years thay’ve been overshadowed by the Big Boys, Alajuela and Saprissa.

We’ll see if Saprissa can hold its dominance in the second half of the 2007-8 season. They have good balance between offense and defense and, in Jeaustin Campos, a fine field marshal but soccer is as fluid as a movie starlet’s passion.

by Rod Hughes

Former Ombudsman Jose Manuel Echandi, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2006 on the back of a campaign stressing his integrity and transparency, has dumped his National Union Party. Echandi says that 300 million colones was contributed to the party’s executive committee but what became of it is unexplained.

Although he ran simultaneously for president in the last election, his party managed to send only Echandi to congress. Despite a lack of political support, he is respected throughout the country as “Mr. Clean” and will remain in his congressional seat as an independent.

Although Echandi, who comes from a politically active family with a former president in its history, declined to unite himself with another, more established, party, he said he would unite forces with congresswoman Evita Arguedas on sponsoring legislation next year. Arguedas resigned as a Libertarian earlier this year after a spat with her party and also became an independent.

by Rod Hughes

Three persons were sentenced yesterday in connection with the July 7, 2001, gangland-style murder of gadfly radio journalist Parmenio Medina. Businessman Omar Chaves was convicted of being the brains behind the killing and condemned to 35 years in prison. The accused triggerman, Luis Alberto “El Indio” Aguirre, was given a 30-year sentence. The trial was held in Heredia since the chamber in that town offers better security and more space.

Father Minor Calvo, a charismatic Catholic priest, was absolved of sharing Chaves’s guilt in the murder due to lack of evidence, but was condemned to 15 years for fraud in related evidence. He was convicted of using donations by the faithful to his Radio María station for his own private purposes. This, the prosecution had maintained, provided the motive for Calvo’s involvement with planning the murder. Although the motive was clear, the three-judge panel did not feel the prosecution made its case against Calvo as co-conspirator.

Medina. a transplanted Colombian, had established his news show, “La Patada,” on radio in 1998. “La Patada” means ·the kick” and certainly his irreverent treatment of some of the country’s sacred cows was a kick in the pants. When he zeroed in on Padre Minor, as Calvo was affectionately known, it was first because the popular radio priest was sighted in a well-known lovers’ lane in the capital in a car with a young man. Calvo’s explanation that he was teaching the young man to drive was greeted by Medina’s derision. Then, Medina began probing Radio María’s income and its use.

The sarcastic, abrasive Medina was the target of death threats and shots were fired at his home. For some months, he traveled armed and with a bodyguard. But he carried no protection when he left home July 7, 2001. He was within a block or two of his house when his car was ambushed and he was slain by multiple gunshots. The crime shocked the country, which had never lost a journalist specifically targeted in this way.The InterAmerican Press Association has been following the case closely. Unique also for this country, both prosecutors and judges received death threats, as did witnesses.

.The trial in Heredfia, begun Dec. 6, 2006, one of the longest in recent history, is still is not finished. The sentences will undergo a careful automatic review and will not be “firm,” in Costa Rican judicial parlance, until the results of the review are announced Jan. 30. The attorneys for both Chaves and Calvo vow to appeal as well. The conviction, if it passes muster, will not mean that the condemned will spend all the time in prisoned that the verdict implies. Their time already spent in prison will be deducted and a judicial “year” of a sentence lasts only 10 months.

Even before the murder, Padre Minor Calvo was controversial. His use of funds generated by donations was questioned not long after Radio María was founded. At first, the late Archbishop Román Arrieta, backed Calvo in the face of accusations. Later, though, in an unprecedented statement on television, the archbishop looked directly at the camera and said in sad reproach, “Padre Minor, I covered your back for you.” Arrieta did not go into detail about what he meant but later the Catholic Church’s Episcopal Council considered that the archbishop, soon to retire, exercised an excess of Christian mercy. Arrieta maintained to the end that Padre Minor did not conspire with the perpetrators in the Medina murder.

Five more men implicated in the assassination were declared not guilty but only three were released. The other two have unfinished business with the court on other counts. As with many criminal trials anywhere, the judges were confronted by dubious testimony from witnesses with criminal records.