Archive for July 26th, 2010
Monday, July 26th, 2010
UPDATE: The suspects saw the news while they were in Costa Rica and tried to escape by boat to Nicaragua. The police caught them this morning.
Two multiple murder suspects on the run in Costa Rica. They are thought to be heavily armed with a pistol and an AK-47 assault rifle.
On the run are William Cortez and his wife Jane Cortez, accused of killing at least two people, and possibly as many as seven, while living in Bocas del Toro.
The real estate business is tough due to the global recession, and now one real estate speculator is on the run in Costa Rica for allegedly murdering expatriates in Panama with the motive to steal their property.
Agents got a tip Saturday that the pair, William Adolfo Cortez and Jean Seana Cortez, had rented living quarters near Turrialba.
The owners of the house who rented the fugitive couple the home say they fear for their lives after learning who their tenants are.
Costa Rican authorities have known of their whereabouts, however are stalled waiting for a judicial capture order to clear Interpol.
Prosecutor Naphtali Jaén said that two indigenous people working for Cortez are missing, as well as the family of a New Zelander, named Mike Brown, whom was the first person to have a business contact with Cortez after arriving in Panama in 2008.
Cortez allegedly told people that he had purchased property from Brown soon after his arrival, and the family had left the country. Cortez also claimed that he purchased property from American Cher Lynn Hughes, whose body was found on the land where Cortez was living. Another body believed to be that of Bo Icelar.
In each instance, Cortez claimed the victims had sold him their property and then left Panama. It now appears that Cortez never purchased the properties, instead killing the inhabitants and then taking over their land.
Posted in Costa Rica News | 2 Comments »
Monday, July 26th, 2010
On her first visit to Nicoya of presidenta, Laura Chinchilla, was welcomed with open arms and affection by the people. The presidenta was in Nicoya to celebrate the 186th anniversary of the annexation of Guanacaste to Costa Rica.
During the visit, Chinchilla annonced the improvement of the road the joins playa Naranjo with Paquera, Hojancha- Lajas, Samara-Nosara and Veintisiete de Abril and Villareal.
The presidenta also said that a medical tower with 130 beds will be constructed at the Hospital de la Anexión and the Área de Salud de Santa Cruz will be remodeled.
Chinchilla was accompanied by her ministers and held the traditional cabinet meeting in Nicoya on July 25
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Monday, July 26th, 2010
Seems the Joaquin Phoenix documentary I had written about earlier was not a joke after all- in fact Casey Affleck the director is in fact being sued by one of the producers for sexual harassment! Amanda White -the producer in question- claims Affleck made several unwelcome sexual advances on her and when he learnt her age he apparently asked ”Isn’t it about time you get pregnant?”. The allegations get even more embarrassing as she claims that when filming the documentary in Costa Rica she couldn’t sleep in her room because Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix were in it with two women.
Affleck hasn’t taken the allegations lying down either. He has come out and tried to paint Amanda White as just another disgruntled ex-employee. His lawyer called the claims as “preposterous and without merit” and that White was kicked off the production over a year ago and is using this law suit to twist the producers’ arms into succumbing into allegedly ‘outrageous’ demands. It looks like ‘I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix’ is already a controversial production and it hasn’t even hit the theatres yet!
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Monday, July 26th, 2010
Venezuela’s defense minister on Friday warned Colombia against provoking a conflict after President Hugo Chávez severed ties with the nation and placed his military on alert.
Speaking on state television, Defense Minister Carlos Mata promised “a strong response” if foreign forces crossed into Venezuelan territory.
Mr. Chávez broke off all diplomatic relations with Colombia on Thursday, accusing it of fabricating evidence of Colombian rebel bases inside Venezuela.
At a meeting of the Organization of American States in Washington on Thursday, the Colombian ambassador, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, presented photographs, videos, witness testimony and maps of what he said were rebel camps in Venezuela, and he challenged Venezuela to let independent observers visit them.
Mr. Chávez suggested that Colombia’s president, Álvaro Uribe, who leaves office next month, could be trying to provoke a war, and that the photographs were fake. He insisted Venezuela did everything possible to prevent Colombian rebels from crossing into Venezuelan territory.
In Washington, the State Department spokesman, P. J. Crowley called the dispute unfortunate and said it was a “petulant response by Venezuela to cut off relations with Colombia.”
“Venezuela has clear responsibilities,” he said. “Colombia has put forward serious charges. They deserve to be investigated.”
The conservative, American-allied Mr. Uribe has frequently feuded with the Socialist Mr. Chávez. Colombian officials have long complained that Mr. Chávez has harbored leaders of its main rebel groups.
Mr. Chávez has argued that American officials are using Colombia to portray him as a supporter of terrorist groups to justify a United States military intervention in Venezuela.
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Monday, July 26th, 2010
For those who would like a destination for eco-tourism, Costa Rica is hard to beat. For a little country in Central America that’s only 19,730 square miles, there’s definitely a lot to see and do there. Costa Rica means ‘rich coast’ in Spanish, which is the country’s official language. Located between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, Costa Rica is one of the most stable and prosperous of all Latin American countries. There are tropical beach resorts on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the country for sun vacationers but the main attraction of Costa Rica is the eco-tourism. For example, there is a wider variety of bird species in Costa Rica alone than in all of Europe and North America.
Surprisingly, there are diverse eco-systems and microclimates within Costa Rica. In addition to the coastal beaches, there are dense jungles and rain forests with a wide variety of fauna. Some of these forests are referred to as cloud forests because of the moisture of the mists that linger among the trees in some parts. One forest has a cable car set up so that tourists can observe the plant and animal life at the treetop levels. For the more adventurous types, there is a place where one can swing from tree to tree using a network of rope attachments. There are also dry forests as well as colder barren volcanic tundras. Quite extreme changes in microclimate can be observed even within 30 minutes of travel. Some parts of the country have canal systems similar to those found in the Amazon and a few rivers offer excellent white water rafting.
There are several volcanoes within the country and the extinct ones are easily accessible since they are tourist attractions. A few have beautiful turquoise color lakes that have formed in the craters at the top of such volcanoes. One of the more famous active volcanoes is Arenal where visitors can safely watch the eruptions from a nearby facility that has outdoor hot springs naturally heated by the mountain.
In addition to the many different birds that can be sighted, there is a wide number of other exotic wildlife including monkeys, sloths, jaguars, bats and reptiles that can be seen during one of the many available nature tours. Every year, there are sea turtles that come to certain beaches to nest and this event attracts many nature lovers. The wildlife in Costa Rica is not only rich on land or the air but also in the surrounding oceans. For scuba divers, Costa Rica offers excellent diving opportunities and they are quite different from the waters in the Caribbean. The higher amounts of plankton in the local seas attract more numbers of large marine animals than can be found in the Caribbean.
Coffee and bananas are some of the main exports for Costa Rica. For coffee lovers, this is the place to sample some of the best in the world although it should be warned that the locals like their coffee quite strong. Tours in the valleys will often go past numerous coffee plantations.
Most tourists will fly into the capital city of San Jose. Although there is some nice colonial architecture to see in San Jose, it’s not one of the nicer places to stay in Costa Rica. The city is noisy and polluted but relatively safe. One can use San Jose as a base for many day trips to the various rain forests, volcanoes and beaches. Travelers can also fly into Liberia which is a town in the north part of the country. This is a much quieter region and close to many of the northern resorts. One option that many travelers take is to rent a vehicle and tour the country on their own. However, the roads of Costa Rica are not the best with lots of potholes and mudslides are common during the wet season from June to November. If renting a vehicle, a 4×4 is definitely recommended.
There is so much to see and do in Costa Rica that many visitors return to see parts of the country that they missed before. The country is easily the most popular destination to visit in Central America. Costa Rica now has tourist offices set up in North America for those who want further information.
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