Panamá trade treaty stalled,
Dodd tells officials there


There is little chance that the U.S. Congress will pass the Panamá free trade treaty, according to U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, who is touring Central American countries with Sen. Bob Corker, according to The Panamá News. Dodd, who will not be seeking re-electionn November after three decades in the Senate, met with  Juan Carlos Varela, Panama's foreign minister.

Dodd told Varela that the weak rule of law in Panama as one of the reasons the agreement will not be confirmed, said the newspaper. The treaty was signed in 2006 and has the support of President Barack Obama and the Ricardo Martinelli administration in Panamá.

Dodd and Corker also met Friday with President Óscar Arias Sánchez and president-elect Laura Chinchilla at the Arias home in Rohrmoser. There was no significant announcement after that meeting. The two senators also are visiting Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua on their trip.

Haig crafted Reagan policies
on Latin interventions


Former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig, an adviser to three presidents, has died at the age of 85.  Gen. Haig was known for his successful military career, his diplomatic skills and uncompromising anti-communism.

As secretary of State in the Ronald Reagan administration, Haig was instrumental in characterizing the El Salvador civil war as an attempt by Communists to infiltrate Central America.

Haig's 17 months as the top U.S. diplomat were marked by his tough stance toward the Soviet Union, and by his battles with other top administration officials.

Reagan took office seven months after the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua, so the El Salvador war was a preview of the U.S. support of the contra forces against the Sandinista government in that country. Haig no longer was secretary of State by the mid-1980s when support for the contras was at its height. But his techniques of characterizing the conflict as a clash between the East and West endured.

In 1988, Haig ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Party nomination for president.  The former secretary of State then worked in private business and was active as a speaker on foreign policy issues.

Haig died Saturday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, of complications from an infection.  He leaves behind his wife of 60 years, as well as three children and eight grandchildren. 

Exports make comeback
as agriculture improves


January exports from Costa Rica were 22 percent higher than during the same period a year ago, said the Promotora del Comercio Exterior.

Exports in January were $728 million, some $133.5 million more, the agency said.

Part of the increase was due to the recovery of agricultural lands that were flooded a year ago.

U.S. citizen dies in crash
on new Pacific highway


A man identified as a U.S. citizen died about 6 p.m. Thursday when his vehicle overturned. Three other persons were injured.

The man was identified as Jake Travis Brutshe, 30.

The Judicial Investigating Organization said that the vehicle struck a concrete lane divider and overturned. Brutshe lived near Quepos. The accident happened on the new San José-Caldera highway near Turrubares.

Floods kill at least 40 in Madeira


Portuguese rescue workers dug frantically through homes and streets buried under heaps of mud in the resort island of Madeira after flash floods and mudslides killed at least 40 people and injured more than 100. Local media said heavy rain and winds up to 100 kilometers per hour (more than 60 mph) struck the island Saturday night, knocking down trees and blocking roads with debris, hampering rescue efforts.

The popular tourist destination is located about 900 kilometers southwest of mainland Portugal.