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delayed by discovery By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Anti-drug police arrested a 55-year-old Costa Rican woman Sunday when she was boarding an airline flight to New York. Police said she had more than 2.2 kilos ((4.7 pounds) in a suitcase that had double bottoms. They identified the woman by the surnames of Calwell Calwell and said she lived in Limón. The Policía de Control de Drogas has been having good luck at the airport. Agents have been making arrests every week. Although they will not say how they made the arrests, they have praised the public participation they have been receiving through their 24-hour hotline 800 DROGA NO (800?376-4266). From some of the arrests and the way the drugs have been well hidden, it is clear that agents have been tipped to particular individuals. Tighter U.S. borders after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have resulted in a flood of cocaine in Costa Rica and higher financial incentives for those who would bring the drugs north. |
Photo courtesy of the Ministerio
Anti-drug agents had to dismantle the suitcase to get at the double
bottom and what they said was more than two kilos of cocaine.de Seguridad Pública |
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A three-person gang that had been robbing people waiting at bus stops and walking along the streets shot down a police officer Sunday night to make their escape in San José. The police officer, José Alberto Blanco, took a bullet in his right ear and the right side of his head but was saved from serious or fatal injury by the helmet he was wearing, said agents of the Judicial Investigating Organization. The officer was a member of the Fuerza Pública and on motorcycle patrol near Avenida 10 and Calle 12. The assailants are believed to be members of a gang that has been stalking pedestrians throughout the city. A spokesman for the Ministerio de Seguridad
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Pública said that the officer
was nearby when the robbers stole a purse from a woman and fled in a vehicle.
This took place in the vicinity of the Restaurante La Chavelona, the spokesman
said.
The robbers shot at the police officer as he tried to follow them. Police later found a .380-caliber handgun that they presume the robbers threw from their car two blocks away. Police were unable to recover the purse of the woman or make any arrests. The wounded officer was treated at a hospital and released several hours later. Investigators said that the trio parks near a bus stop and waits for someone who looks like they will not put up much resistance. They drive a white Hyundai. |
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Push comes to shove
for dry Venezuela By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services CARACAS, Venezuela — A 22-day national strike is causing severe shortages of fuel, food and countless other goods and represents a blow to the oil trade. Gasoline stations have run dry here. Even so, lines of automobiles snake for blocks from many stations, as desperate motorists wait hoping against hope that a shipment of fuel will be forthcoming. Among them is Magda, who sits on the hood of her car. "I have been waiting since yesterday morning, but there has been no gasoline," said Magda. "Every couple of hours, the attendants announce that gasoline is on the way, but nothing ever comes. What can I do? I need fuel for my car." Inside the station, manager Ricardo Freitas looks frustrated and tired. "We have gone three days without a gasoline shipment." He said, "today we are waiting again, but I doubt it will arrive," Freitas said. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, motorists try their best to keep their spirits up. Magda said she has played cards with other stranded drivers to pass the time. "Look, if we are going to get desperate or anguished or aggressive, we are not going to get anywhere," she said. "We have to have faith and optimism, or else." Magda's voice trails off as she chokes up with emotion. Opponents of Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, called the strike at the beginning of the month to press for the leftist leader's ouster. At first, some people welcomed a few extra days off from work. But now the true effects of the strike are becoming apparent. Above all, the work stoppage has crippled Venezuela's oil production. As the country runs out of gasoline, transit and commerce are on the verge of collapse. With strike still on,
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services WASHINGTON, D.C. — A senior U.S. lawmaker is urging the White House to tap into strategic oil reserves as the Venezuelan crisis pushes oil prices to a two-year high amid Iraq war fears. Rep. Billy Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, says two refineries in his home state of Louisiana will run out of oil before the end of the month. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds almost 600 million barrels of crude oil. Tauzin says the Venezuela shortfall is starting to have an "acute" affect on the U.S. economy. Venezuela supplies about 9 percent of U.S. gasoline and 13 percent of crude oil supplies. There was no immediate response to the Tauzin letter from the Energy Department, but officials there have previously said they do not plan to lend stockpiled oil to firms having problems with supply. On the New York Mercantile exchange crude oil futures for February delivery increased to a high of $31.45 a barrel, up almost a $1.50. Oil prices have risen by 25 percent since mid-November amid concerns over a war with Iraq. U.S. agency reports
Special to A.M. Costa Rica WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases fell by 1.2 percent in 2001, the largest annual decline in more than a decade. A Friday press release says the study, entitled "Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2001," reports the 2001 decline of 1.2 percent is in contrast to an average annual growth rate of 1.3 percent during the decade of 1990—2000. Estimated U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, which account for more than 80 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, decreased by 1.1 percent in 2001, the largest annual decline of the 1990 to 2001period. Carbon dioxide, from the burning of fossil fuels, is believed to be one of the biggest contributors to global warming. According to the report, the decline in carbon dioxide emissions can be attributed to a combination of several factors, including a reduction in U.S. economic growth, a reduction in manufacturing, and warmer winter weather in 2001-2002, which cut demand and combustion of coal, oil and gas. |
Christmas blessing
sent
from Russia to Rome By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services MOSCOW, Russia — Patriarch Alexy II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has sent a Christmas message to Pope John Paul II suggesting they resume "brotherly contacts." According to the Interfax news agency, the Russian patriarch promised to offer a special prayer during Orthodox Christmas, celebrated Jan. 7, for God to grant the pope a life of peace and numerous gifts during the coming year. Relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have been strained over allegations the Roman Catholic Church is trying to convert the orthodox population of Russia. Relations worsened after the Roman Catholic Church upgraded its four administrative areas in Russia to full-fledged dioceses. Tensions with the Vatican were further inflamed when Russian authorities
refused entry to several Roman Catholic priests trying to return to their
parishes in Russia after visits to Poland and Italy.
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