ACCORDINGto Dar Randall,Golfito had a spectacularshowing ofbig tuna last week.Randall said Capt.Andy Moyes, fishingout of Golfito, inthe southern Pacific,found a school ofspinner dolphinworking a baitschool offshore inthe afternoon, nearly always a harbingerof tuna feeding on the bait from below.Moyes rigged for tuna, and workingaround the bait school had non-stopaction for four hours that produced 17tuna – including yellowfin that weighedin at 250 pounds, three estimated atbetween 125-175 pounds, and about adozen more than 45 pounds.In Quepos, on the central Pacificcoast, High Tec Sportfishing reported thebest fishing in months, with RussRobinson and a group of four high schoolstudents from South Carolina aboard theboat Alboran releasing 15 sails and a pairof dorado on a one-day trip last week.High Tec also reported that GeorgeDederer, on the Coco Wahoo last week,had six sailfish releases and a couple ofdorado. He was back at the pier by 1:45p.m., apparently too exhausted to keephumping in fish for the rest of the day.There was similar action north ofthere, where Julie Kieldsen, at LosSueños Marina, said Florida anglers MattCunningham, Eric Allen, E.J.Daminato, Joe Cagnina and KarlJohnson went seven sails for 10 raised,working 22 miles south west of the marina.The highlight of their trip was a 500-pound black marlin that crashed a 30-pound rod set-up for sailfish, and broughtto the boat for release after an hour-longbattle and a dance across the waves as thefish jumped 10 or more times.Still getting a steady bite north, withmore marlin than usual mixed in thecatch, averaging five or six sail releases aday.Rick Wallace reported from OcotalResort that the blue water is now solidinside, although still pretty green aroundthe Bat Islands.There was sporadic rain at LakeArenal last week with high water, but veteranfishing guide Tercio Hidalgo saidthey were catching fish, with smallerguapote taking spinner baits along theshoreline and picking up some bigger fishtrolling deep.Could not find anyone fishing on theCaribbean last week, but reports fromBarra Colorado say there has been a lot ofrain off and on.For more info on fishing or assistancein planning a trip to Costa Rica,contact Jerry at jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com or visit www.costaricaoutdoors.comSkippers, operators and anglers areinvited to e-mail or call Jerry with fishingreports by Wednesday of each week. Callor fax: 282-6743 if calling from CostaRica, or through the e-mail address above.

COSTA Rica is no stranger to the obsession thatbrings euphoria or bitter disappointment to millionsof fans, but this week saw many Ticos discussing thefuture of the national soccer team as if their livesdepended on it.Steve Sampson’s dismissal as the coach of thenational team Monday may mark the end of hiscareer in Costa Rica, but it appeared to be just thebeginning of countrywide debate about the failingsof the country’s soccer system, a mess thatSampson’s replacement, Colombian Jorge LuisPinto, will have to clean up.Sampson was fired the day after a 1-1 tie withlower-ranked Cuba, which allowed Costa Rica tocontinue in the World Cup 2006 qualifying roundsbut infuriated many fans in a country where soccer isnothing short of a religion.The qualification came on what many consideredan embarrassing technicality: the Costa Rican team(La Selección Nacional, or La Sele) scored moregoals as a visiting team during the first game of theround, a 2-2 tie in Cuba on June 12.The Costa Rican Soccer Federation (FEDEFUT)met Monday afternoon and decided to fire the U.S.-born coach.SAMPSON, who also coached the U.S. nationalteam, expressed regret but not remorse.“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to finish thejob, but I did what they contracted mefor,” he said during an interview with TheTico Times on Wednesday.IN Sunday’s game against the Cubannational team at Alejandro Morera SotoStadium in Alajuela, north of San José,the Ticos scored off a header by RonaldGómez in the first half of the game. In the45th minute, however, the Cubansrebounded with a goal by AlainCervantes.The rest of the game was a stalematedescribed by the national media asmediocre at best, “shameful” and “unacceptable”at worst.Though fans jeered La Sele’s performance,Costa Rica will move on in thenext round of World Cup qualifyingrounds, and is scheduled to play Hondurashere on Aug. 18.A trip to the 2006 World Cup inGermany would be Costa Rica’s third. Inthis soccer-mad country, a World Cupappearance is the fan’s Holy Grail.After Costa Rica’s qualifying victoryagainst the U.S. team three years ago,Ticos celebrated all night and into themorning (TT, Sept. 7, 2001). Governmentworkers were given time off work tocheer on a parade organized by then-presidentMiguel Angel Rodríguez.REACTIONS to FEDEFUT’s decisionwere mixed; most fans agreedSampson is a good man and a good coach,but many said something was missingfrom his tenure.“He’s a very good coach, but the playersand fans don’t respect him,” said LuisDiego, 26, a court researcher from SanJosé, who did not provide his last name.Luis Garcia Cheves, 48, shed somelight on why that could be the case.“He isn’t a Tico player. He doesn’tplay offensively enough; he defends toomuch,” said the security guard fromDesamparados, in southern San José.Sampson agrees his nationality complicatedhis tenure.“I think being foreign is a problem,”he said. “But being a North American,from the United States, is doubly challengingbecause they (the fans) don’t seethe United States as a country that is passionateabout the game of soccer…eventhough the United States has far outperformedCosta Rica in soccer at the worldlevel. They just can’t accept it.“WITH the players, that (being a foreigner)was not an issue; that was an issuewith fans and the press,’’ he added.Some fans disagreed, saying the problemwas indeed with the players.“He is a very good coach; it’s not hisfault. If the best coaches in the worldcame, the same thing would happen,” saysCarlos Alberto Hernández, 60, a taxi driverfrom Alajuelita, south of San José.“All the time we’re looking at thesame players. We need to get a new teamwith new men. They’re old. We needyoung men from other (Costa Rican)clubs,” he added.Others blamed FEDEFUT.Fernando Lens Molina, 43, a courtresearcher from Desamparados, said, “Hewas a good coach and he didn’t haveenough time to prepare. FEDEFUT shouldgive coaches more time and support.”THE former coach said he harbors noill will toward FEDEFUT directors.“They felt an enormous amount ofpressure from the press,” he said. “Itbecame a political issue for them. It wasnot a soccer decision.”Coaching La Sele is a no-win situationfor any coach, according to Sampson. Themain problem, he said, is “a lack of timewith the national team.”“Between November and May 27,when I took the team to prepare for Cuba,I literally had four days of practice. Iwould have died for one day a week withthe national team,” he said.“Those are not ideal preparation conditions,and when I requested time with theteam, with the players, the clubs determinedthat they couldn’t release them.That’s an issue that the federation has totake up, and until that changes these kindsof things will continue to happen.”FEDEFUT representative PatriciaDurán confirmed the tension between theclub teams’ demand on players and theiravailability for national team practice.“We experienced a lot of inconvenienceso the first-division teams couldlend players to the national team,” she said.Sampson alleged the clubs’ “interestscome first, and the national team comeslast.” As a result, the players “came intothis World Cup qualifying phase exhaustedfrom the league season.”The crux of the issue appears to be theconflicting interests of fans, players, thepress, and FEDEFUT, all parties Sampsonfelt pressured to please, though expectationsalmost guaranteed this would beimpossible.“If even two out of those four elementsare dead against you, and theydon’t have confidence that you’re goingto get a job done, then it’s very difficult tooperate,” he said.SAMPSON also mentioned soccer’slack of governmental financial support asa key failing. Costa Rica has “noresources, no infrastructure,” he said.For Sampson, the contrast between thecountry’s soccer fanaticism and the lackof practical support is disturbing.“Out of 21 games that I coached, weonly played five here in CostaRica…that’s a tremendous advantage,playing at home.”But according to Sampson, homegames aren’t financially feasible becauseticket sales don’t cover the cost of hostinggames.“It’s just a matter of, what are the prioritieshere in this country? The prioritiesalways become a state of emergency rightbefore the (World Cup) qualifying starts.And that’s the worst way to prepare.”Sampson recently negotiated seven toten days of required training prior to eachqualifying match, beginning in August.“PINTO will have the benefit of that,and given that amount of time before eachgame, I think Costa Rica will qualify (forthe World Cup),” Sampson said.Pinto, La Sele’s new coach, was chosenover Alexandre Guimaraes, CostaRica’s popular former coach who led LaSele to the World Cup in 2002.Pinto “is an individual who is verystrong-handed with the players, andeverything that I’ve heard here in CostaRica is that that’s the way you have to beto get results. But I think it’s going to bea very very difficult road for him…I wishhim well,” Sampson said.Pinto will be up against the same pressuresas Sampson; according toFEDEFUT’s Durán, however, he willhave a grace period, even if La Sele losesits next game.“I think people would accept thatbecause it would be his first game,”Durán said.“He knows most of the players butworking with them is going to be very different.He will have to sit down and talkwith them, to figure out what’s best forCosta Rica and that’s a process,” she said.SAMPSON was hired as head coachof La Sele in October 2002. During histenure, La Sele racked up a 58.33% winrate, with 12 wins and 3 ties out of 23games. The team scored 35 goals andgave up 26.At the time of his hiring, Sampsontold The Tico Times that Costa Rica hadan impressive amount of talent (TT, Oct.18, 2002).In later interviews, Sampson appearedto show the stress that comes with such animpassioned fan base.“I have to look at things purely objectivelyand I think that they look at thingspurely subjectively,” Sampson told TheTico Times last August (TT, Aug. 22,2003).He added optimistically, “I think theyare adapting well for my likes. This is aprocess that doesn’t happen in one or twomonths, it happens in a year, a year and ahalf, two years.”But a year and a half was all he got.Whether FEDEFUT’s decision representsa lack of flexibility or simple prudenceis open for debate; either way,Sampson is packing up for the final leg ofa journey he began back in 2002.

The struggling economy of the southernPacific port town of Golfito is scheduled for ahigh-strength injection of foreign capital with aplanned $400 million marina and hotel project.Marvin Jaén, executive director of the project,says it would create 1,000 new jobs and open thedoors of supporting businesses for an estimated2,500 additional “indirect” employment opportunities.Such an investment could alleviate the economicdepression that the town of 36,000 people has experiencedfor years, according to the project director andlocal government officials.The first phase of the 10-year, two-phase project,planned for construction next year, includes a 217-slipmarina and a hotel of 100-150 rooms, with a projectedprice tag of $50 million, Jaén said.ARTISTIC renderings of the design portray anambitious project. The marina is planned for placementnorth of the existing ferry and speedboat dock, and willfeature a central park strip of lawns, sidewalks and fountains,a square and promenade on the waterfront, andquaint, one- and two-story buildings that will “respectthe architecture of the area,” Jaén said.“It will not be another Acapulco,” he added.Jaén and the project publicity manager, James Lynskey, head Hacienda El Dorado S.A.,the Costa Rican company that has attractedU.S. investors to pony up the money. Jaénsaid they have Florida-based CoastalSystems International on board as well as agroup of private investors, although theyare still seeking additional funding.The project’s working name is DesarrolloGolfito, although that is slated tochange soon, Jaén said.Hacienda El Dorado wants to capitalizeon Golfito’s reputation for sportfishing andunspoiled tracts of rain forest.ONE of the sportfishing tour operatorsthere, Roy Ventura of Roy’s ZancudoLodge, said the proposal is “fabulous.”He said he is concerned that the 1998marina law makes it difficult for smallermarinas in the area to expand, leaving themarket open only to those with deep pockets,but he is content the project could createa needed job explosion.“Golfito is a bay inside of a bay, so youjust can’t find any better anchorage thanthat,” he said. “There is plenty of water andplenty of places to go shopping. It’s a niceplace for boats to go hang their anchors at.”THE president of the MunicipalCouncil of Golfito, Rigoberto Núñez, saidthe council supports the project.“It’s a good alternative for Golfito – anopportunity to develop. It will be a source of employment. It’s better to have peopleemployed because it helps eliminate robberiesand prostitution,” he said.Jaén, who was a government PortCaptain in the central Pacific port ofPuntarenas for 15 years before he joinedthe private sector last year, said he is lookingto begin construction of phase one inFebruary 2005.The second phase of the ambitious projectdoes not have a start date, but is projectedfor completion in 10 years.It features a more upscale marina,separate from the first, on the misnamedpeninsula Isla Grande (Big Island). Classand charm will be piled on there – but notat the expense of the surrounding mangrovesand rain forest, Jaén is quick toadd.The second phase is slated for constructionin a former cocoa plantation andwill preserve the surrounding forest for itsguests. Plans include condominiums, aclubhouse, and all the services.BEFORE work can begin, however,the Inter-Institutional Commission ofMarinas and Tourist Docks (CIMAT) mustapprove the project, a process that requiressubmission an environmental impact studyapproved by the Technical Secretariat ofthe Environment Ministry (SETENA).Jaén told The Tico Times he turned in a1,050-page environmental impact study toSETENA on Wednesday.If all goes well, he plans to begin theproject with a wastewater treatment plant,which would be the first in Golfito.Now, he said, sewage lines pumpuntreated waste directly into the water. Theplant would treat not only the waste fromthe development project, but also that ofthe community.FROM CIMAT’s perspective, theprobability of the project’s approval ishigh. Oscar Villalobos, technical secretaryfor CIMAT, said the project is in phase two– phase four being fully operational.CIMAT will probably approve it, hesaid, if SETENA approves the environmentalimpact study. The Municipality ofGolfito could then begin the process ofawarding the marina concession.The two marinas in planning bothpassed a review by economists of the CostaRican Tourism Institute (ICT), Villalobosconfirmed.“With the little experience we havehad with Los Sueños (the marina inHerradura Bay, on the central Pacificcoast) and Flamingo (the marina inGuanacaste, on the northern Pacificcoast, currently shut down), the generationof direct and indirect employment isvery large,” Villalobos said. “We hopethat in Golfito it is the same.”Golfito already has two marinas, whichtogether have a total of 20 to 30 slips,Villalobos said.“Those are few,” he said, compared tothe demand for slip space in that area.Bruce Blevins owns one of those marinas,called Banana Bay.He said he is not worried about thepotential competition, and believes in hismarina’s ability to give personal attention.“We’ll wait and see how they do theproject, but economically it will do theregion well. The more offered to thetouristic boater the better for everyone,”he said.

FLEEING extortion, death threats, war and politicaloppression, thousands of refugees have crossed Costa Rica’sborders following rumors of jobs and the rule of law.Most of them are not starving, ragged indigents the word“refugee” might conjure – they arrive by plane, with theirfamilies and possessions in tow, accustomed to middle-classlifestyles.More than 60% of refugees in Costa Rica are Colombiansseeking a respite from the 40-year civil war and local gang rulethat pervades many of the country’s villages.“We were looking for peace in this country,” Colombianrefugee Martha Lucía Nieto said. “It was not fair to our childrento raise them in a country with so much violence and certaintypes of injustice.”There, she said, “the mistakes are made on top, but the people pay.”Nieto has had refugee status for threeand a half years. In her country she workedas an accountant, but after arriving herefound her credentials aren’t compatiblewith Costa Rican firms.Only five days after arriving, she metother Colombian refugees who turned heron to arts and crafts.“It’s a way to make a living withoutleaving my children alone. They takecourses in arts and crafts and help with thebusiness,” she said.OTHERS entering the country are notso fortunate. Employers do not always recognizethe official identification cardissued to refugees, and are reluctant to hirepeople who might not be authorized towork.In that capacity and others, there ishelp from the United Nations. The U.N.High Commission for Refugees(UNHCR) assists the refugee populationwith legal advice, economic aid andcounseling services.To combat ignorance of the ID cards,the UNHCR struck a deal with theMinistry of Labor in August of last yearand began teaching refugee labor rights toemployers at the biggest businesses in thecountry.FOR assistance on the refugees’ end,the UNHCR enlisted the help of theUniversity of Costa Rica. Undergraduatestudents in their last year of law studies,economics, psychology, business administrationand other disciplines advise newcomersin the legalities of living in a newcountry and starting small businesses, andalso provide moral support.A key aspect of that program is businessmanagement workshops and microcreditsfor entrepreneurs. The average loanis $1,000 and is accompanied with trainingand advice from student specialists.“It’s reciprocal aid,” said MelissaSalas, UNHCR project assistant. “It givesthe refugees fast help, whereas other helptakes much longer and could cost more,and the students see the plight of therefugees, and experience it first hand.” Theprogram also helps students complete theirgraduation requirements: each must complete300 hours of community servicebefore they see their degrees.COSTA Rica receives more refugeesthan its Central American neighbors. Lastyear, there were 13,508 refugees in thecountry, more than 8,000 of themColombian and more than 2,600Nicaraguan. Cubans made up the thirdlargest group, representing more than1,100.An average of 1,600 to 2,000 peopleapply for refugee status in the country eachyear, and 50-60% are accepted. So far thisyear, the Department of Immigration hasreceived 735 applications, 71% fromColombians and the rest from countries asdiverse as Eritrea, Haiti, Venezuela andUkraine. About 40% of them have beenapproved.No country is given a preference andall applications are handled equallyaccording to international refugee law,said Immigration Director Marco Badilla.The former policy granted naturalizedcitizen status to refugees who had beenhere for two years or more, but a changelast year made the process more difficult.A family from the United States wasgranted refugee status in the past, but itstopped checking in with Immigration twoyears ago and did not renew its documents.Details were not available.REFUGEE status breeds labor discrimination,according to Colombianrefugee Mario Montoya. About five yearsago he escaped his country hounded bydeath threats for resisting the payment of“protection” fees to a local militia group inthe landlocked town of Pereira.An artisan, like Nieto, Montoya says hesuffers the animosity of Costa Rican artisanswho don’t like the foreign competition.“Refugees don’t have the same rights asTicos,” he said at a celebration Saturday inSan José’s La Sabana Park to commemorateWorld Refugee Day. He says he feelsexcluded from artisans’ associations, fairsand public gatherings where table space issometimes a commodity for the unionizedand patently Costa Rican.“The change in the law hurt us greatly,”he said.TO help others better understand theplights of refugees, a photo show and filmfestival have been organized in collaborationof the UNHCR.The lives and stories of refugees arefeatured in a photography exhibition at theSupreme Elections Tribunal, across fromthe National Park in San José, until July 9,and shown in a cycle of films at ElSemáforo, in San Pedro east of the capital,every hour on the hour from 2-9 p.m. dailyuntil July 4.For more movie info, call 253-9126.

CALLE JUCÓ, Orosi Valley – Although 23 riversidehomes in this valley community, southeast of San José,face the potential threat of mudslides, only one of them isempty.Inhabitants of the other houses are taking steps to avoidtragedy.A year ago, heavy rains caused an avalanche of mudand rock that ripped through the small village (TT, June 27,2003). Fortunately, early warning and quick evacuationsprevented a tragedy like the one the year before in the nearbyvalley town of Loaiza.In 2002, a mudslide claimed the lives of seven peopleand destroyed 13 homes in Loaiza. Before that disaster, theEnvironment Ministry had warned residents of Loaiza thathigh levels of deforestation put the area at risk of landslides(TT, Sept. 6, 2002).Since the deadly avalanche, 10 families have movedout of Loaiza, and the remaining three families are expectedto relocate soon with government assistance.“THE Orosi Valley is one of the most vulnerable sectionsof the country, and has the most threats in such asmall place,” said geologist Lidier Esquivel, who workswith the National Emergency Commission (CNE). “Thereare active fault lines, floods and mud slides.”The community of Calle Jucó is one bumpy street linedwith homes. Homes on one side of the street overlook thesmall river of Jucó, and homes on the other side of thestreet have coffee-planted mountains as their backyards.Because there is only one way in and one way out ifanother avalanche occurs, some Calle Jucó residents toldThe Tico Times their plan is to run up theirhilly backyards. Residents in homes lookingover the river are in more danger.“The river carries all sorts of stuff, fromreal fine silt to rocks the size of this house,”said Alexander Torres, coordinator of theCommunity Emergency Committee, whosecream-colored house overlooks the river.MARTA Solano, who lives across thestreet and two homes up, says that whenthe river gets wild from lots of rain androcks start falling, it sounds like a reallyloud truck passing by her house.“But it’s never actually a truck,” shesaid, shaking her head.Last month, the Community EmergencyCommittee installed two sirens onthe corner of her house.In the event of an emergency, a homeat the top of the mountain would radiodown to the pulpería, which in turn wouldtelephone the homes with sirens. ThenSolano and the others would press a buttonto activate the sirens and warn the communityto evacuate.“The benefit that Jucó had, and has, overLoaiza is that they are organized andinformed,” Esquivel said. “Also, the areafrom where the mudslide began is muchhigher and further away from the population,making it less dangerous than Loaiza.”TORRES says some residents arescared and would like to leave for a saferarea, but they have been picky.“Twenty-three families have to leavebecause their homes are unsafe. But theydon’t like the areas they have been offered.They also want to leave together, and findingspace for 23 families to move is difficult,”he said.Although Torres says 23 homes areuninhabitable, Esquivel, who drew up thelist, says some just need to take extra precautions.Of the 23 homes, only five mustbe abandoned, according to the geologist.The CNE is working with the Ministryof Housing and Urbanization to find newhomes for the five families.Torres said some families fled theirhomes after last year’s avalanche, and theMixed Institute for Social Aid (IMAS)helped pay their rent for three months. But,after the three months were up, the familieshad nowhere to go but back to their houses.SOME residents, such as YorleneGarcía, who hasn’t lived in Calle Jucó longenough to experience an avalanche, thinksothers are overreacting.“Every time it rains and some rocksfall, people get scared and hysteric and arepractically in tears,” García said. “Somepeople get really alarmed and scare everybodyelse.”Torres says the University of CostaRica has been helping the community bysending psychologists to help people dealwith the traumatic effects of last year’savalanche.“It really affected people,” he said.GEOLOGIST Esquivel says humansand nature have always been at odds inOrosi Valley, but now there are more people,more deforestation and more infrastructure,and not all are suitable for the area.Together, the three factors increase thedangers of living in the valley. The longtermplan of the emergency commission,he said, is to slowly move people fromhigh-risk areas to safer areas.“There is no doubt the community ismore safe now than it was two years ago,”Esquivel said. “They are more informedand they are organized. But, they still needto be aware of the risks of living there.“Overall, the valley is still attractivefor tourists and it is basically safe,” heconcluded.

MANAGUA – A new legislative bill tocrack down on youth gangs here has raisedconcerns that Nicaragua may be on the vergeof taking a step backward toward the repressivepolices of its recent past.Nicaragua has 62 gangs throughoutthe country, totaling 1,058 members – thefewest of any Central American country,according to a regional police registry ofgang members.Gangs in Nicaragua register only as ablip on the crime charts, accounting for lessthan 1% of all violent transgressions, nationalpolice statistics show.Public perception polls, however, revealmost Nicaraguans think the gang problem isworse than statistics suggest, and the nation’spoliticians have taken note.WITH no national gang policy in place,some lawmakers are arguing that Nicaraguaneeds to pass a tough anti-pandilla law now– before the problem gets out of control as itappears to be in Honduras and El Salvador,where gangs are blamed for more than 50%of all violent crimes.“Our gang members are good comparedto those in Honduras and El Salvador. But ifwe don’t stop them now, it can become a spiralof violence,” said Liberal ConstitutionalParty congressman Wilfredo Navarro, authorof Nicaragua’s new anti-gang bill.The proposed law, introduced toCongress April 29, would stiffen sanctionsfor crimes committed by gang members asyoung as 12, tacking on additional jail sentencesof one to six years, depending on thenature of the offense.POLICE and rights activists who workwith gangs in Nicaragua claim the best wayto demobilize youth bands and work with at riskteens is through a coordinated communityoutreach plan. Anti-gang legislation, theywarn, could unintentionally exacerbate theviolence if interpreted by marginalized youthas an act of government aggression.“For every action, there is a reaction,”said Hamyn Gurdián, Commissioner ofNicaragua’s National Police Juvenile AffairsUnit and a leading critic of the new bill.The gang-law debate in Nicaragua illustratesan emerging division between old andnew approaches to dealing with impoverisheddissidents.The old way of thinking is for the governmentto apply the “mano duro” – thestrong-hand military and police repressionthat has been resurrected recently inHonduras, El Salvador and Guatemala tosquelch gang activity.The new way of thinking, Gurdián andothers say, calls for a dialogue with the poor,an understanding of societal problems thatgive rise to gang violence, and a solutionbased on compassion rather than fear.WORKING with government ministriesand private businesses, Gurdián’spolice unit implemented an outreach plan inManagua in 2002 to disarm gang members,convince gang leaders to become positiverole models in their communities and helpfind jobs to reinsert the youth back into society.The program goes against the round-‘em-up and lock-‘em-down model employedby law enforcement in Honduras, ElSalvador and Guatemala. But Nicaraguanpolice insist it is working.Last year, the outreach program helpeddisband 30 of the 33 youth gangs inManagua’s districts 2 and 6, effectivelydemobilizing 400 gang members – almostone-third of the country’s total – Gurdiánsaid.“About 90% of the gang members wehave worked with want to get into the program;there is an enormous will among thesekids to get out of the gangs and out of the violence,”Gurdián said. “They just need achance. If you give them limits and responsibility,they respond.”With 45% of Nicaraguans living inpoverty and nearly half of Managua withoutformal employment, Gurdián said it isimportant not to create unrealistic expectationsthat could frustrate youth trying tomove out of gang life and into society.But, he said, using police contacts in thegovernment and private sector, the programhas been able to place many former gangmembers at jobs in public works, factories,or even as security for festivals.DESPITE the apparent early success ofthe outreach program, Navarro and membersof his congressional bloc are determined toget an anti-gang law passed by the end of theyear.The congressman said he does not discountthe police efforts, but insists the countryneeds a clearly defined gang policy in theform of a law.The draft bill, currently in a congressionalcommission, identifies a gang as an illicitgroup that disrupts public order, or a band ofpeople that meets habitually, identifies exclusivelywith a piece of territory and/or usessigns or symbols as a means of identification.Gangs are not outlawed under the bill – asthey are under anti-gang laws in Hondurasand El Salvador – but members of gangswould be subject to harsher jail terms forcrimes committed.Navarro says the measure is intended todeter young men from joining gangs, not tobe used as a repressive tool.“This is a response to a new type ofcrime that is based on a culture of societalpressures,” he told The Tico Times.RIGHTS activists and lawyers are blastingthe initiative.“This bill iscrazy and offensive,”said Evelyn Palma,legal departmentcoordinator for CasaAlianza, a regionalc h i l d – a d v o c a c ygroup. “The intentionof this bill isvery clear: to repressthe poorest children,those who havealready been excludedfrom the system.It is an attempt to resolve an economic andsocial problem by putting the victims in jail.The stigma is we would be returning to aperiod of time we have already overcome.”Critics claim politicians are trying to passthe bill because anti-gang legislation is currentlyen vogue in Central America and lawmakersare trying to give voters the messagethat they take citizen security concerns seriously.ACCORDING to the Central Americanpolice registry, which includes the names andlast names of all identified gang members inthe region, there are 14,000 pandilleros inGuatemala, 10,500 in El Salvador, 36,000 inHonduras, 2,660 in Costa Rica and 1,385 inPanama. Experts say the gang problem innorthern Central America, where the violentLos Angeles, Calif.-born gangs MaraSalvatrucha and Mara 18 operate, is distinctfrom the gang phenomena in Nicaragua,Costa Rica and Panama.The transnational problem posed byMara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 is consideredso dire in northern Central America that thePresidents of Guatemala, El Salvador,Honduras and Nicaragua last January signeda joint anti-gang declaration against the twogroups, identifying them as threats to regionalsecurity.Gang experts in Central America insistthe problem here is the product of poverty,social exclusion, poor public policies andfamilies divided by migration.HONDURAS was the first CentralAmerican country to pass legislation outlawinggang membership – a crime that carries a12-year jail sentence.El Salvador’s provisionalanti-gangdecree is set to expirenext month, thoughnewly appointedPresident AntonioSaca is lobbying congresshard to pass whathe calls his “superstrong hand” anti-ganglaw (TT, June 18).Guatemala andCosta Rica are studyingsimilar measures.The anti-gang laws in Honduras and ElSalvador have been criticized by activistswho claim the legislation violates the right tofree association and throws due process outthe window.The United Nations Committee onRights of the Child and Amnesty Internationalboth have come out against ElSalvador’s provisional anti-gang decree,claiming it violates international rightstreaties. Amnesty International has advisedthe Salvadoran government to not pass a permanentlaw.Nevertheless, the Saca administrationhas already announced it will propose aregional anti-gang policy during the CentralAmerican integration meeting this weekendin Guatemala.

TEGUCUGALPA (AFP) – In aneffort to define a joint plan to combatmaritime drug trafficking, representativesof 21 countries of the Organization ofAmerican States (OAS) met this week inHonduras to analyze each country’s vulnerabilitiesand discuss steps to be taken.According to Honduran anti-drug officials,90% of cocaine produced in SouthAmerica is passing through or aroundCentral American waters en route toNorth American or other markets.The U.S. government, which has givenLatin American governments a July 1deadline to implement strict new securitymeasures at their maritime ports, estimatesthat 100 tons of cocaine pass throughCentral American waters each year.In Nicaragua, authorities have reactedstrongly in past weeks to the most recentreport by the U.S. Drug EnforcementAgency (DEA), which identifiedNicaragua not only as a transit countrybut also as a new site of cocaine production.Nicaraguan police have denied theallegation that narco-producers have infiltratedthe country’s Atlantic coastline,prompting the U.S. Ambassador this weekto request clarification from the DEA.Nicaraguan military officials confirmedon Wednesday that U.S. DEAauthorities would begin flights overunspecified areas of the country inattempts to locate the alleged cocaine productionplants.

scientists at the University of Kiel, innorthern Germany, announced this weekthey believe they have discovered theremains of one of Christopher Columbus’sships that sunk five centuries ago off theeast coast of Panama.The ship is believed to be the three mast“Vizcaína,” which Columbus used onhis fourth voyage to the Americas in 1502.Scientists and professors at the universityhave been analyzing wood samplestaken from the wreck site.“We are still not definitely confirminganything, but there is a very high probabilitythat this is the oldest ship everfound in the New World,” said PeterGrootes, a professor of antiquities.During his fourth voyage to the NewWorld, Columbus explored the coast fromPanama to Honduras. He died in 1506.

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) – Thepresidents of Central America and theDominican Republic will meet heretomorrow through Tuesday to discuss therestructuring of regional integrationefforts, Guatemalan chancellor Jorge Brizannounced this week.“The fundamental theme of the meetingwill be Central American integration;it will analyze the proposal to restructureall of the organizations of the CentralAmerican Integration System (SICA),”Briz stated in a release.Briz said the leaders of other countrieson the isthmus that have initiatedmovement toward greater economicunity will try to explain the benefits toCosta Rican President Abel Pacheco.Costa Rica has lagged behind integrationefforts between El Salvador, Guatemala,Honduras and Nicaragua.“Panama has already expressed itsinterest in incorporating. It must be rememberedthat the negotiation of the free-tradeagreement between Central America andEurope will be from region to region, andto achieve that, (Europeans) want to seeresults in the integration of the area,” Brizsaid.Regional integration organizationssuch as the Central American Parliament(Parlacen) and the Central America Courtof Justice have been questioned for theirinability to cooperate.

PANAMA CITY (AFP) – ThePanamanian Congress announced lastweek that the former Howard Air ForceBase – once the U.S. military’s largest airforce base in the region – will be convertedinto a Special Economic Area to attractforeign high-technology firms.Located 15 kilometers west of thecapital, on the Pacific entrance to thePanama Canal, the former base covers2,200 hectares and includes an airportwith hangars, passenger terminals anddozens of other buildings not being used.The Dell Computer Company last yearcreated a call center on the former base, andseveral other foreign companies, includinga Ukrainian airplane and helicopter repaircompany, have expressed interest in settingup shop in the new Special Economic Area,which would provide tax incentives similarto a free-trade zone.The government hopes that the neweconomic area will become an importantsource of employment for the capital.