THE Little Theatre Group has gathered 12 actors and seven directors topresent a collection of intriguing characters for its upcoming production of“Talking with…”Jane Martin’s play invites the audience to eavesdrop on intimate revealingconversations. The play runs through May 30, with 7:30 p.m. showsFridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees, in the Blanche BrownTheatre in Bello Horizonte.Tickets are ¢2,500 ($5.90), students ¢1,000 ($2.35). For reservations, call355-1623 or make reservations online at http://intertica.com/ltg.htm

ADVICE from a pro: Steve Sampson, the coach of the Costa Rican NationalSoccer Team, speaks to fifth-and sixth-grade students from Escuela Repúblicade Venezuela in Escazú as part of a soccer clinic hosted by the Country DaySchool (CDS). The clinic featured hands-on soccer drills and skill-buildingactivities by Sampson and his staff for about 100 students May 13.Escuela República de Venezuela is one of CDS’ “partner schools,” where teachersfrom CDS regularly visit to offer staff development and find ways in whichthe schools can engage in shared projects.The event ended with snacks provided by the Country Day School Association,a non-profit branch of the school responsible for overseeing scholarship opportunitiesfor area students and ongoing community service initiatives.

Fishing reports are pretty sparse as of press time – that’salways a bad omen.The river at Barra Colorado, on the northern Caribbeancoast, was up last week with little action. But as of Monday,they had blue skies and flat water at the river mouth, and bynoon that day Dan Ruiz, from California, and Colin Jones,of Mississippi, had jumped a dozen tarpon and broughtthree to the boat after not even a nibble the previous twodays at the Rio Colorado Lodge.There is still only fair fishing on the northern Pacificcoast, but if I were planning a trip to Costa Rica in the nexttwo or three months, that’s where I would be heading. Evennow, you’re not likely to get skunked there, but we predict that area will breakopen as usual by early June.Jeanette Perez, from J.P. Sportfishing in Quepos, on the central Pacific coast,reports three to four sailfish releases a day for her boats running about 30 milessouth to the Furuno Bank, with best fishing in the morning because of the rain inthe afternoons. Fishing inshore locally, she said they are getting a lot of big roosterfishand amberjack.Bruce Blevins, from Banana Bay Marina in Golfito – a southern Pacific portcity, reported a lot of action during its tournament in April. There is another tournamentscheduled in early July, but have no current reports on what’s happeningin that area.Lots of heavy rain fell over the Arenal area in recent days, so not likely to bemany fish coming in or fishermen going out.For more info on fishing or assistance in planning a trip to Costa Rica, contactJerry at jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com or visit www.costaricaoutdoors.comSkippers, operators and anglers are invited to e-mail or call Jerry with fishingreports by Wednesday of each week. Call or fax: 282-6743 if calling from CostaRica, or through the e-mail address above.

Despite dropping business confidence and afinancial crisis that prompted thousands ofinvestors to withdraw their money from thecountry’s investment funds, experts say CostaRica’s economy remains stable and is showingstrong signs of growth and increasing consumerconfidence, according to surveysreleased during the last two weeks.“Macroeconomic conditions have improvedsince the last (…) consultation in early 2003,” reada statement issued Friday by an InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) mission that visited thecountry earlier this month. “Growth has recovered,led by investment and exports, internationalreserves increased, and the fiscal deficit narrowedin 2003.”Between May 4-14, seven representatives of theIMF visited Costa Rica to conduct the fund’s annual review of the country. In addition to speakingwith the Central Bank and the FinanceMinistry, the mission also spoke with legislativedeputies, business and financialleaders, labor unions and independenteconomists.The IMF congratulated Costa Ricanofficials for maintaining a “prudent monetarypolicy”, which has kept underlyinginflation stable, despite an increase in consumerprices caused by high internationaloil prices (TT, March 26). At press time,the price of oil hovered above the $40-abarrelmark — a 13-year high.HOWEVER, the mission warnedabout the need for steps to reduce thecountry’s fiscal deficit and public debt.The IMF said it “strongly supports” governmentefforts to implement a tax reform,in the form of the much-delayedPermanent Fiscal Reform Package (TT,April 18).The mission also consider it a priorityfor officials to improve oversight of thefinancial sector. Improved supervision,according to the IMF, would “fortify” thecountry’s economy against downturns inthe global economy and interest-rate fluctuations.In an effort to counteract the negativeeffects rising interest rates in the UnitedStates have had on the price of Costa RicanCentral Bank and Finance Ministry debtbonds, the Central Bank on Mondaybought back ¢25 billion ($57.87 million)in previously issued bonds.Central Bank President Francisco dePaula Gutiérrez said he is optimistic thepurchase will succeed in stabilizing bondprices, which during the last month and ahalf have dropped sharply in anticipationof an increase in U.S. interest rates. Thedrop in bond prices has been responsiblefor large losses in the country’s dollar and,to a lesser extent, colón investment fundsand pension funds.ACCORDING to the Superintendenceof Securities (SUGEVAL), Costa Ricanfunds on average invest 75% of their assetsin debt bonds. The drop in bond priceslowered the value of the funds’ holdingsand led to sharp losses. These lossesprompted investors to withdraw theirmoney from the funds, which in turnresulted in greater losses and even moreinvestors leaving the funds (TT, May 14).Between March and last week, theamount of money managed by the fundsdropped by half as one-third of investorsfled the market, according to SUGEVAL.The disappointing results of investmentfunds prompted investors to turn tobank accounts and other investments perceivedas safer to store their wealth.Gutiérrez last week had expressed concernover the possibility that decreased demandfor bonds and increased demand for liquidity(cash) could increase local interestrates. To stabilize bond prices and containinterest rates, the Central Bank decided tobuy back the bonds.DESPITE the bond sale, investorsremained apprehensive about investmentfunds.On Wednesday, SUGEVAL took out afull-page ad in the daily La Nación givinginvestors a basic explanation of whatinvestment funds are, how they operateand why they have been registering losseslately. In the ad, SUGEVAL admitted ithad been receiving a large number of callsfrom worried investors.At least 11 investors who lost money inthe funds have filed complaints with theOmbudsman’s Office alleging theyweren’t properly informed or advisedabout the risks involved.Several of these investors believedtheir initial investment were insured by thegovernment in the same way the governmentinsures savings accounts at state ownedbanks, according to CapitalFinanciero (www.capitalfinanciero.com),an online news Website operated by theweekly El Financiero.THE latest quarterly business confidencesurvey released last week by theUnion of Private-Sector Chambers andAssociations (UCCAEP) painted a lessoptimistic picture of how the economyfared during the first quarter of this year.In general, the 300 business ownerssurveyed described the country’s economicconditions as positive, but less positivethan during the fourth quarter of 2003,according to the survey.For the most part, this was expected.Traditionally, fourth quarters have beenthe part of the year with the most economicactivity because of holiday spending(TT, Feb. 20).Similarly, those surveyed expressedoptimism about the second quarter, but to alesser degree than they did about the firstquarter. Job growth continued, but at aslower rate than during the previous quarter,according to the survey.ACCORDING to UCCAEP, there aresigns the economy may be slowing down.The Index of Monthly Economic Activity(IMEA) grew by only 3.4% betweenFebruary 2003 and 2004 compared to5.4% between November 2002 and 2003.Despite historically low interest rates,credit increased by only 4%. Industrialelectrical consumption and spending onadvertising – indicators that foreshadowfuture economic performance – alsodecreased, according to the survey.On a positive note, those surveyedreported a surge in exports, particularlyamong agricultural products. Costa Ricanexports increased by 4.2% during the firstquarter, compared to the same period ayear before, according to the Central Bank(TT, May 7).The tourism sector reported a particularlystrong high season, which concludedlast month. The financial sector alsoreported a strong quarter, according to thesurvey.ON Tuesday, the University of CostaRica’s Development Observatory releasedits biannual consumer confidence survey,which reported a significant increase inconsumer optimism, compared to sixmonths before.In March, pollsters called 812 homesin all parts of the country to ask resident’sopinion on the state of the economy. Theresults were tallied and averaged to producea general figure of consumer confidence,between 0 and 100.Consumer confidence totaled 43, significantlyhigher than the 39.6 reported lastSeptember. This is the highest consumerconfidence level since Sept. 2000, when itaveraged 44.5.The increase in confidence appliedacross the board, to people from allincome and education levels, accordingto the survey.According to project coordinatorJohnny Madrigal, the results are comparablewith those reported in times of economicstability in economies that conductsimilar surveys.

A project meant to rescue thousands of parrotsmay seem like a natural fit for a country that boasts 16native parrot species, including the scarlet macaw andthe great green macaw.But the World Parrot Refuge, currently seekingdonations and investors for construction in CostaRica, has drawn criticism and concern from local birdenthusiasts.The founders of the refuge envision a 235-acrepreserve with large enclosures that will allow the relativefreedom of as many as 3,000 unwanted pet parrots.The preserve, to be located a 25-minute drive fromPuntarenas near the Tárcoles River, would also attractthousands of tourists, founder Horst Neumann said.With lifespans of up to 100 years, many pet parrotsend up unwanted or mistreated when their owners tireof their novelty, Neumann said. Bred as pets, they cannotbe released into the wild.The proposed refuge would include 100 endangered species rescued from homes aroundthe world.CRITICS, however, worry that theintroduction of non-native parrot speciescould have a devastating impact on CostaRica’s native parrots.They also say the refuge is evidence ofthe immediate-gratification type of tourismgrowing in the country.“Their hearts are in the right place. It isvery true what they say, most people whenthey get a pet parrot don’t realize they arein it for the long term. But bringing all ofthese animals here is a big mistake,” saidBruce Young, a Monteverde-based ornithologistwith NatureServe, a non-profitconservation organization.PARROTS are renowned for their diseases,Young said. Because the WorldParrot Refuge would have open-air enclosures,the spread of diseases from nonnativebirds to the native population livingin the surrounding rain forest is nearlyinevitable, he said.Disease can be spread through bitinginsects or bird poop run-off.Even with the best efforts, the risk ofescape is always a threat, Young added.For example, fallen branches and vandalscan tear nets, Young said.“What worries me is we are finallystarting to see an increase in the scarletmacaw population, and just north of wheretheir range is, we will have this parrotpark,” said another critic, Dr. ChristopherVaughan, a conservation biologist from theUniversity of Wisconsin and a visiting professorat Universidad Nacional.The scarlet macaw population in CostaRica was up to 392 as of the last count inSeptember 2003, Vaughan said.NEUMANN and cofounder WendyHuntbatch insist their birds will be disease-free,and will comply with all of the regulationsof the Ministry of the Environmentand Energy (MINAE) for the import ofanimals.“I don’t think people realize how strictMINAE is,” Huntbatch said.The birds will need approval of boththe importing and the exporting countries,as well as certificates of health, accordingto Juan Rodríguez, a local representativeof the Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species (CITES), whichoperates under MINAE in Costa Rica.The project will also need approval ofthe ministry’s National System of Areas ofConservation (SINAC), Rodríguez said ina faxed response to Tico Times questions.“We should be very careful to protectendemic species,” he said. “We do notwant the invasion of exotic species thatcould eventually displace our species.”HUNTBATCH and Neumann currentlyoperate a parrot refuge for 250 parrots inBritish Columbia, Canada. Every weekthey are sent birds that have been kept insmall cages for years, often in poor healthbecause of unhealthy diets or smokyhomes, Huntbatch said.The couple has worked for years to rescuethese birds and stop the pet-bird breedingpractice that produced them in the first place.Unable to meet the needs of the thousandsof unwanted parrots in the world intheir facilities in Canada, the couple developedthe idea of the World Parrot Refuge.They found Costa Rica’s climate to beideal for a year-round outdoor facility.Although the focus of the World ParrotRefuge is to rescue birds, the foundersmight also breed rare species, “to keep thegene pool alive,” Neumann said. Therefuge, however, would not include arelease program.SO far in their development plan,Neumann and Huntbatch have funded theproject personally and through a few donationsfrom the public. The purchase of theproperty and construction of the facilitieswill cost between $3 million and $4 million,they estimate.The couple is soliciting donationsthrough the Internet Web site www.worldparrotrefuge.com. They are also consideringlooking for investors for the project,which they say will include profitable andnon-profit aspects. The land will be placedin a trust to guarantee the continuance ofthe refuge, Neumann said.With a hotel, restaurant, gift shop andthe possibility of sleeping in “adventurehuts” within the enclosures – and chargingan admission fee of around $40 – Neumannhopes the project will be self-sustaining.LIKE it or not, Young thinks it could be.“That is the trend now in Costa Rica,” hesaid. “Tourists 20 years ago really wanted tolearn about the rain forest, and they’d comeand spend time there. Now it seems like a lotof tourists are more interested in instant gratification.We see this in Monteverde, theytake their short walk in the forest, and theydon’t see anything, so what they do the restof the time is go to the zoo, the butterfly gardensand frog ponds.”Vaughan worries this type of tourismcould send the wrong message.“In Costa Rica, with more than500,000 species of biodiversity, why do weneed people to come and look at exoticspecies?” he said.“It’s difficult enough to try to understandour native biodiversity. It is likebringing a Safari Land into Florida; it’slike a Disney World or something.”

FOR some, it’s a sudden inconvenience and expense.For others, it is the closing of a door to a new life in NorthAmerica.While the latter may ponder for years to come theCanadian government’s decision to require visas for CostaRicans, the former have spent the last week scrambling tocomply with the new rules before flights to weddings andgraduations, conferences and schools.Costa Ricans were given just 24 hours notice about the visarequirement. Arriving in Canada without one means beingtold to get back on the plane, according to Canadian officials.HUNDREDS of Ticos this week scrambled to gatherproofs of employment, statements from savings accounts,documents showing property ownership and letters of invitationfrom host family members or businesses – anythingto show they have no intention of staying permanently inCanada.Many waiting in line at the Canadian Embassy thisweek said they understood the immigration decision in lightof reports about the recent flood of Costa Ricans applyingfor refugee status in Canada.However, they criticized the lack of advance notice of the new requirement.“They should not have done it soquickly,” said Christian Muñoz, whoworks for the student exchange programAgencia de Viajes Colón.Muñoz said three students who weresupposed to travel on May 14 were notable to receive their visas in time. Hehopes they will be approved before classesbegin in Canada May 31.THE reason the changes were enactedso quickly was to prevent a rush of CostaRicans into Canada to exploit the systembefore an announced cut-off date, said TedMackay, political counselor for theCanadian Embassy. A one-day grace periodwas allowed for those already traveling(TT, May 14).However, some people waiting at theembassy questioned how much noticeembassy officials had themselves.“They are not prepared for this, theydon’t even have seats for us,” said JuanTobías Rosares, who waited for about anhour for his visa interview. Rosares and hiswife are taking a trip to the United States,but have plans to visit Niagara Falls inOntario for a day trip, and therefore needthe visas.ALTHOUGH people entering Canadafor less than 48 hours as part of an organizedtour do not have to pay the visa-processingfee, without his tour documentationRosares will have to pay the $55 feefor a one-time visa.Travelers and business people whoplan to enter Canada on more than oneoccasion can apply for a multiple-entryvisa for $110, which lasts anywhere fromsix months to the expiration date on thetraveler’s passport.Officials are not worried about theimpact such fees will have on tourism toCanada.“I think if you want to go to Canada, orif you want to go to Costa Rica fromCanada, you have to pay the departure tax,so I think travelers generally figure that intothe cost of traveling,” Mackay said. “I don’tthink it will impact the tourism flow.”HOWEVER, Muñoz worries the visarequisite could reduce the number of studentswho go to Canada for language programs.“A lot of kids go to Canada to learnEnglish, since it’s too complicated to getvisas to the United States,” he said. “Butnow where will they go?”Yamileth Herrera also said the newrequisites will make her rethink future tripsto visit her daughter in Canada.“I usually go every year, but now that Ihave to do this every time, this trip couldbe my last,” she said.Herrera said in the last four years shehas had more and more problems enteringCanada. Her bags are often searched andimmigration officials at Canadian airportsquestion her extensively about possibleintentions to stay in the country permanently.This type of review has becomeincreasingly common, Mackay admitted,adding that this is one reason for the visas.Someone with a visa should have no problempassing through airport immigration,he added.LAST year, 1,837 Costa Ricansapplied for refugee status in Canada.They did so with the hope of being grantedpermanent legal status and some governmentaid, according to Mackay. Thenumber of such requests was up from 248in 2000 and amounts to 4,287 in the lastfour years.But most of those cases are unfounded,Mackay said.In fact, 99% percent of refugee claimswere rejected, according to the CostaRican Foreign Ministry. However, becausethe evaluation process is backlogged,Costa Ricans could stay in Canada for severalyears before a decision was made,according to Mackay.“If you have people claiming to berefugees who are not, it undermines thevalue of the refugee system. It is supposedto offer protection to legitimate refugees,”he explained.Furthermore, these numbers do notinclude the Costa Ricans who decided tostay in Canada, without claiming refugeestatus.MACKAY said the visa requirementwill put an end to coyote-type, human-traffickingbusinesses that promise desperateCosta Ricans new lives in Canada, chargethem large fees, and then leave themstranded when their refugee claims aredenied and they are deported to CostaRica.Costa Rica was fifth on the list ofcountries with the most refugee requestsin Canada, surpassed only by Pakistan,Colombia, China, Mexico and Sri Lanka.Mexico is now the only country inLatin America that does not have a visarequirement to Canada, according toMackay. Since December 2001, visaexemptions have been lifted for Grenada,Hungary, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia andMalaysia, among other countries.LIKE all Central American countries,visa decisions for Costa Ricans will bemade in Guatemala. Interviews are conductedin Costa Rica and documents arethen forwarded to Guatemala.Visa processing takes between fivedays and three weeks, according to theCanadian Embassy in Guatemala’s Website, www.guatemala.gc.ca

GRANADA, Nicaragua – Mountingtension over the education budget eruptedinto street battles this week, as hundreds ofNicaraguan university students clashed violentlywith riot police in university citiesaround the country, resulting in one death,some 30 injuries and a dozen arrests.The most violent fighting occurredMonday in the cities of Managua andJinotepe, 46 kilometers south of the capital,where students and police exchanged fire formost of the day in a virtual urban war.University students also took to thestreets – albeit less violently – in the northwestdepartment of León and the southernAtlantic coast town of Bluefields, whereno arrests or injuries were reported.WEARING bandanas and gas masks,students from the National Universityoccupied the main road in front of downtownManagua’s Metrocentro shoppingmall and the surrounding area, firinghomemade mortars and throwing rocksand Molotov cocktails at riot police. Policereturned fire with rubber bullets and teargas, as students dug up the road bricks tobuild barricades.The fighting was even more intense inJinotepe, where armed students from theAgricultural University attempted to storma police station. The ensuing battle leftdozens injured, several critically. Onepolice officer, Róger Rodríguez, 28, diedof internal bleeding Tuesday morning afterbeing shot in the chest with a homemademortar the day before.In both cities, there were reports oflive weapon fire. According to the hospitals,at least three students were hospitalizedMonday with AK-47 bullet wounds,including one student with a criticalwound to his lungs. Both sides denyusing live weapon rounds.JULIO Vega, Minister of the Interior,appealed for calm and lamented that thesituation would damage the internationalimage of Nicaragua. He blamed the universityrectors for inciting the violencethat led to the police officer’s death, andvowed to take legal action against theintellectual authors.The State Prosecutor’s Office promisedto investigate the incident in Jinotepe andclaimed it could prosecute those foundresponsible for acts of terrorism. Police havealready provided an alleged hidden-cameravideo revealing a group of 10 students makinghomemade mortars.Protest leader Yassir Martínez, presidentof the Nicaraguan Students’ Union,told The Tico Times this week via cellphone that the street fighting was a “totalsuccess” and that only the government is toblame for the violence.MARTÍNEZ said the street protestswill continue until the government complieswith the Constitutional obligation toprovide public education with 6% of thegovernment’s annual budget expenditures.According to calculations by theNational University Council, 6% comesout to $59.6 million. The government,however, claims the universities are budgetedto receive in funds and subsidizedutilities the equivalent of $50.9 million –an amount it says comes out to 7.5% ofthe total budget.The government is blaming the discrepancyin the budget calculations on erroneouscalculations by the National UniversityCouncil, as a result of including the deficit(foreign loans, donations and foreign debtservice) in their budget calculations.Law set the education budget at 6% in1992. Since then, street fighting betweenpolice and students has become an almostannual event.THE National Assembly remainsdivided on a proposal to reform the budgetand increase education spending. DanielOrtega, secretary general of the oppositionleft-wing Sandinista National LiberationFront, has thrown his party’s supportbehind the students, claiming that the governmenthas the money to fund the 6%education budget.The ruling Liberal Constitutional Party,meanwhile, claims there is no more moneyfor education, and reforming the budget tomeet the students’ demands would meanstrangling other public programs.

GRANADA, Nicaragua – Soaringinternational oil prices this week shot uppump prices in Nicaragua to a record-high41 córdobas ($2.60) per gallon, sparking anew crisis for this impoverished country’sproductive sector and prompting the governmentto appeal for help from neighboringoil-producing nations.As crude prices reached an historichigh of $41.52 on the New York StockExchange, many Nicaraguans are findingthe price of gas an unbearable burden todoing business.“The price of gas is exaggeratedly high.It is no longer profitable to drive my cab,”said taxi driver Cesar Mena. “My fares don’tcover the price of gas, but if I raise the fares,no one will pay for my services.”THE pump price in Nicaragua, alreadythe highest in Central America, has risen by64% in the last two years, at a rate disproportionateto adjustments in salary and othercosts of living. According to the CentralBank, inflation rates for the first trimesterthis year reached a five-year high of 4.21%,in part because of rising oil prices.Mena said the prices have sparked theworst crisis in the transportation sector inthe 12 years he has been driving a cab. Hesaid the sector is planning a general workstoppage in the coming days.The agriculture and industrial sectorshave also felt the pinch. The NicaraguanIndustrial Chamber reported that rising gasprices have increased production andtransportation costs by 7% in the last twomonths.PRESIDENT Enrique Bolaños lastweek responded to the crisis by announcingthat he would make written and personalappeals to President Vincente Fox ofMexico and Hugo Chávez of Venezuelafor help from the Latin American oil-producingnations. Bolaños’ government alsosent a letter to the leaders of theOrganization of Petroleum ExportingCountries (OPEC), explaining that high oilprices punish poor countries and demandinga reduction in the cost of crude.Opposition Sandinista leader DanielOrtega proposed creation of an emergencygovernment fund to subsidize public transportationcosts during times of oil crisis toavoid raising bus fares for the rural andurban poor.

TEGUCIGALPA – At least 103 prisoners,mostly young gang members of theinfamous Mara Salvatrucha (MS), diedearly Monday morning of asphyxiation orburn wounds from a fire that tore througha prison building housing gangsters in SanPedro Sula’s overcrowded PenitentiaryCenter, 240 kilometers north of the capital.An additional 25 prisoners were hospitalizedwith burn wounds, according toVice-Minister of Security ArmandoCalidonio.The prison tragedy, the worst in thecountry’s history, comes a little more thana year after 68 Honduran prisoners werekilled or executed during an April 2003riot with guards in El Porvenir jail, in thenorth coast town of LaCeiba. During the riot,which rights groupsare calling a state authoredmassacre, 61members of the youthgang Mara 18 werekilled.THE San PedroSula prison, originallybuilt to house 1,700inmates, held 2,227prisoners at the timethe fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. onMonday. The blaze apparently wassparked by a short circuit, according toSecurity Ministry spokesman LeonelSauceda.More than 180 prisoners – mostlygang members – were incarcerated togetherin the section of the jail that caught fire.Several of the prisoners who survivedclaimed that the prison guards openedgunfire on the panicking prisoners insteadof opening the jail cell doors to let themout.“THE authorities had the opportunityto go to the jail cells and open the gates,but instead what they did was to shoot tokeep us from leaving the cells,” saidinmate Pablo Cardona, a MS gang member.“They wanted us to die, like the othersdied, they wanted the rest of us to die.The police said: ‘leave them, leave them,’when we yelled for help.”Sauceda acknowledged that several ofthe guards had fired their weapons, butclaimed that they were “alert shots” thatwere not intended for the prisoners. Henoted that none of the corpses taken fromthe prison were found with bullet wounds.Yolanda Perdomo, of the CriminalInvestigation Department, said the autopsieswould reveal if any of the prisonersdied of gunshots. By Tuesday morning,none of the first 30 autopsies revealed bulletwounds, according to on-site forensicmedic Francisco Herrera.THE Catholic Church has called for afull investigation.“This has been an awful event. Nearly100 young men have perished, the majorityof asphyxiation,”said RómuloEmiliani, AuxiliaryBishop of SanPedro Sula, who hasworked on rehabilitationinitiatives forgang members.“This has been oneof the biggesttragedies we havesuffered in thiscountry’s prisonsystem.”Prison director Elías Aceitunoannounced that he was suspended fromhis post following the fire, but that hewould resign from his post permanently.President Ricardo Maduro, whose governmentlast August launched a massivecrackdown on gangs, cut short hisEuropean trip to return to Honduras. Hewas in Rome visiting Pope John Paul IIwhen notified of the fire.“The objective is be sure the necessaryinvestigations are carried out immediately,”Maduro said, according to Reuters.More than 30,000 Honduran youth arebelieved to belong to gangs, mostly in SanPedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. Rightsgroups have blasted the governmentcrackdown as social cleansing.