GRANADA, Nicaragua – Former President Arnoldo Alemán’s days of incarcerated luxury at his private hacienda “El Chile” could be numbered, following a resolution by the Criminal Chamber of Managua’s Appeals Tribunal calling for Alemán’s transfer from house arrest to La Modelo prison in Tipitapa, east of Managua.

The court’s resolution was signed by the three-judge tribunal March 12, but not made public until Tuesday in a series of newspaper reports that apparently came as a surprise to Criminal Appeals Tribunal judge Martha Lacayo, who claimed she had signed the resolution four days earlier without realizing what it said.

Lacayo, who claims she has no party affiliation, accused the other

judges – both sympathizers of the opposition Sandinista National Liberation Front – of hoodwinking her into signing the resolution by slipping it into a stack of other documents she needed to sign.

“THIS was a fraud. I am distancing myself from this. I don’t want to know anything more about it,” Lacayo told reporters during an awkward press conference Tuesday; adding, with no intentional irony: “If you want to know what the resolution says, it is right here for you to read.”

Before police executed the judges’ order to move Alemán to jail Tuesday afternoon, two other judges of the Civil Chamber of Managua’s Appeals Tribunal signed a separate resolution ordering a freeze of the transfer order.

The two contradictory resolutions from different Chambers of the same Appeals Tribunal baffled and irritated government leaders and political analysts.

“UNFORTUNATELY, once again, we see that our justice system is one that corresponds to political interests and not the interest of the nation,” said Minister of the Interior Julio Vega, who Tuesday afternoon was personally inspecting the jail conditions for Alemán’s transfer when he received notice that the second resolution had been handed down.

He blasted the situation as “absurd” and accused party leaders of the ruling Liberal Constitutional Party and opposition Sandinista Front of making a mockery of the judicial system and the country.

However, Vega stressed his responsibility is to enforce court orders, not interpret contradictory resolutions, and said Alemán would remain in El Chile until the Supreme Court stepped in and ruled on matter.

ALEMÁN, still considered the Liberal’s party boss, is serving a 20-year sentence for fraud and money-laundering.

The former President has been allowed to serve his sentence at his private compound, known as “El Chile,” for health considerations.

The former President is alleged to have between three and eight different “chronic and incurable” diseases, according to various family members and Liberal Party leaders. Alemán is reported to be diabetic with high blood pressure and other heart complications, although the specific nature of his other ailments is unclear.

Alemán’s wife, Maria Fernanda Flores, told TV news station 100% that she feared her husband’s life would be in danger from his “enemies” in La Modelo.

“The Sandinistas are capable of anything,” she said.

THE administration of President Enrique Bolaños this week stressed the urgency of passing pending judicial reforms aimed at avoiding just such a crisis of legal interpretation.

Sandinista party boss Daniel Ortega, meanwhile, blasted the Bolaños government for protecting Alemán by refusing to carry out the first Appeals Tribunal resolution.

While the newest crisis is putting increased strains on Nicaragua’s alreadyweak institutional democracy, even political observers appeared confused by the implications of what was happening.

“I can’t say what the ramifications are, I am still trying to understand this myself,” Carlos Fernando Chamorro, veteran political commentator and son of former

President Violetta Chamorro, told The Tico Times Tuesday.

WIND is blowing like crazy on the northern Pacific coast, with many boats out of Tamarindo and Flamingo basing at Playa Carrillo, or running clients south of Cabo Vela. If it follows the normal pattern as expected, all will be well for the Michigan Boys Tournament, scheduled out of Flamingo in April.

There appears to be more consistent fishing farther south, where Julie Kieldsen reports that Florida anglers Frank Durand and Frank Piazza fished the Reel Pleasure out of Los Sueños at Herradura Bay on the Central Pacific Coast, and went 15 releases for 16 sailfish up only 8 miles from shore.

“The blue water is back close to the beach, bringing the sailfish and marlin in with it, and marlin are being caught daily at The Corner, a spot 14 miles to the south,” Julie said.

Quepos boats are reporting similar action farther south.

Julie also reports that Don Quincey, Bob Mount, Merl Faupel and Jennifer Hoyle had an incredible four-day trip aboard the 64-foot Carcharodon. It took them south from Los Sueños to DrakeBay the first day, where they went three for six on sails at CañoIsland. The next morning they moved farther south off Golfito and by 9 a.m. had nine more sailfish.

About 11 a.m., a giant black marlin charged the left teaser; they dropped back a bait, which the fish took and Quincey was off to the races – the marlin greyhounded, then bored deep and finally came in to take a peek at the boat before heading to the depths, Judy said.

Don had the estimated 500-pound black marlin on the line for two hours before getting it close enough to release.

They added nine more sails to the boat that afternoon, and more the following day. Out of Quepos, Bill Gannon, captain of the Unique, reports the fish are a 15- to 20- mile run from the beach, with boats raising 15 to 25 sails a day.

Todd Staley reports from Crocodile Bay Lodge at Puerto Jiménez in the Southern Zone that pro football players Trey Teague, Mark Robertson, Dave Moore and Alex Van Pelt of the Buffalo Bills, along with stunt pilot Walt Powell were among 22 anglers competing in a private tournament there in early March.

“They took enough sails to make it interesting, and lots of roosterfish to 60 pounds,” Todd said. He adds that boats are seeing about five marlin a day, with a few to the boat estimated at 250 to 350 pounds.

On the Caribbean, Dan Wise reports from the Colorado Lodge that tarpon just won’t quit, with a pair of anglers out of the lodge Tuesday morning reporting five releases between 6 and 9 a.m., working inside the river.

Dan said all are amazed to find the calba (a species of small snook) have made a reappearance a month after their normal run, with guide Luis Pérez nailing 13 in one day last weekend.

For more info on fishing, contact Jerry at jruhlow@costaricaoutdoors.com or visit www.costaricaoutdoors.com Anglers are invited to e-mail or call Jerry with fishing reports by Wednesday of each week. Call or fax: 282-6743 if calling from Costa Rica, or through the e-mail address above.

AS chaos swept over the country’s customs offices this week, government officials assured importers and business chambers that the “inconveniences” that had made it impossible for them to retrieve their merchandise from customs warehouses had been resolved.

“It was all a large misunderstanding,” said Roy González, Vice-Minister of Finance, during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “The Director of Customs [Francisco Fonseca] signed a document clarifying the situation to customs officers.”

The misunderstanding had to do with a reform to the country’s customs law that went into effect last Friday, requiring all imported merchandise to include a difficult-to-obtain shipping document that in some countries, including the United States and several European countries, is confidential, and in several other countries doesn’t even exist.

WITHOUT the documents, importers were unable to retrieve their merchandise from the customs warehouses at the country’s ports. As the days passed, goods of all kinds piled up in the warehouses.

Importers, many who claimed they were not properly informed about changes to the law, were outraged.

One of the first groups to react was the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), which on Monday forwarded its members an e-mail message from Harvey Monk Jr., Chief of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division, telling them to ignore Costa Rica’s new government requirements.

On Tuesday, the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce declared a state of emergency, warning that the country’s customs offices would collapse unless the problem was solved.

ON Wednesday morning, the Costa Rican Chamber, in the name of several affected companies, filed an injunction before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) alleging the law violated Article 46 of the Constitution – the right to conduct commerce.

The Costa Rican Chamber of Industries followed suit on Wednesday afternoon, filling its own injunction with the Sala.

During the week, the National Direction of Customs received calls and letters from several embassies here, including those of the United States, Canada, Chile and several Asian countries, requesting a clarification of the new rules.

THE problems began last Friday after the legal changes went into effect. The reforms aimed to crack down on illegal smuggling and import tax evasion by requiring all shipments to include a copy of the Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED).

The declaration is a form filled out at a shipment’s port of origin that includes information about the transaction, including the parties involved, the date of the shipment and the weight and value of the goods, among other information.

As of Friday, importers were allowed only to retrieve shipments that included their respective SED. Customs officials applied the rule to all incoming shipments – even those that entered the country before the law went into effect.

IMPORTERS blasted the measure, arguing it was not legal to require SEDs for shipments sent before the reform went into effect. This is particularly important, they pointed out, because many maritime shipments take 10 to 14 days to arrive at the country’s ports and, in some cases, can take as long as 22 days.

In addition, several of Costa Rica’s trading partners – the largest being the United States – have laws that protect the confidentiality of SEDs, and prohibit them from being given to unauthorized people.

“… The information on the SED may not be disclosed to anyone except the U.S. Principal Party in Interest or their agent and only when such a copy is needed to comply with United States official legal and regulatory export control requirements,” Monk wrote in the letter forwarded by AmCham. “Therefore, we are requesting that you [Principal Parties, Freight Forwarders, and Common Carriers] do not provide the SED or Automated Export System records to the Government of Costa Rica.”

Furthermore, several other trading partners don’t require SEDs, making it impossible for vessels from these countries to present one, said opponents of the new measure.

TO resolve the crisis, Customs Director Francisco Fonseca sent a letter to customs officers clarifying how to correctly apply the law. His letter also cited a long series of exemptions to the law.

The law cannot be applied, and was never supposed to be applied, to any product that arrived in the country or was shipped before Friday, Fonseca admitted. Since the purpose of the reform is to stop tax evasion, products not subject to import taxes, such as medicines and aid shipments, also are exempt from the new requirements, he clarified.

Products from various countries will be exempted from the law, he said, so all products from the United States and other countries where SEDs are confidential will be exempt. The same goes for products from countries that don’t use SEDs, he said. Central American countries, which use joint Central American Customs Declarations, also will be exempt, he added.

“THE law can’t ask importers to do the impossible,” Vice-Minister González explained. “For that reason, we have the exemptions.’’

González denied all the exemptions would weaken the law’s ability to combat smuggling and tax evasion. He said the country would begin to negotiate bilateral and regional customs cooperation and information exchange agreements with several countries in the coming months to complement the law.

“However, it’s important to mention the lack of preparation shown by the export sector,” he said. “The change in the law was published six months ago. Many importers had time to prepare but chose not to.”

The Executive Branch plans to resubmit the law to the Legislative Assembly to be revised, he added.

ENVIRONMENT and Energy Minister Carlos Manuel Rodríguez this week reiterated there would be no settlement with Harken Costa Rica Holdings LLC (HCRH) in connection with a failed oil exploration contract unless the matter is taken to court in Costa Rica.

His decision to end settlement negotiations with HCRH prompted warnings from the U.S. Embassy in San José that it would adversely affect Costa Rica’s business climate and make potential U.S. investors think twice about setting up shop here.

Rodríguez told the press in January that the government of Costa Rica was negotiating a settlement of between $3 million and $11 million with HCRH for losses related to the cancellation of its oil-exploration projects off the Caribbean coast in 2002 (TT, Jan. 16).

LAST week, Rodríguez announced he would not settle with HCRH without a local court hearing. He said the company had violated fundamental aspects of its contract to exploit oil off the coast of Limón.

“We will not approve any contract that has not passed its environmental impact study,” the minister told The Tico Times Monday.

The rejection of the company’s environmental impact study by the Environment Ministry’s Technical Secretariat (SETENA) stopped the oil company from continuing with its activities (TT, Oct. 10, 2003).

BRENT Abadie, president of Louisiana-based MKJ Xploration Inc., a majority shareholder in HCRH, told The Tico Times Monday that the company had not made a decision as to what to do.

Nevertheless, he contested the argument that the oil company had breached the contract because SETENA rejected the environmental study.

“In 2001 the (Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, Sala IV) ruled that SETENA could not make a decision to approve or reject an environmental impact study. Notwithstanding the ruling, they went ahead and made a decision,” Abadie said. “I know for a fact that we are on good ground and the government is in breach,” he added.

ALEXANDRA González, lawyer for the Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE), refuted that position, saying the Sala IV declared SETENA under-funded and in need of more personnel, but that had nothing to do with SETENA’s ability to reject the environmental impact study, which was done correctly.

“We respect the rights of the company,” she added. “We are only interested in continuing with the procedures in accordance with national legislation.”

In 2002, the government of Costa Rica, under former president Miguel Angel Rodríguez, forged a contract with HCRH that granted oil exploration and drilling rights. The company had conducted studies and prepared for its drilling contract since 1999.

President Abel Pacheco took office shortly after and declared Costa Rica off limits to offshore oil exploration (TT, Oct. 10, 2003).

PACHECO’S decision came amid an environmentally concerned chorus of opposition to oil drilling, especially from the Caribbean coastal communities whose economy is tied tightly to ecotourism.

Abadie contends the decision to annul the contract is politically motivated, stemming from Pacheco’s policy against oil exploration, and charged the negation of the company’s environmental impact study is a pretext.

HCRH filed a request for international arbitration before the WashingtonD.C.- based InternationalCenter for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, but withdrew the request soon after (TT, Oct. 10, 2003).

It had sought $57 billion in damages – about four times Costa Rica’s gross domestic product – an amount government officials considered ridiculous and completely out of proportion, the Agence France Press wire service reported March 10.

RODRÍGUEZ announced in January that the government was negotiating a settlement with HCRH to compensate for its losses.

Negotiations stumbled when HCRH claimed it had invested $11 million in preliminary work, but Costa Rican authorities estimated the company’s investment at around $3 million.

The government had begun an investigation into the exact amount of losses HCRH had incurred, but that process has been suspended pending a Sala IV ruling on an injunction the company filed against the government, González said.

According to Rodríguez, “It’s true that they have threatened to demand millions in damages, but we are not afraid because we know that we have acted lawfully in support of Costa Rica.”

IN response to that announcement, Robert Toricelli, former U.S. senator and negotiator for U.S.-based Harken Energy, a minority shareholder in HCRH, echoed an official statement from the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. Both said the decision could harm the business climate in the country and give foreign investors pause.

Toricelli said he would make a report to the U.S. Senate, which he believes will be an obstacle to the approval of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in that legislative body.

“It’s a shame I have to bring this before Congress,” Toricelli said. “With all the country’s potential for investment and trade, this is a self-inflicted wound. Costa Rica will severely damage its own reputation.

Not many investors will want to spend their money when there is the potential for loss of funds like this.”

Rodríguez said that if people understand the judicial system in Costa Rica they will not have any problems.

HCRH is calling for the opportunity to try the dispute in an international court. Abadie said he does not think a Costa Rican judge could make an unbiased decision.

“Any honest and reasonable man would agree that the only fair and unbiased venue would be an international tribunal or arbitration panel,” he said.

Rodríguez told The Tico Times, “According to the terms of the contract there are no grounds for accusing us before any international body. If they have any complaints, they should voice them in Costa Rican courts.”

Mauricio Álvarez, energy group director at the Costa Rican Federation for Conservation (FECON) called the government’s decision “valuable and dignified,” but said he fears HCRH will extend the court battles into the next government administration and eventually win its contract or a monetary settlement.

FORMER President and Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias (1986-1990) yesterday formally announced his plans to run for President in 2006 as a National Liberation Party candidate.

The televised announcement came as no surprise. Since 1999, Arias has expressed a strong desire to again become Costa Rica’s President (TT, Dec. 3, 1999).

Although a frontrunner in the race for his party’s nomination, Arias still must contend with the challenge of Antonio Álvarez Desanti – his former Agriculture Minister – who also has stated his desire to become the country’s next President.

Arias’ announcement unofficially kicked off the 2006 presidential campaign, which some experts predict may become one of the most heated and potentially ugly campaigns in Costa Rican history.

TRANSFORMING Costa Rica into the region’s first developed country will be the central message of the Arias 2006 campaign.

“I have a long-term vision for the country,” Arias told the press last week. “In 2021, Costa Rica will celebrate 200 years of independence.

“…We must resume the dream of 1986,” he said. “Costa Rica can and must become the first developed country in Latin America. Between 2006 and 2010, we hope to be able to push toward making that happen.” Improving public education, he explained, needs to be a top priority if the country is to develop.

Arias also expressed strong support for the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States, which Costa Rica finished negotiating in January (TT, Jan. 30), and the government’s proposed Permanent Fiscal Reform Package (TT, March 12).

THE road to Arias’ reelection campaign has been a long one. On Dec. 1, 1999, Arias announced he intended to participate in the 2002 presidential elections. To participate in the race, he said, he would pursue a constitutional reform to overturn a 1969 amendment to the Constitution that prohibited reelection.

Álvarez, José Miguel Corrales and Rolando Araya – the three National Liberation members who aspired to be the party’s presidential candidate in 2002 –blasted that announcement.

On March 12, 2000, using personal funds and private contributions, Arias organized a non-binding referendum asking Costa Ricans if they were in favor of reelection.

Of the 145,000 people who voted in the referendum, 88% said they agreed reelection should be an option. Although the result had no legal value, Arias hoped it would help convince the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) to overturn the reelection ban (TT, March 17, 2000).

Unaffected by the results, Sala IV upheld the ban on Sept. 6, 2000, effectively stopping Arias from running in 2002. Arias responded saying he would give up on his plans to pursue the presidency (TT, Sept. 8, 2000).

The 2002 Liberation primaries went on

without Arias. The eventual winner, Araya,

came in second during the national election,

behind President Abel Pacheco. It was the

first time the party had lost two consecutive

elections since it was founded in 1951.

IN 2003, the constitutionality of the

reelection ban was taken to court again,

this time by Arias supporters, under a new

argument. On April 4, 2003, Sala IV overturned

the ban.

According to the court’s ruling, the ban

violated the right of Costa Ricans to seek

public office. Reforms to the Constitution

can only be used expand and protect rights,

not to reduce them, the court ruled.

Therefore, the ban was unconstitutional.

The Sala IV ruling paved the way for

Arias to run in 2006 (TT, April 11, 2003).

If the presidential elections were held

this week, according to a poll published

Tuesday by the daily Al Día, Arias would

win with 43% of the national vote – nearly

twice as many votes as his nearest rival

Ottón Solís of Citizen Action Party, who

previously served as his Planning Minister

and also ran for President in 2002.

The Tico Times requested an interview

with Arias to discuss his reelection bid, but

he did not return numerous phone calls in

recent weeks.

ALVAREZ, aware he is the underdog in the race for Liberation’s nomination, said he believes he has a clear and honest message that will prompt Liberation voters to support him in May 2005, when the party chooses its presidential candidate.

“We have a concrete message,” Álvarez told The Tico Times. “I would say it consists of returning to Costa Rica’s roots – a society of opportunities that promotes social mobility.

“The most important thing is for the next government to fight for a fair distribution of wealth that strengthens the middle class and opens new opportunities for young people and small and medium businesses,” he explained. “That’s the direction we’re heading in – a government that provides security for families and society, a better future for all of our people.”

Álvarez, who came in third during the party’s last primary, says voters have gotten a chance to know him as a negotiator who combines experience with youth. A mix of these two elements, he said, is what is needed to renovate Liberation.

ADAPTING the party’s traditional social-democratic principles to today’s reality, Álvarez explains, is a much better choice than recycling leaders and messages of the past.

“There’s a clear difference,” he said. “We [Álvarez and Arias] are from two different generations. I represent a dynamic, executive and managerial personality. We represent a change over what has been done over the past 20 years.

“We represent a new movement,” he continued. “Fortunately, we have also managed to appeal to the more traditional members of the party.”

Arias’ predecessor, former President Luis Alberto Monge (1982-1986), last month publicly endorsed Álvarez as Liberation’s candidate.

Álvarez said persistence and patience will guide him to victory. “We’re starting the primary at a disadvantage, given that our rival is a former President,” he said. “During the next 18 months, his campaign and his message will lose steam. During that time, our message will find its way to the voters.”

Álvarez this week began airing several radio ads criticizing the government’s fiscal plan, saying it would put an unfair burden on the middle class and small and medium businesses.

Finance Minister Alberto Dent on Tuesday dismissed the ads, calling them false and uninformed.

AND another wild card exists, analysts point out.

Legislative deputy José Miguel Corrales, Liberation’s candidate in 1998 and runner-up in the party’s last primary, last week said he is “seriously considering” running.

An experienced politician with a long history of criticizing Arias’ “neo-liberal economic policies” and Sala IV’s “undemocratic decisions,” the lone wolf, as Corrales has been referred to in the local press, could very well affect the outcome of Liberation’s primary.

Corrales’ message is blunt – he claims the political right is hijacking the party. He also has criticized both Álvarez and Arias for being “too similar” on most important issues.

REGARDLESS of who wins the party’s primary election, National Liberation Party president Francisco Antonio Pacheco said he is confident all sides will be able to put aside their differences and band together during the national elections.

“We still don’t know how the primary will turn out and what differences will arise from it,” Pacheco said. “National Liberation Party has a long history of strong and intense primaries. The party is capable of assimilating the differences each faction may have.”

Pacheco added it “appears inevitable” that Liberation will win in 2006.

THE party’s candidate for the 2006 presidential election will be chosen by those who vote in the party’s primary, traditionally held on a Sunday in May the year before the national elections take place. The Liberation Party primary is open to all Costa Ricans over the age of 18.

To participate, according to party bylaws, voters must sign a document joining the party before they vote. Signing the document, however, does not prevent voters from becoming members of other political parties. The pre-candidate with the most votes becomes the party’s candidate after the decision is ratified by the party’s National Executive Committee.

A panel of experts from around Central America, Cuba, Colombia and Uruguay were in San José this week to review cases brought to the second public audience of the Central American Water Tribunal, an ethical court that reviews cases and gives recommendations to governments and businesses about the ethical management of water.

The court reviewed nine cases from across the isthmus this week, including two cases from Costa Rica, two from El Salvador, two from Guatemala, and one each from Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras.

Verdicts on the cases are expected to be announced today at 5:30 p.m.

The tribunal is only for ethical decision-making and its verdicts are not binding for governments, according to organizers. But, tribunal director Javier Bogantes said, “Ethics are fundamental in the protection of human rights and the rights of the environment.”

HE called the Central American water situation “alarming,” and pointed to data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that says 16 million of the 40 million people living in Central America, (35% of its population) do not have access to potable water.

Bogantes told the press that in 2002, at least 1.1 billion people worldwide lacked potable water and 2.4 billion people did not have access to basic sanitary services.

The nine cases reviewed by the tribunal this week include distinct problems with various types of water sources, including seawater, rivers and aquifers. Concerning Costa Rica, the panel will review a complaint brought by the Association of Community Development from the area of Santa Cruz, in the northwestern Guanacaste province, in response to the subterraneous extraction of aquifer water for use by hotels.

“IN a dry zone that already has problems with water, the best development efforts are being directed toward people who don’t live in the zone,” said Wilmer Matarrita, a member of the non-governmental organization FEDEGUA, during a Monday address about the case at Universidad Nacional in Heredia.

“The development in Guanacaste, in our country in general, should continue for the benefit of citizens in the zone,” Matarrita said.

The other Costa Rican case the tribunal will review is related to water pollution from the fumigation of banana plantations in Larga Distancia de Matina, Limón, on the country’s Caribbean slope.

ONE of the most widely discussed cases the court reviewed is that of the transportation of nuclear waste across the Panama Canal, which opponents say puts at risk the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of people in the region.

Twenty years ago, French and English companies began transporting nuclear waste through the 82-kilometer canal to be processed in Japan, and returned via the same route (TT, Nov. 7, 2003).

Raúl Escoffery, of the Panamanian Human Rights Committee, in San José for the tribunal, said the government has yet to conduct studies pertaining to environmental and security risks associated with the process.

He said one simple accident could be devastating if a ship were carrying nuclear waste, and could result in more than 100,000 deaths and a regional disaster.

In the 2003 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, 2003, the Panama Canal Authority reported 12 maritime accidents from a total of 13,154 transits (TT, March 12).

Escoffery said even if the government of Panama cannot be dissuaded from allowing transportation of the waste, decrees in Costa Rica or Colombia prohibiting the transportation of nuclear waste through their waters could prove just as effective in stopping its movement through the canal.

“We want to prohibit it in Panama, and take the lead in prohibiting it in Central America and the Caribbean,” Escoffery said.

THE tribunal also reviewed the potential damage to the potable water supply in El Salvador caused by the construction of a massive highway encircling the nation’s capital, San Salvador.

The proposed highway, according to Mauricio Serméno of Salvadorian Ecology United, could be as wide as 100 meters in some places, and could be as long as 100 kilometers. The construction of the canal and the subsequent clearing of more than 600,000 trees could cause irreversible damage to the aquifer in the area, he said.

Serméno said that with a price tag of $1.5 billion, the highway would suck up more than 40% of the nation’s budget.

The other Salvadoran case the ethical panel reviewed is that of a hydroelectric dam project proposed for the Rio Torola, which, if carried out, would require the evacuation of more than 21,000 people, most of whom are agricultural workers, according to the tribunal.

CONCERNING Nicaragua, the panel reviewed the case of the canalization and drainage of the Río Negro (whose waters are shared by Nicaragua and Honduras), in the area of Guasule, on the border with Honduras, which has “drained the waters of this river on the Nicaraguan side, drying up 36 wells and causing droughts,” according to a document released by the tribunal.

Judges also review the Guatemalan case of the proliferation of hydrilla verticilata aquatic plant in LakeIzabal, located in the area by the same name in the northwest portion of the country. The proliferation of the plants, which now cover 70 square kilometers of the lake, allegedly are a consequence of the use of pesticides and the lack of an adequate water-treatment system.

The plants are adversely affecting the area’s ecosystem, according to the tribunal.

THE two cases from Honduras included the extraction of mangroves and contamination of hydrological ecosystems attributed to shrimp companies in the Gulf of Fonseca, on the Pacific coast of the country, as well as the contamination of the River Lara, allegedly by the mining company Minosa in San Andrés de la Union, in Copán, in the country’s northwest region.

THE price of steel rods (varillas) used for construction has stabilized since a large shipment of steel entered the country two weeks ago, according to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce.

In recent months, the construction of massive public works and industrial projects in China has sparked a worldwide shortage of steel and a sharp increase in the product’s international price.

The shortage directly affected Costa Rica, where, on average, the price of steel rods increased 10.95% during January. The most dramatic increase was to the price of 3/8-inch rods – the most commonly used type – which increased by 27%. The increase resulted in a nearly 30% drop in construction in Costa Rica during January (TT, Feb. 27).

The new shipment succeeded in stabilizing rod prices here but has done little to reduce them, according to Ministry statistics.

SPANISH Airline Iberia is considering transferring its Latin American hub from Miami to JuanSantamaríaInternationalAirport as a result of the strict security measures being applied at U.S. airports, the daily La Nación reported.

According to Iberia Director Angel Mullor, the new anti-terrorism measures have caused great discomfort to the airline’s passengers.

The airline is currently evaluating Cancún, Mexico, Panama City and San José as possible locations for its new hub.

“Our situation in Miami is hard to sustain,” Mullor said. “We are facing many problems and are receiving many complaints from our travelers.”

In recent years, Costa Rica has become one of the region’s top tourist destinations, receiving more than one million of tourists a year.

Last year, the Costa Rican tourism industry generated more than $1 billion a year in tourism revenues. The country receives 332 flights from 20 different airlines, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.