Survey to reveal routes of Aedes Aegypti mosquito

Survey to reveal routes of Aedes Aegypti mosquito
In the province of Coclé, health officials from the Vector Control Department of the Ministry of Health (MINSA) yesterday launched an entomological survey entitled "Life cycle of the Aedes Aegypti”.

According to a statement from Minsa, the survey will be conducted throughout the country and aims at discovering the level of infestation of the dengue-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Galindo Ruiz, head of Vector Control, explained that this survey will help health officials obtain a snapshot of the areas where the mosquito is moving more often to feed, mate, and hatch their eggs.

"A broader picture of the levels of infestation will enable us to increase our fumigation operations and more quickly eradicate the dengue vector," said Ruiz.

The areas of center-city Panama, San Miguelito, western Panama, and Chiriquí alone, account for an estimated 80 percent of classic and hemorrhagic dengue cases, which is why there are about 500 vector control agents rigorously "fumigating and eliminating potential breeding sites," he added.

Over the course of this year, Minsa has spent more than a million dollars on programs geared towards eliminating breeding sites and raising national awareness on the health risks associated with dengue and the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and applied over 8,000 sanctions for residences found to have breeding sites on their grounds.

Security minister asserts Child protectors report

Security minister asserts
that crime is going down


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


The Arias administration is pointing to a decrease in the number of 2009 murders and in fewer home invasions and car thefts as an achievement.

The statistics came Monday from Janina del Vecchio, the minister of security, who gave the annual summary in the presence of President Óscar Arias Sánchez. She has been criticized for being a political choice with little background in law enforcement.

She said the numbers came from the Judicial Investigating Organization and were based on reports from January through November. Robberies in San José were down 4.9 percent and home invasions were down 8.8 percent, she said.

Ms. del Vecchio credited among other factors the success of the Tribunales de Flagrancia that have been instituted by the Poder Judicial. Criminals caught in the acts or nearly so sometimes are tried and sentenced within hours. The Poder Judicial is trying to put the concept into effect nationwide.

The Fuerza Pública and its dependency have confiscated 92,974 kilos of cocaine since the start of the Arias administration in May 2006, the agency said.

The security ministry conducted three sweeps of Limón province in 2009 which resulted in arrests and confiscation of weapons and drugs. The ministry credits these sweeps for reducing the murders there by 23 percent.

There are 40,000 more policemen on the force now. This was a campaign promise by Arias, and the budget of the ministry has gone from 62 billion colons to 124 billion proposed for 2010, about $219 million.

In addition, the administration has raised police base wages some 25 percent.

This is the last full year of the Arias administration. He leaves office in May. He is known to be troubled by the public perception of a rising crime rate.


Child protectors report
that hotline is getting calls


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


The Patronato Nacional reported Monday that it has received 800 calls on its 147 hotline that has resulted in exchanges with 142 youngsters under age 18 in 18 communities.

The hotline is supported by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad in conjunction with World Vision.

The Patronato, the child protection agency, said that the service is designed to let youngsters know their rights and to clear up doubts about their sexuality.

The government agency also has a Web page, also in conjunction with World Vision where youngsters are alerted to their rights.

The Patronato said that 80 percent of the hotline calls are to seek information about services such as scholarships for school children. Just 3 percent could be characterized as complaints.


New defender of people
coming from legislature


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


Lawmakers did not have to look far for a new defender of the public. The Partido Liberación Nacional will be promoting one of its own, Ofelia Taitelbaum, for the job when a secret vote is held today.

There is opposition from other parties, in part because some lawmakers do not feel that she would be an independent actor because she is tied too closely to the Óscar Arias Sánchez administration.

The lawmakers had open nomination for the job, which is supposed to head the Defensoría do los Habitantes, sort of an ombudsman to help people enmeshed in bureaucracy. There were 25 candidates, which were evaluated on a numerical scale.

The principal opponents of the government's candidate are the Partido Acción Ciudadana and Movimiento Libertario.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

HAVANA (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's warning to Latin American nations about their ties with Iran was "an overt threat," especially to his country and Bolivia.

Barack Obama

During a gathering of leftist leaders in Cuba, Chavez said Clinton's words were among "clear signs of an imperial offensive" targeting what he called "progressive forces" in Latin America.

Chavez is the most outspoken U.S. critic in Latin America.

He is among several regional presidents to strengthen diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran despite mounting international pressure on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear ambitions. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela in late November.

Clinton warned Latin American countries last week against becoming too closely involved with Iran, saying that doing so was "a really bad idea" that could have consequences for them.

Her remarks drew criticism from Bolivia's Foreign Ministry and from Chavez.

"It's an overt threat," Chavez told reporters in Cuba. "Her declarations are like a threat, especially at Venezuela and Bolivia."

Along with Chavez, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Ecuador's Rafael Correa are fierce critics of U.S. foreign policy and recently have forged closer ties with Iran, Russia and other countries.

Vacation time draws near

Vacation time draws near
as do two tax deadlines


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


Expats have only a few days to get official business done until the bulk of the government goes on Christmas break.

Tuesday is the deadline for filing the annual taxes for the 2008-2009 fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Many expats are worried about the Dec. 31 deadline on filing the valuation of a home for the luxury home tax. That also is the date that the taxes have to be paid, but the situation is complicated becausee the Dirección General de Tributación appears to have made no effort to advertise the deadlines to the Costa Rican public. There still is no word of a legal challenge to the complex law.

Friday is the last working day until Jan. 4 for much of the central government, judiciary and legislature.

Many municipalities are working through Dec. 21, although they may be short staffed.

Tourism operators on the other hand are hoping to be very busy this high season. They will be working with less staff than last year because government sources say that some 3,000 employees have been laid off in the tourism and hotel industries.

The season appears to be receiving about 80 percent of the business of prior years. Some upscale hotels are at 50 percent reservations for Christmas and New Year's. In previous years they would have been filled, but price appears to be a major factor this year for foreign and national tourists..


Police prevent mishaps
in Festival de la Luz patrols


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


There were some strange happenings at the Festival de la Luz Saturday. The Fuerza Pública said officers found several bags full of rocks that it appeared spectators were going to throw at the participants in the Christmas parade.

There also were rocks of another kind, crack rocks. Police said they detained 19 persons, and among them were individuals who were carrying crack cocaine and also baggies of marijuana.

Another individual was detained for trying to sell beer illegally. The man had 12 cans in a bag. Officials prohibited alcohol at the parade to cut down on the rowdy behavior. Still waves of youngsters were seen causing problems.

Police also stopped young men who were trying to remove the bolts from a grandstand. The Fuerza Pública said that had they done so they would have put the persons watching the parade from that vantage point at great risk.

Most of those detained were held for minor crimes like being drunk in a public place, disturbing the peace or not having identity documents. But one man was found who had an outstanding arrest warrant, police said.

About a million persons filled up the streets in San José to see the parade, and police were out in force. There were no reports of crimes with injuries, and police confiscated only one knife.


U.S. finances new clinic
in community of Bambu


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


The United States has financed a new medical clinic in the community of Bambu, Talamanca. The $62,000 clinic was constructed as part of a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored humanitarian assistance project. The work was done by local contractors. The 984-square-foot clinic includes a waiting room, emergency room, records room, consultations room, immunizations area, lavatories, kitchen and storage area, the Southern Command said.

According to Bambu inhabitants, the previous clinic was about to wash away with the heavy rains that fall during the rainy season. The clinic will offer general medical care, dental care as well as pediatric and gynecological services. The majority of the residents are BriBri.

The clinic will serve more than 2,000 inhabitants in the community of Bambu, as well as people of neighboring communities including Panamanians who live along the Costa Rica-Panamanian border, U.S., officials said.

Mrs. Clinton warns Latin leaders about flirting with Iranians

Mrs. Clinton warns Latin leaders about flirting with Iranians

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday urged Latin American countries to think twice about establishing links with Iran, which she said is the world's leading promoter and exporter of terrorism. Clinton also expressed concern about democratically-elected leaders in Latin America who later undermine democratic institutions.

Mrs. Clinton's remarks at a State Department public policy forum on Latin America were some of the strongest by an Obama administration official to date about increasing Iranian activity in the region.

Iran has been establishing close political, trade and other relationships with several left-leaning Latin American governments, underlined by recent visits by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia.

In a question and answer session with participants in the event, Mrs. Clinton said the United States has no problem with non-Western Hemisphere countries like China having legitimate business and investment activities in Latin America.

But she said U.S. officials are concerned about what she said was Iran's interest in promoting itself in countries like Venezuela and Bolivia and said allowing Iranian influence to take root is, in her words, "a very bad idea for the countries involved."

"We hope that there will be a recognition that this is the major supporter, promoter and exporter of terrorism in the world today," she said. "The Revolutionary Guard of Iran is increasing its control over the country because of the elections,
which were a stark example of the abuse of human rights in action, is deeply involved in the economy as well as the security issues of Iran. And I think that if people want to flirt with Iran, they should take a look at what the consequences might well be for them. And we hope that they will think twice and we're going to support them if they do."

There have been similar expressions of concern from Pentagon officials including Defense Secretary Robert Gates who in Senate testimony earlier this year said he was concerned about Iranian meddling in Latin America.

U.S. officials have accused Iran of supporting activities in Latin America of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and Tehran is accused of involvement in 1990's bomb attacks on a Jewish center and the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires.

In the policy forum, Mrs. Clinton also reiterated U.S. worry about countries in Latin America where leaders who, after being democratically elected, move to undermine constitutional rule, citing in particular Venezuela and Nicaragua.

"We need to make it absolutely an article of faith that any leader elected must not just further his own position, and his power base, but respect the right of the people who elected him and build up the democracy so that democratic development and economic development can go hand in hand," she said.

Mrs. Clinton said she hoped to see, in the not-too-distant future, a democratic Cuba, which she said would be extraordinarily positive for the hemisphere.