NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from July 2001

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from July 2001

EL SALVADOR: VERDICT IN EMBEZZLEMENT TRIAL SOURS OFFICIALS ON USE OF THE JURY SYSTEM.
July 5, 2001... On June 8, a five-member jury (jurado de consciencia) acquitted Roberto Mathies Hill and Mario Galdamez of fraud and embezzlement in a gigantic 1997 bank scandal. The attorney general and other officials are saying the jury was not competent...

CUBA SAYS THREE MIAMI MEN ARRESTED OFF COAST WERE TERRORISTS SENT BY EXILE ORGANIZATIONS.
July 5, 2001... Cuban authorities announced June 20 the arrest of three Cuban-born Florida men on an island off the coast of the central province of Villa Clara. The announcement was made on the television program Mesa Redonda, a nightly panel discussion of...

CUBA NEWS IN BRIEF.
July 12, 2001... A former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officer convicted of espionage-related crimes is sentenced to five years in prison. The State Department first confirms then backs away from a newspaper account of alleged Chinese arms...

REGION: CONSTRUCTION OF CUSTOMS WALL ON BORDER CAUSES NEW STRAINS IN NICARAGUAN-COSTA RICAN RELATIONS.
July 12, 2001... Construction of a 900-meter wall on the Costa Rican side of the border with Nicaragua has raised a new controversy between the two countries. Costa Rican officials have worsened the matter by making contradictory statements about the wall's...

GUATEMALA: MASSIVE PRISON BREAK PUTS COUNTRY IN STATE OF EMERGENCY AS PRESIDENT PROMISES PENITENTIARY REFORMS.
July 19, 2001... A massive prison break in June has prompted a contest of assigning blame. Human rights groups and opposition parties say the government has ignored oppressive and insecure prison conditions, while government leaders focus on prison officials...

COSTA RICA: POLICE CONSIDER POSSIBLE COLOMBIAN CONNECTION WITH ASSASSINATION OF RADIO JOURNALIST PARMENIO MEDINA PEREZ.
July 19, 2001... On July 7, popular radio journalist Parmenio Medina Perez was assassinated near his home by unknown assailants who fired at him several times through the window of his car. The assassination, the first murder of a journalist in Costa Rican...

REGION: U.N. AGENCY RANKS MOST OF CENTRAL AMERICA LOW ON ITS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX.
July 19, 2001... The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report for 2001 ranked Central American countries far down on the list of 162 countries rated. All except Costa Rica fell into the classification of countries with a medium level...

REGION: FLOODS, DROUGHT, CRISIS IN COFFEE PRICES HAVE CREATED ECONOMIC REFUGEES.
July 26, 2001... Drought in much of Central America, coupled with floods, credit shortages, and the devastating collapse of world coffee prices (see NotiCen, 2001-06-07), have brought unemployment and starvation to parts of the region, particularly among rural...

CUBA: PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH ISSUES HIS FIRST HELMS-BURTON WAIVER.
July 26, 2001... President George W. Bush suspended a key article of the Helms-Burton Act that has deep support within the Cuban exile community. But exile leaders generally accepted the waiver since it was accompanied by promises to toughen US sanctions...

EL SALVADOR: SALVADORANS HAVE MIXED REACTION TO DOLLARIZATION AFTER FIRST SIX MONTHS.
July 26, 2001... Six months after the government began the free circulation of US dollars, US$163 million, or one-third of the currency in circulation, is now in dollars. Polls show reluctant acceptance of the dual currency system, but critics say it benefits...