NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from June 2001

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from June 2001

GUATEMALA: THREE MILITARY MEN SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS FOR 1998 SLAYING OF BISHOP JUAN GERARDI.
June 14, 2001... On June 8, a Guatemalan court convicted four men in the extrajudicial execution of Bishop Juan Gerardi. The verdict, now being described as historic, marked the first use of the charge of extrajudicial execution. The charge was introduced...

HAITI: STALEMATE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION ALLIANCE PERPETUATES POLITICAL CRISIS.
June 14, 2001... The political warfare between Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the opposition has centered on the question of calling new elections. Aristide agreed to hold special elections for Senate seats in dispute, but the multiparty...

HONDURAS: SECURITY MINISTER GUATAMA FONSECA UNDER FIRE AS CRIME RATES SOAR.
June 14, 2001... Honduran Security Minister Guatama Fonseca has been at the center of several recent controversies and could face criminal or corruption charges as the rate of violent crime continues to rise. The government has once again militarized the crime...

CUBA: FIVE CUBANS FOUND GUILTY IN ESPIONAGE CASE.
June 21, 2001... A federal court in Miami found five Cubans guilty of espionage and other charges June 8. Defense attorneys tried to show the five acted to defend Cuba against Cuban-exile terrorist attacks, but the prosecution stuck to the confessions by the...

GUATEMALA: COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER RESIGNS UNDER FIRE AFTER MONTHS OF FENDING OFF CORRUPTION CHARGES.
June 21, 2001... After months of accusations against the handling of public-works projects, administrative misconduct, and other irregularities, the administration of President Alfonso Portillo announced the resignation of Luis Rabbe as head of the...

NICARAGUA: TRANSIT STRIKE RESOLUTION PUSHED INTO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN.
June 21, 2001... A ten-day bus strike and protests against an increase in bus fares has hurt the economy and created a major political issue for the presidential campaign. The interim solution is to leave the mess for the next administration. University...

COSTA RICA: SEVEN CONVICTED IN 1994 BANCO ANGLO SCANDAL.
June 28, 2001... Seven former officers of the defunct state-owned Banco Anglo Costarricense (BAC) were given prison terms and heavy fines on June 19 for their part in what is being called the greatest bank disaster in Costa Rican history. The Superior...

REGION: PANAMA GOES OFF THE INTERNATIONAL MONEY-LAUNDERING BLACKLIST AS GUATEMALA GOES ON.
June 28, 2001... The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) took Panama off the international blacklist of nations that have not fully cooperated to control drug-money laundering, after a year on the list, but put Guatemala on. The...

NICARAGUA: ELECTORAL COUNCIL INVALIDATES CANDIDACY OF JOSE ANTONIO ALVARADO IN DECISION SEEN AS POLITICAL.
June 28, 2001... The Consejo Supremo Electoral (CSE) declared Jose Antonio Alvarado ineligible to run for the vice presidency in the November elections. The ruling ended a long-running legal battle over the issue of Alvarado's nationality but brought new...