Rains Pound the Caribbean Zone
As it
happens every season at this
time of year, the Caribbean zone
is in a state of emergency due
to the heavy rains of the past
few days, that is causing floods
in many communities.
The Comisión Nacional de
Prevención de Riesgos y Atención
de Emergencias (CNE) stepped up
the warning for the area from
Green to Yellow alert to warn
residents to take action to
avoid or lessen the damage their
property and loss of life.
The hardest hit area is Matina,
which as of noon yesterday
residents were isolated from the
rest of the community.
The rain has been falling for
almost two days straight and
causing rivers to overflow their
banks as the increased amount of
water waits to flow into the
Caribbean sea.
The Instituto Meteorológico
Nacional (IMN) - the weatherman
- says that the rain and cold
front will continue for a few
more days.
In the Central Valley, coats and
sweaters replaced short sleeve
shirts, as the day's temperature
dropped below 70F/20C.
The mountain areas like the
Braulio Carrillo highway (the
major route connecting San José
to Límon) are also affected and
experiencing mud slides and
sections of the highway had to
be closed off to remove the
debris.
The Interameicana Sur highway is
also affected, as mud slides
cause problems for drivers who
heading south to the Panama
border.
A Pivotal Day for Calderón
Former president Rafael Angel
Calderón assured judge Didier
Mora during a hearing yesterday,
that he never attempted to
hinder the Fiscalía's
investigation into the
Fischel-CCSS case, in an attempt
to be sent home under house
arrest, rather than remain in
preventive detention in La
Reforma prison, where he was
ordered by judge Carmen María
Peraza on October 22.
The judge's decision is expected
sometime today (Tuesday). The
judge has to decide whether to
accept the prosecutor's request
that the former president remain
in preventive detention for the
duration of the investigation or
accept Calderón's arguments that
he should be home.
According to Gonzalo Castellón,
defense lawyer, Calderón refuted
the accusations against him by
Eliseo Vargas, former president
of the Caja Costarricense de
Seguro Social (CCSS), who is
currently in preventive
detention for taking part in the
corruption scandal involving the
Corporación Fischel and the CCSS.
Vargas told prosecutors that
Calderón was the key figure
behind the distribution of some
us$9 million dollars in
commissions paid to Fischel on
the us$39 million dollar the
government of Finland loan to
the CCSS to purchase medical
equipment.
Vargas is said to have traded
his testimony against Calderón
so that the Fiscalía would drop
all charges against his
daughter, who received a car
paid by Fischel and for house
arrest instead of preventive
detention.
Walter Reiche Fischel, president
of the Fischel corporation, is
also in preventive detention,
along with Fischel lawyer,
Randall Vargas. Both are accused
of corruption and fraud.
Calderón remains in preventive
detention, along with former
president Miguel Angel Rodríguez,
while the judge makes his
decision.
Rodríguez is accused of
accepting payment in the
ICE-Alcatel case and from the
government of Taiwan, while he
was in office, and illegal
enrichment.
Both former presidents are now
residing on the same cell block
in Costa Rica's largest prison,
La Reforma and are secluded from
having contact with each other
and other inmates. Prison
officials say the seclusion is
for the safety of both men and
to avoid any ensuing riots from
other inmates
Immigration Now
Requires An Appointment
Need to visit the immigration office? Make
sure you have an appointment.
In the past, the immigration office has received everyone who walked
in the door to make an applications for all types of service,
including applications residency. However, now, immigration
officials, fearing a rush as the summer season is around the corner,
are ask one and all to call first for an appointment.
The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, located in La
Uruca, has seen an increase of 50% volume of people asking for all
types of migratory transactions, that now range between 1.200 and
1.500 visits daily.
So, to avoid the long waits that could last from hours to all day,
Marco Badilla, director of immigration, explains how the new system
works:
- Costa Ricans who are looking to get a new passport or renew one,
should call 299-8172 or 299-8169 or can send an email to
citapasaporte@migracion.go.cr to make an appointment
- Foreigner looking to renew their residency cedula or make an
application for residency have to personally visit window 3 from
Monday to Friday between 8am and 3pm to ask for an appointment
The cost of a new Costa Rican passport is now ¢14.550 colones. The
cost to replace a lost, stolen or destroyed residency cedula is
¢3.430 colones, while the renewal costs only ¢1.250 colones.
Many are upset with the changes, making the day trip from small
towns only to find that they will not receive services without a
prior appointment. Several foreigners Insidecostarica.com talked to
were baffled why they had to make a personal visit to make an
appointment and not over the telephone.
Immigration officials say that changes are to better their response
time and better serve the needs of those visiting their offices.
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