ANEP: “Most Costa Rican people do not want to be considered the U.S.’s backyard”

May 1^st, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) The board of the Association of Public and Private Employees (ANEP) has issued an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, who will visit Costa Rica on May 3^rd and 4^th.

In the statement, the union said that it wants to make clear to Obama that “most Costa Rican people do no want to be considered as part of the United States’ backyard.”

The statement continues that “today, the overwhelming majority of the people of our beloved Latin America want their own path, sovereign and independent.”

ANEP continues by condemning the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, saying that it “demands, once and for all” that the U.S. abandon its “disastrous” policy against Cuba.

The letter also refers to the growing “war on drugs” in Costa Rica and Central America, saying that the U.S. government needs to change its policies to focus on managing drug abuse at home.

ANEP went as far as to say that the U.S. has a “tacit tolerance” for the drug trade because it generates “giant financial flows needed for the banking system” in the United States.

Finally, the letter mentions that the Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Costa Rica has done little to benefit the majority of the population, and that U.S. multinationals seek to impose genetically modified crops on the country.

ANEP also said that it condemns “all forms of terrorism” and expressed their solidarity with the American people after the Boston terrorist attack, but said they also condemn the use of drones by the United States which have generated “the deaths of thousands” in what ANEP calls “state terrorism.”

The letter was also addressed to the U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, Anne Andrews.