The municipal mayor of Talamanca, Rugeli Morales Rodriguez, 45, was arrested yesterday morning by agents of the Office of Judicial Investigation (OIJ).

According to information from prosecutors, the mayor is under investigation, along with other local government officials, for the alleged diversion of municipal funds to personal accounts of ¢ 350 million ($640,000 US).

The Limon Deputy Attorney and OIJ agents raided the Municipality of Talamanca and the houses of the mayor and his mother. They seized documents and other evidence in the case.

The authorities also detained other men, one named Barrantes and another named Cortes. Both are employees of the municipality.

These individuals, along with the Mayor, are suspected of crimes of aggravated corruption of public officials and embezzlement and negotiations incompatible with elected office.

Authorities also apprehended several other individuals in the case, one with the surname Bastos, and another named Morales.

Mayor Morales was arrested at 4 a. m. while driving in the area of Vizcaya, some 60 miles from Bribrí.

The police officers approached him and he tried to flee, so a chase ensued until they managed to capture him.

However, his family denied he was running away and said that was heading to the Ministry of Public Works in San Jose, where he had a meeting at 8 a. m. They said he tried to flee when stopped because he thought he was being assaulted by thieves.

The Mayor was then taken to his home, which the authorities had already secured, and subsequently to the municipality to be a witness to the seizure of evidence.

More: La Nación: Alcalde de Talamanca preso por sospecha de corrupción

The motive of the murder seems to be robbery according to police. Obando’s laptop and several personal items were taken along with his car.

Authorities confirmed that it appears that the killers were known to the victim.

Several witnesses told the OIJ that in the hours before his death they saw the educator in his car accompanied by some people who are now considered suspects.

More: La Nación: Profesor universitario aparece asesinado

The teacher, Alexánder Obando Campos, lives in Batán de Matina. His car was discovered Wednesday morning beside the La Estrella river in Penshurt and police fear that he has been the victim of a crime.

The 31 year old is single and has no children.  He works for the University of Costa Rica and the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) and also teaches in Amubri in the Talamanca mountains.  He had planned to spend Tuesday night in Amubri yet his car was found more than 50 km away.

Alexander Obando Campos

The police don’t have any leads on the case but it appears that someone had tried to push his car, a recent model Peugot, into the river but then was stopped by a ditch and gave up the effort.

His brother Joseph stated that Alexander was not in trouble or afraid of anyone. But he did have an altercation with the guard at a gas station some days earlier. But there is no known connection.

“Work was his life. He was well loved and always prepared,” said his brother.

The OIJ asks anyone with any information on this case to call the OIJ at 2798-3936 or the Confidential Information Center at 800-8000-645.

More: La Nación: Policía teme por vida de profesor de UCR y UNED

The offices of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) in Manzanillo were attacked last Thursday night or Friday morning.

The attack occurred late at night or very early and only on Friday morning did the MINAET official, who was sleeping inside, discover that they had been attacked.

Luckily for the staff member, the flames did not ignite the walls and there was only minor damage. The windows, walls and floors are marked where you can see how the flames tried to spread.

Some locals have attributed the cause of the firebombing to frustration over the actions taken recently by MINAET regarding Hotels Suerre and Las Palmas.

Source: La Nación: Atentado con bomba molotov contra oficina del Minaet

A local resident was found stabbed on Thursday and died of a knife wound to his chest.

The victim was Mágnum Enrique Benavides Zúñiga, known locally as Gordo Malo.

Authorities were unable to locate any witnesses to the attack.  But there are plenty of possible motives as Benavides was alleged by many in the community to have been responsible for many break-ins over the years in Puerto Viejo.

More: La Nación: Sucesos Viernes 23 de octubre de 2009

Investigators have busted a vendor at the artisan’s market in Puerto Viejo who was selling marijuana along with bracelets, necklaces and other assorted souvenirs.

La Nacion reports that the man, with the last name Velázquez, but known to local police as Juan, had been under surveillance for several days by OIJ investigators from Limon.

The investigators were responding to anonymous complaints from neighbors that drugs were being sold openly at the market, which is on the main road in downtown Puerto Viejo.

On Friday, the agents made 5 drug purchases and then arrested Velaquez. They seized several marijuana joints along with a collection of bracelets. As well, they seized several marked bills which had been used in the drug purchases.

A judge in Limon then gave Velaquez six months of preventative detention while the investigation and court case proceeds.

More: La Nación: Artesano vendía drogas a turistas en Puerto Viejo

The incident happened on Sunday afternoon when the two officers apparently came upon the Canadian man and his girlfriend smoking marijuana. They said that if they were not paid, they would take harsh action. The man paid them $40 and agreed to meet them later to pay the rest of the amount.

A local businessman though was aware of the situation and called the chief of the police in Bribri. Together with officers from the judicial investigation office (OIJ), they arrested the two officers.

The two policemen have been charged with the crime of extortion, a crime which is punishable by a prison term of 2 to 8 years.

In addition, they have been suspended from their positions for 3 months pending the investigation and barred from contacting anyone involved in the case.

Source: La Nación: Policías cobran $100 a turista para dejarlo fumar marihuana

The Security Ministry said in a statement that the incident took place last Wednesday, when police discovered five foreigners, allegedly from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, who were walking in an unknown direction and with no identification documents.

Apparently, the five foreigners were abandoned on Manzanillo beach, near Puerto Viejo, and made to believe they were in Canada, presumably the final destination of the trip, the ministry explained.

The five were identified as Glemeskel Berivan, 26 years, Golden Assefa, 25, both from Ethiopia, Allen Negash, 24, from Eritrea, and Almeda Ali, 26, and an unidentified minor under 16, both from Somalia.

The Costa Rican authorities believe that 28 other Africans may have been abandoned in the coastal area near Panama by the same smugglers.

In November 2008 officers seized in Costa Rica four Eritreans, who also entered the country without documents.

The authorities indicated that there are at least two ways in which African immigrants illegally enter Costa Rica: both start in Europe.

Some of them enter Italy illegally, where they get a permit to travel in the European Union. Then they go to Spain and from there are flown to Costa Rica, to cross Central America and Mexico by land to reach the United States.

Africans also have taken flights from Malta, an island located near southern Italy, to Venezuela, then moved by sea or land, mostly with a final destination of the United States.

Source: Univision: Policía de Costa Rica aprehende a cinco inmigrantes africanos sin documentos

The suspect, identified in the latest La Nación article by last name Lewis (but previously referred to by last name Mitchell) was initially ordered held in preventative detention for three months by a Bribri judge.  He had been held since June 3. The prosecutor had said there was sufficient proof to hold him while the investigation proceeded but the Limon judge has taken a different view.

Source: La Nación: Tribunal de Limón libera a tres asaltantes y a acusado de crimen

A party on the beach in the early hours of Wednesday morning ended in one man dead.

Deciding to get the last word in an argument which had been ongoing, a man identified by last name Mitchel went home for a firearm and shot his rival.

The victim is 20 year old Carlos Navarro, known locally as Rulos. He was shot six times at close range, twice in the head, twice in the chest and twice in the arms. The authorities arrested Mitchell several hours later.

The victim and suspect were seen at about 3 am yesterday along with other men on the beach.

“It is common here in the middle of the night when the bars close, people come to this sector of the beach where they sell crafts,” said Harold Brooks, chief of police for Puerto Viejo.

According to the report of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), the suspect in the crime was inebriated.

The authorities collected shells from a 9-mm gun at the site of the shooting.

Marcela Oviedo, owner of the restaurant Francini, worried about the harm that such acts cause to tourism. “It has lowered the number of tourists who visit us, because there are problems with drugs and assaults. We need more police presence”, said Oviedo.

More: La Nación: Discusión termina con hombre acribillado