Costa Rica, Latin America: Week in Review
Costa Rican Diplomat Freed In Venezuela After Kidnapping
April 11, 2012 By Staff
Today in Latin America
Top Story — Kidnapped Costa Rican diplomat Guillermo Cholele was released Tuesday with a head injury but was otherwise in good health after his abduction in Caracas, Venezuela on Sunday. Cholele, a trade attaché for the Costa Rican Embassy, was found before dawn wandering and disoriented in the streets of Charallave, a town in Miranda state not far from Caracas, and had apparently suffered a blow to the head. He was seized by gunmen Sunday night as he arrived at his home in the eastern part of the city. The kidnappers later demanded a ransom payment via phone, according to Costa Rican and Venezuelan officials. Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami said that no money was paid to secure Cholele’s release on Tuesday and that he was recovered “thanks to police investigation and pressure”. El Aissami said to expect the arrest of the perpetrators, who were “clearly identified”, in the coming hours.
Read more from Reuters.
Headlines from the Western Hemisphere
North America
- Gunmen shot and killed seven taxi drivers waiting beside their vehicles on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico.
- Alabama’s legislature will begin the review of the state’s controversial immigration law this week.
- The Miami Marlins have suspended manager Ozzie Guillen for five games for praising former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Caribbean
- Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez’s blog, Generación Y, which provides a critical view of daily life in Cuba, celebrated its fifth year online Monday.
- Former major league baseball player Vladimir Guerrero denied that he was involved in attacking a police officer in a crowded disco.
- Puerto Rico’s first Cardinal, Luis Aponte Martínez, died at age 89 on Tuesday in San Juan.
Central America
- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said that the recently captured Guatemalan Horst Walter Overdick Mejia has been designated a major narcotics trafficker by the U.S. Treasury Department.
- Costa Rican authorities have seized 4 tons of cocaine from the Peñas Blancas border crossing into Nicaragua in the first few months of 2012.
- Costa Rica’s highest court rejected a draft tax reform bill proposed by Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla.
Andes
- Bolivian President Evo Morales said he was rescinding the contract of Brazilian firm OAS to build a controversial highway through the Bolivian Amazon.
- A confidential 2010 complaint filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has resurfaced.
- Colombia is beefing up its security in preparation for the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena this weekend, where 33 heads of state are scheduled to attend.
Southern Cone
- Women occupy the highest positions in Brazil’s emerging energy industry, leading Petrobras and the National Petroleum Agency.
- The head of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, Adelmo Gabbi, said he would pursue legal action against embattled Argentine Vice President Amado Bodou for accusing him of soliciting a bribe.
Image: Globovisión Web @ Flickr.
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