EscucharSAN JOSE - For United States ambassador to Costa Rica, Peter Jon de Vos, Costa Rica is not the main center of operations for drug trafficking, even though he believes that such trafficking and usage of drugs is currently on the rise.
According to the ambassador, a possible solution to this problem can be achieved if Costa Rica accepts the offer made by the U.S. to patrol land, sea and aerial territory, in order to fight the war on drugs on a more efficient level.
Mr. Jon de Vos' statement was given in an interview with the daily La Nación on Thursday afternoon. The ambassador will retire in the days to come and will leave his diplomatic post to Thomas Dodd.
``Costa Rica has not had the security forces necessary to fight against drugs, and the traffickers know that if there is no Public Force, they can pass undetected. Efforts have improved considerably but they do not have the possibility of controlling maritime territory; the speedboats are not enough and the planes and radars are likewise ineffective.''
The veteran ambassador -with 36 years of experience in foreign affairs- insisted that both governments should work together on the solution to the drug problem, basing themselves on the bilateral plan set forth by the U.S. weeks ago.
The idea for cooperation between the two countries was first brought to the public eye by Laura Chinchilla, Minister of Public Security. The application of this idea however, could generate a series of problems.
The Costa Rican Attorney General's Office highlighted that the U.S. plan has an uncostitutional idea behind it: Román Solís, the Attorney General issued a statement two weeks ago saying that the plan would violate Costa Rican sovereignity.
When questioned about this, the ambassador pointed out that his government is willing to negotiate, but added that the present Constitution was written in 1949, when Costa Rica had no drug trafficking problems.
Money laundering
On the subject of money laundering, ambassador Jon de Vos considers that ``off shore'' type banks -foreign branches of national banks- have to be seriously supervised because they provide an opportunity to whoever wants to launder money.
``I see many banks in Costa Rica,'' he said, ``and even though the country has a good economy, this does not justify the need for so many banks to provide services for only 4 million people. I do not know what they are doing.'' For the ambassador, financial entities should report all movements of considerable sums of money.
Jon de Vos leaves behind the critical moments he had for three years with the Center of Antinarcotics Intelligence (CICAD in Spanish), and his worries about how easily fugitive foreigners can obtain Costa Rican nationality (by naturalization or by marrying a Costa Rican) thus escaping the arm of justice.
