A bank robbery in Puerto Cortés in February 1998, including whether civilians were involved in alerting the police to the robbery in progress, any arrests that were made, and the outcome of any investigations [CRI32293.E]

Two Costa Rican newspapers reported that Banco Nacional in Puerto Cortés (also known as Ciudad Cortés) was robbed by four individuals on 17 February 1998 (La Nación 18 Feb. 1998; La Prensa Libre 18 Feb. 1998). According to the reports, the robbers escaped with more than $2 million from the bank's cash registers. The individuals, who were heavily armed, also took five hostages, two of whom were drivers of an ambulance (ibid.). La Prensa Libre states that those taken hostage were Alvaro Chaves Bonilla (driver of the ambulance), Rónald Mora Corrales, Kattia Cordero, Eduardo Pérez Membreño (security guard of the bank) and Luis Guillermo. Near the scene of the robbery, the robbers attacked a Canadian citizen, Andren Arthur Normand or André Normando, and took his car to continue their escape from the authorities (18 Feb. 1998; La Nación 18 Feb. 1998). All hostages were eventually released (ibid.). La Prensa reported that members of the public and the Banco Nacional's alarm system alerted officials the Public Forces (Fuerzas Públicas). The report, however, mentions no name as to who alerted the police.

Another La Nación report states that four officials of the Fuerza Pública de Quepos mistook a Canadian tourist, David Danyen, as one of the robbers of Banco Nacional (19 Feb. 1998). In Cortés' south zone, police officers had shot at Danyen's vehicle, shattering one of its windows, and wounding his arm (ibid.). Eventually, the Public Ministry seized the firearms of the four police officers and opened an investigation to determine whether the officers had committed a crime (ibid.). The report also states that officials of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) de Corredores arrested a Nicaraguan man suspected of participating in the bank robbery on 18 February. The whereabouts of the other suspects remained unknown at the time of publication of the latter La Nación report.

Additional information on the investigation of the bank robbery could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


La Nación [San José]. 19 February 1998. Adrián Meza Granados. "En persecución de delincuentes: Turista herido por error tras asalto." [Internet] http://www.nacion. co.cr/ln_ee/1998/febrero/19/pais8.html [Accessed on 5 July 1999]

_____. 18 February 1999. Adrián Meza Granados and Alberto Cole. "3 milliones a banco en Ciudad Cortés: Atraco con rehenes." [Internet] http://www.nacion. co.cr/ln_ee/1998/febrero/18/pais8.html [Accessed on 5 July 1999]

La Prensa Libre [San José]. Esteban de J. Castro. "50 hombres tras asaltabancos." [Internet] http://www.prensalibre.co.cr/1998/2/18/sucesos1.html [Accessed on 5 July 1999]

Additional Sources Consulted


Central America NewsPak [Austin]. February 1998-March 1998.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1998.

Two sources consulted did not provide information on the requested topic.

Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, REFWORLD, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet and WNC.

The following information is additional to that already found in CRI30928.E of 20 January 1999.

In a 11 June 1999 telephone interview, a lawyer with the Department of Human Rights at the National Institute for Women (Instituto Nacional de la Mujer), a government agency in San José previously known as the Centro Nacional para el Desarrollo de la Mujer y la Familia, stated that there are no special protection measures available to women in Costa Rica who have been sexually abused or mistreated by police officers. She was aware of cases of women who had been repeatedly sexually abused by officers of police forces under the Ministry of Security (Ministerio de Seguridad), but not by police officers of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), which falls under the jurisdiction of the judicial power of the Supreme Court of Justice. The lawyer related the case of a woman who had made a request for employment as a police officer last year, who was then forced to spend the night in the police station (Comandancia) and was then raped by police officers. She added that the case was currently being processed before the Ministerio de Seguridad.

She stated that most of the women abused by police officers were sex workers. The Latin American Institute of Health Prevention and Education (Instituto Latinoamericano de Prevención y Educación en Salud, ILPES), a non-governmental organization in San José, provides legal assistance and counselling to female sex workers who wish to denounce police abuse. However, according to the lawyer, most women do not denounce police abuse because of the entrenched "macho" attitudes prevalent in Costa Rican society and the belief that these institutions will not protect them. The lawyer further stated that women abused by police can make a complaint to the Female Victims Delegation (Delegación de Mujeres Agredidas) within the National Institute for Women. Otherwise, women have to pursue the conventional judicial channels to obtain legal protection against police abuse.

A lawyer with the Defensoría de la Mujer at the Office of Public Defence (Defensoría de los Habitantes) in San José stated that the office has not received any complaints from women who had been repeatedly violated by police officers of the OIJ. The lawyer related the same case as the lawyer at the National Institute for Women of the woman who had been raped by police officers in a police station last year in San José (14 June 1999). In this particular case, the woman is only pursuing the case administratively before the Ministry of Security and not via the judicial channels. Currently, the Ministry is investigating the case.

According to the lawyer, there are no special protection measures in place in Costa Rica for women who have been repeatedly sexually abused by police officers.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Defensoría de los Habitantes, San José. 14 June 1999. Telephone interview with a lawyer.

Instituto Nacional de la Mujer, San José. 11 June 1999. Telephone interview with a lawyer.

Additional Sources Consulted


Central American NewsPak [Austin]. 1999.

La Nación [San José]. 1999.

Latinamerican Press [Lima]. 1999.

Office of the Public Defence Annual Report 1998-1999. [Internet] http://www.nacion.co.cr/ln_ee/ESPECIALES/informe1999/indice.html

Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, REFWORLD, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet and WNC.