WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
                   ISSUE #320, MARCH 17, 1996
       NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK
     339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 674-9499

1. US President Signs Anti-Cuba Bill
2. Cuba Supporters Protest, Treasury Raids Warehouse
3. US Gun Lobby Shoots Holes in "Counterterrorist" Bill
4. Mexico: Guerrero Governor Resigns, Leaves for US
5. Mexican Government Tries to Cool Down Chiapas and Tabasco
6. Chilean Students Occupy Radio Station
7. Sentences Revoked for Honduran Military in Rape/Murder Case
8. Ortega Wins FSLN Primary in Nicaragua
9. Costa Rica: Kidnapped Europeans Released
10. Peru: Life Sentence Confirmed for US Activist
11. Guatemalan Unionists Flee Country After Abductions
12. In Other News: Colombia, Paraguay & Bolivia

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1. US PRESIDENT SIGNS ANTI-CUBA BILL

On Mar. 12, US president Bill Clinton signed the "Cuban Liberty
Act," better known as the Helms-Burton bill, into law. The new
law is designed to tighten the US embargo against Cuba; it was
passed by the Senate and House of Representatives on Mar. 5 and
6, respectively [see Update #319], after legislators reached a
compromise agreement with Clinton [see Update #318]. The most
controversial element, effective Aug. 1, allows Cubans who had
property confiscated by the Cuban government and who are now
naturalized US citizens to sue in US courts non-US firms that
benefit from these properties, once their claims are certified by
a claims settlement commission. Clinton will have the option of
suspending the effective date of this clause through a
presidential waiver, if he determines by July 15 that a
suspension is necessary for national security interests. An
analysis of the legislation by Cole Corette and Abrutyn, a
Washington law firm specializing in international business and
tax law, estimates that 700 to 800 individuals might qualify for
the right to bring lawsuits under the bill.
 
Another controversial clause involves the denial of visas and
exclusion from the US of corporate officers, principals and
controlling shareholders of entities that the State Department
determines are benefiting from expropriated property. John R.
Coogan, a Cole Corette attorney who did the analysis, said, "I
think they'll make a big show of nailing a few hides to the wall,
a few very notorious big investors, but won't bar entry to
multitudes of Europeans and Canadians. They have enough leeway to
do this so the Europeans and Canadians don't go off the wall."
[Washington Post 3/13/96]
 
On Mar. 13, Canada said it had lodged a trade protest with the
Clinton administration, and had asked for consultations on the
issue with the US under the terms of the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico immediately asked to take part in
the consultations. A request for consultations is the first step
in resolving trade disputes under NAFTA, and could lead to a
formal ruling on whether the anti-Cuba law violates the pact.
[New York Times 3/14/96]
 
2. CUBA SUPPORTERS PROTEST, TREASURY RAIDS WAREHOUSE

On Mar. 17 five activists from the US solidarity group
IFCO/Pastors for Peace began the 26nd day of their "Fast for
Life" at the US/Mexico border crossing in San Ysidro, California.
The fasters are demanding that US Customs officials release 400
medical computers confiscated when the group tried to bring them
across the border into Mexico for shipment to Cuba [see Updates
#314-316, 318]. As of Mar. 15, the hunger strikers were
reportedly in good spirits, though starting to weaken physically.
[IFCO phone message 3/15/96] 
 
On Mar. 6, there were support demonstrations in 30 US cities,
many cities in Canada, as well as Mexico City, Guatemala City,
Sao Paulo (Brazil), San Juan, (Puerto Rico), San Sebastian
(Spain), Frankfurt (Germany) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). Twenty-
four hour "solidarity fasts" were started at several of the
rallies, including Duluth, Minnesota, where 25 people fasted
together. In Chicago, 250 religious leaders initiated a weekly
Thursday fast. In San Francisco, two members of the Bay Area
Friendshipment Committee began a long-term fast. 
 
On Mar. 7, US Customs authorities and the San Diego police broke
into a private storage locker and seized items being stored by
Pastors for Peace, including baby formula, crutches, medicines,
spare parts and computer components that were to be sent to San
Francisco. Treasury officials, who claim the computer components
were headed for Cuba, have refused to meet with Pastors for Peace
to discuss the matter. For more info, contact IFCO-Pastors for
Peace at 212-926-5757 or 612-870-7121; email: p4p@igc.apc.org or
IFCO@igc.apc.org; web page: http://www.igc.apc.org/cubasoli/
[IFCO/PfP Update and Action Alert 3/11/96] 
 
3. US GUN LOBBY SHOOTS HOLES IN "COUNTERTERRORIST" BILL

On Mar. 14 the US House of Representatives voted 229-191 to pass
the Comprehensive Antiterrorism Act of 1995 (HR 1710). The day
before, however, the House had passed an amendment watering down
several key measures passed in the Senate version in June 1995.
These include the provisions for deporting foreign residents on
the basis of secret evidence, for expanding federal wiretapping
capabilities and for fining and imprisoning US citizens who raise
money for peaceful activities of foreign groups or countries the
US president designates as terrorist. The House version still
bans financial aid to "terrorist" groups or nations, except for
medical or religious materials, and it retains a limitation on
habeas corpus appeals by prisoners sentenced to death, which is
not in the Senate version.
 
The House and the Senate versions are now so different that many
observers feel the final legislation can't be passed in time for
the anniversary of the Apr. 19, 1995 bombing of a federal
building in Oklahoma City, which was apparently carried out by
US-born rightists. [New York Times 3/14/96, 3/15/96; Washington
Post 3/15/96] In his weekly radio address on Mar. 16, US
president Bill Clinton charged that the representatives had
listened to the "back-alley whispers of the gun lobby" and "took
the teeth" out of the legislation, specifically the president's
ability to designate foreign groups as terrorist.
 
The powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) is taking credit
for gutting the bill. "It was as slick a piece of sophisticated
lobbying as you're ever going to see," NRA vice president Neal
Knox told the group's members on the NRA Web site. [WP 3/17/96]
But the coalition against the bill included such disparate groups
as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Muslim Council, the
Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Irish American
Unity Conference, the National Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers and the National Black Police Association, according to
the coalition's letterhead. [Letter to Speaker Newt Gingrich
12/6/95]
 
Interestingly, the New York Times writes that the bill "was
introduced after the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma 
City last April," while the Washington Post calls the Oklahoma
City bombing "the event that led Clinton to call for an anti-
terrorism bill." [NYT 3/14/96; WP 3/15/96] As the Times reported
last year, the counterterrorism bill--"drafted by the Justice
Department with great input from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the White House"--was introduced in Congress in
February 1995, two months before the bombing. [NYT 4/21/95] The
Oklahoma City bombing revived interest in the bill, which was
stalled in Congress [see Update #273].
 
4. MEXICO: GUERRERO GOVERNOR RESIGNS, LEAVES FOR US

On Mar. 12 Ruben Figueroa Alcocer, the governor of the
southwestern Mexican state of Guerrero, suddenly announced that
he would take a permanent leave of absence after serving only
three years of his six-year term. The de facto resignation
followed pressure from the federal government over the state's
investigation into the June 28, 1995 massacre by state police of
17 unarmed members of the leftist South Sierra Campesino
Organization (OCSS). [Associated Press 3/12/96; New York Times
3/13/96]
 
Guerrero special prosecutor Oscar Alejandro Varela Vidales had
issued a report on Feb. 27 clearing Figueroa and other top
officials of any blame in the incident, known in Mexico as "Aguas
Blancas" from the ford where the police stopped the campesinos
and then gunned them down [see Update #318]. But public outrage
was so strong that Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de
Leon intervened on Mar. 4 to have the case reopened and sent to
the federal Supreme Court. Zedillo and Figueroa are close
personal friends, and both belong to the Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), which has ruled Mexico for 67 years.
[Equipo Pueblo Mexico Update #62, 3/6/96 from La Jornada (Mexico)
2/29-3/4/96] Figueroa reportedly was given the final say in the
appointment of his successor, vetoing four proposals before
approving Guerrero PRI leader Angel Heladio Aguirre Rivero.
[Mexico Update #63, 3/13/96 from Reforma (Mexico) 3/13/96] On
Mar. 13 the ex-governor flew to Houston for a vacation. [LJ
3/14/96, electronic edition]
 
Figueroa's resignation failed to satisfy either the OCSS or the
center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). Both are
demanding a criminal investigation into Figueroa's role in the
Aguas Blancas massacre. PRD president Porfirio Munoz Ledo noted
that if Figueroa stays outside the country, Mexico should be
ready to demand his extradition "in correct terms" so that the
request wouldn't fail like the four requests for the return of
former federal special prosecutor Mario Ruiz Massieu from the US
[see Update #319]. On Mar. 13 OCSS members occupied offices in
the German, Italian and Norwegian embassies in Mexico City and
consular offices in the Guerrero resort city of Acapulco; they
demanded that the European countries and the United Nations
intervene with the Mexican government to insist on criminal
proceedings against Figueroa. Police removed the protesters
violently from the German embassy on Mar. 14 and from the
Norwegian embassy a day later. Guerrero police also used violence
to end the occupation of the German consulate in Acapulco. The
OCSS says this action demonstrates the repressive attitude of the
new governor, Aguirre Rivero, who they say is linked to drug
traffickers. [LJ 3/14/96, 3/16/96, electronic edition]
 
There seemed to be no letup in official violence in Guerrero
during Figueroa's last days in office. On Mar. 9 PRD state
president Saul Lopez Sollano charged that a local PRI commissar
accompanied by police had murdered PRD activist Jacinto Gervacio
in San Miguel Tejalpa, Xochistlahuaca municipality. This brings
to 84 the number of Guerrero PRD members the party says were
killed during Figueroa's term. Guerrero state police may also
have been responsible for the rape of two Mexican teenage girls
and four women college students--two Norwegian, one Spanish and
one from the US--on the highway between Acapulco and Puerto
Escondido in neighboring Oaxaca, on the night of Mar. 1.
According to the English-language Mexico City Times, after the
rape the foreign women were pressured to leave Acapulco, where
they were studying in an exchange program. According to the judge
in the case, only the Norwegian embassy has asked for information
about the incident. [LJ 3/10/96]
 
5. MEXICAN GOVERNMENT TRIES TO COOL DOWN CHIAPAS AND TABASCO

The Figueroa resignation was one of several concessions the
Mexican government made to leftist social movements in a one-week
period. On Mar. 9 Marco Antonio Bernal Gutierrez--the
government's chief negotiator in talks with the rebel Zapatista
National Liberation Army (EZLN) in the southeastern state of
Chiapas--suddenly announced that the rebels could participate in
the ongoing negotiations between the main political parties on
"reform of the state." The latest round with the EZLN--officially
about "Democracy and Justice"--had bogged down over the
government's refusal to include "reform of the state" on the
agenda. "When you are going to talk about democracy and justice,
you can't avoid discussing reform of the state," Bernal admitted
to reporters. The round ended on Mar. 11 with the two sides still
far apart on many issues but committed to resuming negotiations
on Mar. 20. [LJ 3/10/96; Mexico Update 3/13/96 from Reforma 3/10-
11/96]
 
[The EZLN is also working to build its political movement, the
Zapatista National Liberation Front (FZLN), as a civil and
international force. Close to 5,000 indigenous Zapatista women,
with bandannas covering their faces, marched through the Chiapas
city of San Cristobal de las Casas to mark International Women's
day on Mar. 8. It was the Zapatistas' largest public
demonstration to date. [Mexico Update 3/13/96 from LJ 3/9/96;
Reuter 3/8/96; Global Exchange 3/8/96] The FZLN is hosting an
"American Continental Meeting for Humanity and Against
Neoliberalism" Apr. 3-8 in the remote Chiapas village of La
Realidad to bring together "some crazies and romantics who think
another world is possible, and another life," according to a
letter from Zapatista leader "Sub-Commander Marcos." Marcos has
issued invitations to a number of well-known progressives, from
US linguist Noam Chomsky and Uruguayan poet Eduardo Galeano to
Hollywood celebrities like Oliver Stone and Susan Sarandon. [LJ
3/10/96]]
 
Meanwhile, between Mar. 13 and Mar. 15 the federal attorney
general's office (PGR) suddenly released the 102 PRD activists
and indigenous Chontal campesinos held in jail since February for
their part in an 18-day blockade of oil fields in the
southeastern state of Tabasco [see Update #316]. [LJ 3/16/96]
Talks to resolve the campesinos' demands against the national oil
monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), were basically stalled as
of Mar. 3. Tabasco PRD leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has
scheduled a mass assembly for Mar. 17 to let the campesinos
choose between continuing the talks or resuming the blockades.
[LJ 3/3/96]
 
Reporter John Ross notes that Mar. 18 is the anniversary of
President Lazaro Cardenas' nationalization of the oil industry in
1938, mostly from British and US oil companies. This year's
commemoration of the event, coming as Pemex prepares to sell off
some petrochemical plants to foreign investors, is likely to give
the Tabasco movement new impetus. [Mexico Barbaro #7, 3/8-15/96]
"I was in a hurry to get out of jail," protester Natalia Ventura
said after being released on Mar. 15, "because I was going to
miss the rally on Sunday" [Mar. 17]. "Now the vacation's over, we
have to get to work." [LJ 3/16/96]
 
Another notable anniversary comes up next month. Apr. 8 will mark
one year since the Mexico City government liquidated the main bus
line, laid off some 11,000 workers represented by the militant
Route 100 Urban Passenger Auto Transport Workers Union (SUTAUR
100), and jailed the union's leaders. The leaders remain in jail,
and the majority of the workers refuse to take their severance
pay, which would mean accepting the layoffs as legitimate under
Mexican labor law. The workers continue to hold weekly meetings.
The Mar. 9 meeting took place in the capital's main plaza, the
Zocalo, where 10,000 SUTAUR member loudly contradicted government
claims that their movement was weakening. [LJ 3/10/96] On Oct. 26
the national convention of the main US labor federation, the AFL-
CIO, passed a resolution supporting SUTAUR 100. [Organizer Action
Alert 1/23/96]
 
6. CHILEAN STUDENTS OCCUPY RADIO STATION

Early on Mar. 11, a group of 70 students from the University of
Chile Student Federation (FECH) took over the campus radio
station to protest the university's plans to lease the station to
the private sector for ten years. Claiming the move was necessary
because the station is financially insolvent, the university had
accepted a bid from Waldo Mora, former Christian Democrat
candidate for deputy and current director of Radio Santiago, to
manage the station. [CHIP News 3/12/96]
 
Students continued to broadcast during the takeover, and allowed
the public to call in and speak their mind on the air. The
Telecommunications Ministry ordered a temporary suspension of the
transmission which was carried out by police and radio
technicians at midday on Mar. 12. Later on Mar. 12, the students
reached an agreement with the university's Superior Council and
ended their occupation of the station. The council agreed to
rescind the decision to lease the station to Mora, and instead
created a commission composed of six university deans to work on
a proposal for the future of the radio. FECH is to participate in
the commission, and help draw up the proposal. [CHIP News
3/14/96]
 
On Mar. 13, government officials criticized University of Chile
administrators for doing nothing about the student takeover of
the station. "We consider the takeover of the radio to be
criminal behavior, and the university should have reacted
immediately," said Interior Minister Carlos Figueroa. The
government had expected the university to file a complaint in the
courts, which would have allowed the Carabineros police to break
up the protest, said Figueroa. [CHIP News 3/14/96]
 
7. SENTENCES REVOKED FOR HONDURAN MILITARY IN RAPE/MURDER CASE

On Mar. 14, the Supreme Court of Justice in Honduras annulled the
sentences of two military officers who had been convicted for the
1991 rape and murder of 17-year old student Riccy Mabel Martinez.
Supreme Court spokesperson Marco Tulio Alvarado told the press
that the decision was made because of "irregularities of form in
the trial," without giving further explanations. The case now
returns to the First Appeals Court, which must decide whether to
absolve the two officers or hand down a new sentence. 
 
Bertha Oliva, coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of
Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), told Associated
Press, "We are not in agreement with the decision of the Supreme
Court of Justice and we hope that both military officers are soon
sentenced again." Col. Angel Castillo Maradiaga and Sgt. Santos
Ilobares were sentenced in 1993 to 16 and 10 years in prison,
respectively, for the rape and murder [see Update #191]; a
civilian court upheld Castillo's sentence on May 17, 1995 [see
Update #278]. [El Diario-La Prensa (NY) 3/15/96 from AP]
 
On Mar. 12, Honduran police arrested retired army corporal Jose
Padilla Torres in connection with the 1982 abduction and torture
of six students. Judge Roy Medina had issued the arrest order
earlier the same day for Padilla, who is one of nine retired and
active-duty military officers accused in the case. Three of the
nine have been fugitives from justice for five months; one is in
prison on drug trafficking charges; and the others have not yet
been ordered arrested [see Updates #299, 301, 311, 313]. [ED-LP
3/14/96 from AFP]
 
In related news, Miguel Carias has revealed the location of two
clandestine jails where he and law student Nelson McKay Chavarria
were taken and tortured during the 1980s. McKay disappeared in
1982; his remains were discovered in 1994 [see Updates #255,
256]. The revelations were part of an ongoing investigation into
the role of two military officers in the abduction and torture.
Judge Rafael Castro went with Carias to investigate the two "safe
houses" in northern Tegucigalpa where Carias witnessed MacKay
suffering torture and deprivation. [Central America Update Vol.
2, #3, 2/1-15/96]
 
8. ORTEGA WINS FSLN PRIMARY IN NICARAGUA

Results of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)
primary elections held on Feb. 18 [see Update #317] were
published in FSLN daily Barricada on Mar. 6. According to
Barricada, a total of 415,516 Nicaraguans [or 415,566 according
to Nicaragua News Service, but not half a million as reported in
Update #317] voted in the primary. However, the regional vote
totals listed in Barricada only added up to 387,157 [it is
possible that these regional totals reflect only FSLN members who
voted, though this was not clear]. Some 39,000 volunteer FSLN
members operated the polls at the Sandinista Popular Voting
Centers. 
 
In the race for the FSLN's presidential candidacy, former
Nicaraguan president and current FSLN general secretary Daniel
Ortega Saavedra won with 239,892 votes; lawyer and human rights
activist Vilma Nunez de Escorcia trailed with 41,539 votes; and
lawyer and former army colonel Alvaro Ramirez had 5,510. For the
vice presidential candidacy, Miguel Angel Casco had 139,190
votes, Vilma Nunez had 12,329 and Tomas Borge Martinez had 5,202.
Carlos Guadamuz Portillo, controversial head of Radio Ya, won the
primary for mayor of Managua with 54,030 votes. [Nicaragua News
Service Vol. 4, #10, 3/3-9/96; Nicaragua Network (DC) Hotline
3/11/96; Barricada 3/6/96 via email]
 
The highest vote-getters among the candidates for regional
deputies in the National Assembly were: Monica Baltodano
Marcenaro (Managua) with 58,061 votes; Omar Cabezas Lacayo (Leon)
with 22,121; Nelson Artola (Matagalpa) with 15,415; Alberto
Manturria Jarquin (Chinandega) with 15,140; Jose Ernesto Bravo
(Esteli) with 10,972; Jose Maria Sanchez (Rivas) with 7,497; and
Jorge Martinez (Masaya) with 7,296. Top candidates for the
National Assembly at the national level were: Rene Nunez Tellez
with 26,300 votes; Bayardo Arce Castano with 21,520; Gladys Baez
with 14,824; Victor Hugo Tinoco with 14,831 or 14,104 (Barricada
listed both numbers in different places); Francisco Rivera with
12,819; Carlos Fonseca Teran with 11,582; Vladimir Soto with
11,397; and Mario Quintana with 11,269. Tomas Borge led as
candidate for election to the Central American Parliament
(PARLACEN) with 27,479 votes, followed by Victor Tirado Lopez
with 20,310. [Barricada 3/6/96 via email; Nicaragua News Service
Vol. 4, #10, 3/3-9/96]
 
The results of the primary now go as a proposal to the FSLN
Congress, which is to meet on May 4-5 to make the final decision
on the party's candidates. Vilma Nunez has announced that she
will continue her candidacy until the FSLN congress makes its
decision. [NN Hotline 3/11/96; Barricada 3/6/96 via email]
 
FSLN party rules require that at least 30% of the FSLN candidates
be women. However, primary voting placed fewer than 30% on the
ballot so adjustments will need to be made. In the Nicaraguan
general election, political parties run lists of candidates and
how many of those on the list are elected is determined by the
percentage of votes the party receives. To prevent women
candidates from being grouped at the bottom of the list, where
their chances of being elected are slim, FSLN women are
demanding--and in most districts the party leadership has agreed-
-that female candidates will take every third slot on the list.
In some districts, men are resisting taking a lower place on the
ballot than they would otherwise have had. These conflicts will
need to be resolved at the FSLN party congress in May. [NN
Hotline 3/11/96]
 
Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) announced on Mar. 8
that a record 42 political parties will participate in the
general elections scheduled for Oct. 20. Already 35 parties have
been registered and another seven are awaiting approval of their
legal incorporation. The official registration of candidates will
take place in May and the electoral campaign will run from Aug. 2
through Oct. 16. In the 1990 elections, 21 parties and political
groups participated, of which 14 were joined in the National
Opposition Union (UNO) coalition that brought current president
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro to power. [DLA 3/9/96 from AFP]
 
9. COSTA RICA: KIDNAPPED EUROPEANS RELEASED

German tourist Nicola Fleuchaus and Swiss tour guide Regula
Susana Siegfried--a naturalized Costa Rican who has lived in the
country for 30 years--were released by kidnappers on Mar. 12 in
Costa Rica after their families negotiated a settlement with help
from European emissaries. The two women had been kidnapped on
Jan. 1 from the Laguna Lagarto Lodge in northeastern Costa Rica
near the Nicaraguan border [see Updates #310, 316]. 
 
At a Mar. 13 press conference in the German Embassy in San Jose,
both Siegfried and Fleuchaus said they had been well treated by
the kidnappers who, they said, were not common criminals. "They
apologized for kidnapping us and, after they abducted us, they
did all they could to make it easy on us," said Siegfried. She
said the captors told her their group was newly organized and the
motive for the kidnapping was to bring their cause to the
attention of the world. [Latin America Data Base Notisur 3/15/96
from Notimex, Agence France-Presse, Reuter, La Nacion, Deutsche
Press Agentur]
 
Siegfried said they had been held captive by five armed men whose
faces were covered with ski masks and whose identity they were
never able to determine, although she believes they were Costa
Rican. Siegfried and Fleuchaus described how during the 71 days
of captivity, they were in a jungle area moving periodically from
one place to another, eating mostly rice and beans and sleeping
in hammocks under plastic blankets. One of the kidnappers carried
a bible and read it every day, said Fleuchaus. Siegfried insisted
that no ransom money was paid and that the kidnappers were
satisfied with the publication of their social demands in the
local media. [Diario Las Americas (Miami) 3/15/96 from AFP; El
Diario-La Prensa 3/14/96 from AFP] Both Siegfried and Fleuchaus
criticized the Costa Rican government's role in the crisis; the
government "didn't take the kidnapping seriously," said
Siegfried. [LADB Notisur 3/15/96 from Notimex, AFP, Reuter, La
Nacion, DPA]
 
In a Mar. 12 statement, Martin Rilling, the Fleuchaus family
lawyer in Germany, said a ransom was paid to gain the hostages'
release, but he did not disclose the amount. A Costa Rican radio
station reported that $200,000 had been paid. Costa Rican
information minister Alejandro Soto said that neither the Costa
Rican government nor the governments of Germany or Switzerland
had paid any ransom; this was confirmed by German foreign
ministry official Werner Hoyer, who said he could neither confirm
nor deny whether the families had paid anything. Peter Siegfried,
the husband of Susana Siegfried, also denied having paid a
$200,000 ransom when he met with the kidnappers to negotiate.
"The only things we delivered were medicines, boots, and food,"
he told a press conference. Despite the denials, Costa Rican
banks have been sent a list of the serial numbers of 2,000 bills
of $100 in US currency that were allegedly given to the
kidnappers. [LADB Notisur 3/15/96 from Notimex, AFP, Reuter, La
Nacion, DPA]
 
A judge barred Fleuchaus and Siegfried, along with everyone who
negotiated with the kidnappers, from leaving Costa Rica until
they testify to judicial authorities. [DLA 3/15/96 from AFP] On
Mar. 15, the Costa Rican police continued for the third
consecutive day to search unsuccessfully for those responsible
for the kidnapping. [ED-LP 3/17/96 from AFP]
 
"Whatever negative effect this incident may have had on the image
of the country abroad has been completely overcome and offset by
the happy outcome of the kidnapping and by the efficient and
prudent action of the government," said Costa Rican foreign
minster Fernando Naranjo. [LADB Notisur 3/15/96 from Notimex,
AFP, Reuter, La Nacion, DPA] [On Mar. 1, the two month
anniversary of the kidnapping, the government had given students
and state employees time off to participate in a silent vigil and
protest march in San Jose to demand that the hostages be
released. [ED-LP 3/3/96 from AFP; DLA 3/2/96 from AFP; LADB
Notisur 3/15/96 from Notimex, AFP, Reuter, La Nacion, DPA]]
 
In related news, Daniel Alcides Vega Miranda, a former member of
an alleged terrorist group known as "La Familia," was recently
captured in San Carlos, Costa Rica, after living as a fugitive
for 11 years. Vega was part of a small Marxist-Leninist group
that sought to "overthrow the bourgeois state" through prolonged
guerrilla warfare. In 1981, along with Viviana Gallardo Camacho
and Carlos Enriquez, Vega killed three policemen in a botched
attempt to rob a businessperson in Guadalupe. Enriquez was killed
in the incident, and Gallardo was killed later in custody; Vega
escaped and lived in hiding, working his own farm; he married and
had four children. Vega's capture was the result of an intense
search for the kidnappers of Siegfried and Fleuchaus; the
kidnappers had called their group the Viviana Gallardo Commando.
[Central America Update Vol. 2, #3, 2/1-15/96]
 
10. PERU: LIFE SENTENCE CONFIRMED FOR US ACTIVIST

The appeals division of the Supreme Court of Military Justice in
Peru rejected a final appeal and confirmed the sentence of life
in prison for US activist Lori Berenson, it was officially
announced on Mar. 15. The court also confirmed the life sentence
for Miguel Rincon Rincon, a top leader of the Tupac Amaru
Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), and the 30 year sentence for
Panamanian citizen Pacifico Castrellon. Berenson was sentenced on
Jan. 11 by a military court for the crime of "treason," a charge
of aggravated terrorism which can be applied to anyone--including
foreigners--under Peruvian law. The military court justified the
sentence by arguing that Berenson's contacts with top leaders
Rincon and Nestor Cerpa Cartolini--who is still a fugitive--prove
she was a leader of the MRTA. [El Diario-La Prensa 3/17/96 from
AFP]
 
Defense lawyer Guillermo Achahui had made his final appeal on
Mar. 12, arguing that the court had only given him two hours to
look over hundreds of files in connection with Berenson's case;
that the military prosecutor did not present the charges at the
correct time, but rather after the files had been returned; that
Berenson did not have the opportunity to face her co-defendant
Castrellon, who had accused her of being a member of the MRTA;
that there was no police report in Panama--and no evidence in
Peru--about the supposed accusation that Berenson had been
trafficking weapons; and that the possession of a driver's
license from Nicaragua--one of the points made in the
prosecution's argument against Berenson--could not be considered
a subversive act in any country in the world. [ED-LP 3/14/96 from
AFP]
 
Peruvian Medical Federation (FMP) president Max Cardenas Diaz has
protested that there are between 20 and 24 doctors currently
imprisoned in Peru, unjustly accused of collaborating with
"terrorists." Cardenas said the FMP admits that there are other
doctors who have collaborated voluntarily with subversive groups,
and says his group is not defending their actions. [Diario Las
Americas 3/16/96 from AFP]
 
11. GUATEMALAN UNIONISTS FLEE COUNTRY AFTER ABDUCTIONS

Sergio Gonzalez, the 16-year old son of Vilma Cristina Gonzalez,
was reportedly forced into a car by armed men on the evening of
Mar. 8, shortly after leaving his house. He was released at 5:30
am on Mar. 10, visibly shaken but apparently unharmed physically.
His mother had been abducted, raped and tortured on Feb. 27 and
told that her brother Reynaldo Gonzalez, a prominent labor
leader, had to cease his activities and that both of them had to
leave the country or both their families would be murdered [see
Update #318]. Both families had planned to get out of the country
over the weekend of Mar. 9, but were unable to obtain passports
when the Guatemalan government reportedly ran out of passport
covers on Mar. 8. US embassy officials are helping to expedite
their exit to the US; this was to take place Mar. 12 or 13 under
escort by the US/Guatemala Labor Education Project (US/GLEP) and
others. Both families are being protected by Peace Brigades
International (PBI) volunteers.
 
By Mar. 6, the Guatemalan government had cut back protection for
Vilma Gonzalez and her family to squad car drive-bys, and US/GLEP
reports that it was "clear that the National Police were not
providing protection" on the night of Mar. 8. Shortly after
midnight on Mar. 8, a few hours after the abduction of Sergio
Gonzalez, a car passed in front of the Gonzalez house and fired
shots in the air. Police were several blocks away and no one was
apprehended, according to US/GLEP's preliminary reports. As of
March 7, the government had still failed to begin a formal
investigation into the Feb. 27 abduction of Vilma Gonzalez;
because of this, medical authorities would not grant her an
official forensic exam. [US/GLEP Urgent Action 3/10/96]
 
For more information, or to make donations to the Reynaldo and
Vilma Gonzalez Solidarity Fund, contact US/GLEP at PO Box 268-
290, Chicago, IL 60626; email: usglep@igc.apc.org
 
12. IN OTHER NEWS...

In Colombia, rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) reportedly used a burro loaded with explosives to blow up
a police station in the town of Chalan, in northern Sucre
province, in a Mar. 12 attack that left 11 police officers dead.
According to the regional police commander, the burro was
carrying some 70 kilos of dynamite that were detonated by remote
control when the animal passed in front of the police station.
[Diario Las Americas 3/15/96 from EFE; El Diario-La Prensa
3/15/96 from combined services] The US Spanish-language
television network Telenoticias reported that most local
residents knew about the attack in advance, but no one warned the
police. [Telenoticias 3/13/96] The attack was part of a general
guerrilla offensive launched across the country. [ED-LP 3/15/96
from combined services]... A campesino protest march planned for
Mar. 15 in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion, prompted the
government to order the mobilization of police and army troops to
prevent violence, government sources reported on Mar. 14.
National Police commander Mario Sapriza said his intelligence
forces were expecting that the march could be manipulated by
political sectors, either of the right or the left. The march was
called by the National Campesino Federation. [DLA 3/16/96 from
AFP]... Labor leaders in Bolivia announced they would begin a
hunger strike on Mar. 11 in different areas of the country to
demand a salary increase that would allow workers to face the
economic crisis. Bolivian Workers Central (COB) leader Oscar
Salas said that if the government doesn't act, the unionists may
decide to launch a general strike the following week. Finance
Minister Fernando Candia accused the unionists of trying to slow
down the economic program by protesting privatization. [La
Jornada 3/10/96 from AP] As new contingents continued to join the
hunger strike pickets set up across the country, the government
promised on Mar. 14 that it would not send the police to
intervene. Labor Minister Reynaldo Peters said the government is
trying to "carry to an extreme all the recourses of dialogue and
concertation." [Diario Las Americas 3/16/96 from AFP]