NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... has a letter of intent from the government that makes OSI the frontrunner to develop the project. But the plan still needs several government approvals and, even then, the project or its components will have to be put out for public bid. For example, at an October meeting in Kansas City to discuss the dry canal, some of the attendees included construction company Morrison Knudson, the Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. , Tran systems Corp and officials from the Port of Ghent. "That is true, but no one is as far along as we are, " Valverde said. "No one has put together what we have. " The proposed shipping shakeup started with another shakeup in Costa Rica.
In 1991, an earthquake all but destroyed major maritime shipping in Lim 6 n, the ocean-shipping center in Costa Rica. Capt. Stephen David Kinglsey, a ship salvage master, had been working on some projects with the Costa Rican government at the time and saw an opportunity to not only revamp, but dramatically improve, the Costa Rican shipping infrastructure. Later, OSI officials said, President Rodriquez, while still a candidate, asked the company to revive the dry canal rail idea. In its literature, OSI acknowledges that the country is prone to earthquakes and hurricanes and has its share of active volcanoes. More than once, the earth has trembled when potential investors came calling.
The company says its buildings and other structures will be constructed to withstand these forces. Earthquakes and volcanoes also played a part in the building of the Panama Canal, which this project could rival. At the time, both Panama and Nicaragua were vying for canal routes. But Panama supporters produced a stamp from Nicaragua that showed a ship steaming past a smoking volcano - proof, they said, that Nicaragua would be prone to earthquakes and would be a poor spot for a major maritime artery. In the mid- 1850 s, Costa Rica defeated American William Walker and his men in their plan to import slaves and build a Nicaraguan canal. Now, Nicaragua is planning to break ground in the year 2000 for its own $ 1 billion, 300 -mile dry canal from Puerto Corinto on the Pacific side to Money Point on the Caribbean.
Mexico s planned dry canal runs from Manzanillo to Tampico and Colombia has its own rail plan too. "What makes our location so good is that it is in Costa Rica, " Valverde said. The country has been the Switzerland of Central America, retaining a strong democracy since the last century (although about three-quarters of its presidents have descended from three original colonizers and most of the ruling class has been a family affair) while its neighbors waged financial and civil wars. It has the highest literacy rate in Latin America, giving it the kind of work force that attracts major companies like Intel, which recently opened a plant in the country, despite the weaknesses in its transportation infrastructure. Costa Rica's San Jose lacks the beggars and slums of other Latin American capitals and the city has a decidedly North American feel about it. Until the middle of the 19 th century, Costa Rica was a poor backwater of a place.
But then settlers started planting coffee, which today brings in more than $ 200 million in export income to the country. And then came bananas, which today account for about $ 600 million annually. Other exports include meat, sugar, seafood, pineapples, textiles, clothing, tiles, pharmaceuticals and furniture. One company, Portico SA, exports 80, 000 solid mahogany doors a year, mostly to places in the United States like Home Depot and Lowes, according to a recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank. On the import side, about $ 1 billion worth of raw materials comes into the country and a little more than $ 700 million in machinery and equipment is brought into Costa Rica. The port in Limon recently invested about $ 4. 5 million for a new pier for roll-on / roll -off cargo.
But the fastest growing money-maker for Costa Rica is tourism, especially ecotourism, now worth more than $ 600 million annually. And the government is trying to figure out what will be best: to develop the commercial or to keep the environmental. "We can have both, " Valverde said. The OSI project does indeed have a little bit for everyone. And everyone is waiting to see whether the company can pull if off or will break down on the same rocky road that has stalled similar projects in the region. Coffee has historically been the country's most important crop, and Costa Rica continues to produce some of the best coffee in the world.
But in recent years, less traditional crops have been playing an increasingly important economic role. The banana is the second most important export crop, with vast plantations covering parts of the Caribbean lowlands, but there is also significant land dedicated to pineapples, sugar, oranges, rice, cattle, hardwoods and ornamental plants. Although democracy has its deep roots and investment policies of Costa Rica are transparent and attractive for international companies the illegal trade and other illegal activities are noticeable distinguishes of Costa Rica among the countries of Central America as well and those distinguishes are highly topical. Costa Rica already is a transshipment center - for drugs, money and even people today. As mentioned above Costa Rica will become a worldwide cargo transshipment center. But the country already is a major transshipment point - for drugs, money and fugitives.
Costa Rica is a major money-laundering center and drug transportation center for the region and the world, according to reports from the U. S. State Department and Drug Enforcement Agency. "The country lacks a comprehensive anti-money-laundering statute and is an important transshipment point for narcotics trafficking, " (6) according to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released in March by the State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. The report continued: "Anecdotal information suggests that money launderers are using Costa Rican financial institutions, casinos, currency exchange houses and real estate holdings to launder the proceeds from crimes. In May 1997, the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an on-site money-laundering threat assessment. The DEA identified several significant deficiencies in the current anti-money-laundering statute.
The current statute lacks a requirement for financial institutions to report all suspicious transactions and follow "know-your-customer policies. " (6) Employees of state banks are required to report potential crimes of which they have knowledge. However, since the law does not protect them with immunity from civil suits arising out of disclosures, actual reporting is practically nonexistent. Not only that, but banks in Costa Rica have developed a sophisticated dual-banking system with offshore banks that allow depositors to hide their money. And the country's an easy target for drug smugglers, too. "Costa Rica is an important transshipment area for cocaine en route to the U.
S. , " (6) according to the State Department report. Costa Rica's location on the Central American isthmus makes it an important transshipment and temporary storage area for cocaine smuggled to the U. S. and Europe.
During 1997, authorities seized nearly 8, 000 kilograms of cocaine, a record annual total for Costa Rica. However, the State Department does not have evidence establishing that the drugs transiting Costa Rica en route to the U. S. are of sufficient quantity to have a "significant effect" on the U. S, according to the report. "Most cocaine enters the country overland from Panama. Smugglers utilize small aircraft, surface vehicles, human couriers and maritime vessels, " the report said. "Smugglers periodically use Costa Rica as a temporary storage area for cocaine before repackaging and sending it onward in containers on tractor-trailers and ships. " (6) It's small wonder, then, that the country serves as a temporary storage area for people too.
Like most of its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica had made an industry of protecting other countries' criminals (7) But, according to the State Department, Costa Rica is improving. The government of Costa Rica recently made it illegal to launder drug money. However, there are difficulties in enforcing the statute and obtaining convictions. Prosecutors must prove not only that the proceeds came directly from drug trafficking, but also that launderers knew the funds came from such activity. The efforts to abolish drug smuggle undertaken by Costa Rica's government are real and these actions resulted the partial abolishment of cocaine smuggle in 1998 - 2002 which makes Costa Rica almost acceptable among other countries of Central and Southern America where all efforts towards reducing illegal drug business are good on the paper because of the corruption of those states.
But despite of the measures undertaken by government the illegal business remains prosperous in Costa Rica. The establishment of an interagency drug task force should help considerably in the interdiction of both maritime and vehicular shipments. The task force will have access to vehicles and rigid-hulled boats to permit timely response to reports of drug shipments arriving via the Caribbean coast, Pacific coast, or the Inter-American Highway. When establishment of an interagency drug task be done in the next few years and illegal drug business will stagnate for awhile it may be stated that Costa Rica is the best one for US strategic partnership throughout Central and Southern America. Bibliography: Rachowiecki, Rob. Costa Rica.
Hawthorn, Vic. ; Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 1997. Countries and Territories. Reno, NV: Whipsaw Pub. , 1996 Culturgram ' 99: Costa Rica. Utah: Brigham Young University. 2002. Costa Rica. " World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. (1999) pages 1080 - 1084 Foley, Erin.
Cultures of the World: Costa Rica. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1997. U. S. State Department and Drug Enforcement Agency, 1998 Annual Report on Central America. Mill, James The Underground Empire, Where Crime and Governments Embrace.
Penguin, 2002
Free research essays on topics related to: costa rica, u s state, drug enforcement agency, money laundering, illegal drug
Research essay sample on Drug Enforcement Agency U S State
