Guatemala Inks PETROCARIBE Deal

Guatemala - Guatemala signed an energy cooperation agreement with PETROCARIBE, resulting in 20,000 barrels of oil daily.

Guatemalan Vice President Rafael Espada and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed the deal during the PETROCARIBE Summit in St. Kitts and Nevis.

“The investment the country is making in this century of economic crisis is an undoubtedly favorable and constructive negotiation for Guatemala,” Baseterre told Telesur.

The government had designated the ministers of energy and public finance to implement the agreement, but the model of the operative contract must be recognized by Congress.

“Solidarity cooperation is indispensable to achieve mutual socioeconomic development goals, in at atmosphere of peace and justice,” the document reads.

The contract will take effect when the two sides accomplish their internal legal requirements.

Inside Costa Rica - Costa Rica’s Daily News

Costa Rica ousts top 2 intel officials

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica has replaced two top intelligence officials because a government password apparently was used to loot private bank accounts.

Prosecutors have accused the deputy director of the Intelligence and Security Directorate, Roberto Guillen, of helping steal from private bank accounts after accessing credit reports through a government account with a private data company.

The president’s office on Wednesday announced that the agency’s director, Roberto Solorzano, had resigned after acknowledging the agency’s “negligence in the handling of the password.” Jose Torres, a top adviser to President Oscar Arias, will succeed Solorzano, who has not been accused of any crime.

Prosecutors say Guillen was part a ring that used falsified checks to steal at least $360,000 from Costa Rican businessmen. Guillen allegedly used the password to access credit reports on the victims.

Guillen was arrested in November but is free pending further investigation.

Cabinet Chief Rodrigo Arias said the government will propose legal reforms to the intelligence agency to better define its jurisdiction.

The Associated Press: Costa Rica ousts top 2 intel officials