A New Approach

Below you will find two letters. The first was the original composed in English and the second is its Spanish translation, which was hand delivered to the office of the Minister of Justice on May 4th. The content of the letters speaks for itself. It represents an initial attempt to alter the tactics we have relied upon - unsuccessfully - since 2002. If the ministry follows the administrative requirement stipulated by law, we can anticipate a written reply within ten working days. Don't hold your breath. It should be interesting to see what happens. We will keep you informed.

UCCR

UNITED CONCERNED CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS

Email: uccrmail@gmail.com, Website: www.ticostuff.com/uccr ________________________________________________________________________

May 4, 2009

Licenciada Viviana Martin

Ministra de Justicia de la Republica de Costa Rica

Dear Ms. Martin,

We, the undersigned, are members of the Board of Directors of the UCCR, which stands for United Concerned Citizens and Residents. Ours is an informal organization, which was formed in 2002 for the purpose of representing the interests of approximately 6000 investors whose money was lost when actions of the government of Costa Rica effectively froze the assets of LUIS ENRIQUE VILLALOBOS. Convinced of the honesty and integrity of Sr. Villalobos, and confident that he and his brother would be exonerated of the charges against them, we urged our fellow investors to place their trust in the judicial system and to patiently await the outcome of the judicial process – which lasted six years.

Of the 6000 investors fewer than 200 filed claims against Luis Enrique, and the majority of those were enticed into doing so by the fiscalia or the misrepresentations of a private attorney. Another group composed of mostly Canadian investors sought to recover their money through compulsory arbitration, based upon government negligence in oversight. This is ongoing. (U.S. citizens could not participate because the treaty supporting this remedy was a bilateral one between CR and Canada.)

Luis Enrique has repeatedly professed his desire to return to Costa Rica and begin repayment of his creditors. He has been unable to do so for two reasons:

1. He cannot access his bank accounts as long as he is considered by the fiscal to be a fugitive charged with money laundering. The irony in this is that the investigation of the case began as a result of a request from the Canadian police to look into a suspicion of money laundering, The trial of Osvaldo Villalobos resulted in dismissal of the money laundering accusation for lack of evidence to support it. And in spite of this the fiscal remains unwilling to notify Interpol of the decision.

2. After witnessing the treatment of his brother, Osvaldo, he has every reason to believe that the cards here are stacked against him. He feels that it is his responsibility to distribute our money fairly and that he cannot do this from a jail cell. We agree. We have evidence which suggests that this case was propelled by a conspiracy of competing banking interests and elements of the Ministerio Publico.

Despite efforts by our attorney to achieve recognition for us investors as a legitimate third party to this case, we remain marginalized from the process. From our perspective it is now obvious that the matter is, and always has been, a political/economic issue rather than a legal one. If that were not true the Roman Catholic bishops of Costa Rica would be serving jail time along with Osvaldo Villalobos for commission of the same crimes.

We do not know who here in Costa Rica has the authority to intervene in this case and correct the grave injustice done to the Villalobos brothers and, secondarily, to all the investors who had (and still have) their faith in them. On behalf of all investors we appeal to you for assistance in bringing this matter to a conclusion which will benefit all concerned. You represent our ultimate recourse before presenting our case to international scrutiny. Apart from taking legal action against the Costa Rican government we now have the option provided by the CAFTA agreement for U.S. citizens to pursue the course of compulsory arbitration.

The above measures would be repugnant to those of us who have enjoyed our time spent here in our adopted country. The vast majority of the investors are retirees who relied upon their investment with Enrique to make Costa Rica affordable. Many have had to return to their countries of origin. Does it not make sense to do whatever may be necessary to bolster the economy here with the infusion of an estimated ½ to 1 billion dollars? Imagine the benefits accruing from the circulation and recirculation of this sum of money throughout an economy threatened by the global spiral downwards.

We would propose that the following be considered:

1. An executive pardon for Osvaldo. (If this is possible in the cases of 10 convicted drug dealers, it should surely apply to a person whose conviction is highly questionable.) 2. Amnesty for Luis Enrique, which would permit his return to Costa Rica without the threat of incarceration and with the opportunity to carry out his stated intention to repay the investors.

We recognize that you may have limited knowledge of the facts of the case and that we have not supplied them in this letter of appeal. But we do have the facts to support our contentions and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you for more in-depth discussion of the topic.

We thank you for your time and attention, and we await your reply.

Sincerely,

UCCR

UCCR

TED CONCERNED CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS

Email: uccrmail@gmail.com, Website: www.ticostuff.com/uccr ________________________________________________________________________

4 de mayo de 2009

Licenciada Viviana Martín

Ministra de Justicia de la República de Costa Rica Su Despacho.

Estimada señora Ministra:

Los suscritos somos miembros de Junta Directiva de UCCR (United Concerned Citizens and Residents.) La nuestra es una organización informal constituida en el años 2002 para representar los intereses de aproximadamente 6000 inversionistas que perdieron su dinero cuando las autoridades costarricenses congeló los activos de LUIS ENRIQUE VILLALOBOS. Convencidos de la honestidad e integridad del Sr. Villalobos, y confiando en que él y su hermano serían exonerados de los cargos contra ellos, instamos a nuestros inversionistas a confiar en el sistema judicial y a esperar pacientemente los resultados del proceso judicial –que tomó seis años.

De los 6000 inversionistas, menos de 200 presentaron reclamos contra Luis Enrique, y la mayoría de esos fue movida por a hacerlo por consejo de la fiscalía o de un abogado privado. Otro grupo compuesto de inversionistas canadienses trata de recobrar su dinero a través de de un arbitraje internacional, basado en negligencia y descuido gubernamental. Este arbitraje está en proceso. (Los ciudadanos estadounidenses no pudieron participar porque el tratado que ampara este remedio es de naturaleza bilateral entre Costa Rica y Canadá.)

Luis Enrique ha repetido su deseo de retornar a Costa Rica y pagar a sus acreedores. No ha podido hacerlo por dos razones:

1.El no puede accesar sus cuentas bancarias mientras sea considerado un fugitivo acusado de lavado de dinero. La ironía de esto es que la investigación del caso comenzó por una solicitud de la policía canadiense sobre lavado de dinero. El juicio contra Oswaldo Villalobos terminó con un sobreseimiento de la acusación por lavado de dinero por falta de evidencia. A pesar de ello, el fiscal no informa la Interpol de esa decisión judicial.

2.Después de observar el resultado del juicio contra su hermano Osvaldo, Luis Enrique tiene razones para creer que las cartas están cargadas en su contra. Él siente que su responsabilidad es distribuir equitativamente nuestro dinero y que no podrá hacerlo desde la celda de una prisión. Nosotros estamos de acuerdo. Tenemos evidencia que sugiere que este caso fue movido por una conspiración de intereses bancarios y elementos del Ministerio Público.

A pesar de los esfuerzos de nuestro abogado para lograr el reconocimiento de nosotros los inversionistas como terceros legitimados en este caso, seguimos estando marginados del proceso.

Desde nuestra perspectiva es obvio que este asunto es, y ha sido siempre de naturaleza político-económica, más que legal. Si así no fuera, los obispos de la Iglesia Católica estarían en la cárcel junto con Osvaldo Villalobos por cometer los mismos crímenes.

Nosotros no sabemos quién aquí en Costa Rica tiene la autoridad para intervenir en este caso y corregir la grave injusticia hecha a los hermanos Villalobos y an segunda instancia a todos los inversionistas que tuvieron ( y todavía tienen) fe en ellos.

A nombre de todos los inversionistas apelamos a usted por su asistencia para llevar este asunto a una conclusión que beneficie a todos los involucrados. Usted representa nuestro último recurso antes de llevar el caso a instancias internacionales. Además de tomar acción contra el gobierno de Costa Rica, ahora tenemos la opción bajo CAFTA de llevar el caso a arbitraje obligatorio.

Dichas medidas nos resultan repugnantes para aquellos de nosotros que vivimos en Costa Rica como nuestro país adoptivo. La mayoría de los inversionistas somos personas retiradas que dependíamos del producto de nuestras inversiones con Luis Enrique para poder vivir en Costa Rica. Muchos han tenido que regresar a su país de origen. ¿No le parece que tiene sentido hacer lo que sea necesario para inyectarle a la economía costarricense entre medio y un billón de dólares? Imagine los beneficios que representa la circulación y recirculación de esta suma de dinero.

Proponemos a su consideración lo siguiente:

1.El indulto para Osvaldo Villalobos. (Si este fue posible para 10 condenados por narcotráfico, deberá serlo para una persona cuya condenatoria es cuestionable.) 2.Amnistía para Luis Enrique, que permitiría su regreso a Costa Rica sin la amenaza de encarcelamiento, y la oportunidad de ejecutar su intención de repagar a los inversionistas.

Reconocemos que usted puede tener un conocimiento limitado de los hechos en este caso, y que no los hemos aportado todos en esta carta, pero tenemos toda la evidencia para sustentar lo expresado y apreciaremos la oportunidad de reunirnos con usted para plantearle estos tópicos.

Le agradecemos su atención y esperamos su respuesta.

Atentamente, UCCR