Ex-President Reveals Strong Clashes with US Ambassador Over Oil Exploration

Last week Ex-President of Costa Rica Abel Pacheco (2002-2006) reveals he had fuertes enfrentamientos strong clashes/confrontations with the US Ambassador at the time about oil exploration on the Caribbean coast.

The US Ambassador – John Danilovich – put pressure on Abel Pacheco and questioned the Costa Rican President’s decision to prevent oil exploration activity in the country.

Pacheco revealed that Danilovich was pressuring him to allow oil exploration in Costa Rica. But he alleges that he flatly opposed the idea, which provoked the meetinsg between the two of them to end in an argument (pleito).

“With Danilovich, I began my relationship with an argument for oil… he was the representative of groups affiliated with ex-President George W. Bush, they were fanatical about oil exploration wherever and however, no matter the consequence,” recalled Pacheco last week..

“That’s how they will destroy the Caribbean, the same as what just happened recently in the Gulf of Mexico and this is what would have happened in Costa Rica and I opposed it,” he continued.

In 2003, the US oil firm Harken Corporation blamed Pacheco for the cancellation of a contract with the Costa Rican government to explore oil deposits in the Caribbean. Harken sued Costa Rica for US$57 million but the case was dropped in October 2006.

Asked if Danilovich defended the interests of any specific company, Pacheco said the diplomat’s interest was related to any U.S. investment.

With regard to what kind of pressure, Pacheco said that: “The North American diplomats are very subtle, they never threaten, but they insinuate and frankly the first meeting at Zapote (Costa Rica’s “White House”) ended with gritos shouts, but you see I was totally right.”

Despite this, the Ex-President said he had a good friendship with Danilovich. The U.S. Embassy declined to comment about this.

[custom_script adID=97]

Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1. Costa Rica Real Estate Scams & How To Avoid Them, 2. How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, and 3. Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.