Posted on 06/19/2005 10:14:36 PM PDT by stlnative
I guess it was not a Central American country then, huh....
By KEVIN MURPHY - The Kansas City Star Date: 08/16/01 22:15
WASHINGTON -- Whoever murdered Missouri native Larry Lee in his apartment in Guatemala 19 months ago left a bloody towel, stole his cell phone and used it to make calls. Two clear leads for police, both overlooked.
Whoever killed University of Kansas student Shannon Martin as she walked home from a bar in Costa Rica three months ago is also still at large. The pace of the investigation has frustrated Martin's mother and a U.S. senator from Kansas.
Families of those who become crime victims in some foreign countries often learn a hard lesson about getting justice and what little the United States can do about it. "We as Americans tend to think that most criminal justice systems are a lot like ours, that we are going to have some sense of the procedures and will have rights," said Lara Murray of the National Center for Victims of Crime. "That's not true in a lot of the world."
---snip---
"We are frustrated, too," said State Department spokesman Christopher Lamora. "The embassy has pressured the Guatemalan government as much as it possibly can.... "The bottom line is that no U.S. law enforcement agency is going to become engaged in investigating a crime in another country without a request from the host government or law enforcement officials in that country."
---snip---
The FBI has three Florida-based agents who deal full time with investigations in Central American countries, but only with clearance from the State Department and the foreign governments, an FBI spokeswoman said.
---snip---
http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/printer.pat,local/3acce6c8.816,.html
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The US gov't is not going to push Aruba too hard on this one...Aruba is currently used by the US in the drug war (the US uses an airbase on the island...which also explains the presence of the DEA agent when Natalie was first reported missing).
Finally, if you are going to call for a boycott of Aruba due to what you perceive is their inability to solve this crime, then I would ask that you also call for a boycott of every other country which has failed to solve a case involving a missing American (looks like Costa Rica and Guatemala to start). While you are at it, call for a boycott of those states which also have unsolved missing persons (which would be every state in the US).
Fine
We can start with your Aruba.
100% Agreement
The bottom line is that if you are going to travel to a foreign country...any foreign country...you have to expect that you will be subject to their laws, rules and procedures.
OTOH.....it seems we are all from the New World, Western Hemisphere, the Americas, and seeing as a goodly amount of business and good will exists between the two countries, you would think out of courtesey the Arubans would have allowed an observer in on all their "invasions" and interrogations.....
one would think , anyway....
Marriage not agreeing with Alan?
I'll bet there's lot of people covering up for lots of stuff.....
remember too, Big Daddy was a gambler as well.....
It seems that your comments on this thread resemble a lawyer's acting on behalf of his client (Aruba).
The bottom line is that if you are going to travel to a foreign country...any foreign country...you have to expect that you will be subject to their laws, rules and procedures.
The bottom line is that I prefer to make other countries safe for Americans (who are not criminals) by making it so onerous on those other countries when Americans are harmed that the country actively promotes and defends the safety of American visitors, and thereby by extension all other people of good will within its borders.
Otherwise we may as well quarantine those countries as if they had a terminal disease.
look, even the brothers of Mark Hacking make excuses for him....Scott Peterson...etc ......
Yes, that's it...I represent Aruba --rolling eyes----
The bottom line is that I prefer to make other countries safe for Americans (who are not criminals) by making it so onerous on those other countries when Americans are harmed that the country actively promotes and defends the safety of American visitors, and thereby by extension all other people of good will within its borders. Otherwise we may as well quarantine those countries as if they had a terminal disease.
Then I look forward to the threads which you will start promoting boycotts against Costa Rica, Guatemla, and Mexico...for starters....
More clients for you ...
it just goes to show you that when one supports evil or doesn't stand up against it( MJ jury...you cowards!) it will come back to haunt you someday, in someway.....
Like Natalee's mother, Beth, has said, "They hold the key". Why haven't these guys been formerly charged? If you have the right connections and belong to the right family in Aruba, does that mean you get to continually lie to the authorities without any consequences?
You bet I'll advocate a boycott of Aruba. The authorities should have rolled out the red carpet and welcomed the FBI on at least day two, but have instead shut them out. Why would I want to spend one red cent in a country who is run by authorities that are at best, incompetent, and at worst, corrupt?
You've just got to stop making so much sense. Strikes me as odd, too, that there is such an outcry over the justice system in Aruba. It ain't America, folks. Stay away because of that, not to "punish" the people whose lives depend on tourism.
Wrong. If it weren't for Mark Hacking's brother's turning in their brother & revealing his confession to them, he might not have been convicted.
At this point I don't care if they are formally charged. I want all pertinent information extracted from them first. Once we know the truth then they can be charged or released. Anything less is unjust.
What the fool who wrote the artile fails to realize, this is not about race. This is about a missing( probably murdered) American.
The point is an American is an American.(Bud)
In bursting this article apart, basically if this were a young black girl as opposed to being white, envision this scenario. First it would be in the headlines, there would be Jesse, Al, Maxine, the CBC, the NAACP and many other groups already in Aruba shouting,"No Justice No Peace!!"
The Aruban politicos/authorities would be jumping out of their asses to solve this case ASAP. For this, I do admire JJ, Al, Maxine, CBC and the NAACP. I make no bones about it, this would be occurring even as I am typing this response. Aruba is getting a light slap, when compared to what would be occurring if the victim's race were different.
When an American life is lost in a foreign country everyone should be on-board to insure the crime is solved and blind justice prevails. I do wish JJ, Al, Maxine and the rest would take interest in this case based not on race, but by being an American. I humbly say, the mountains in Aruba could be moved with this sort of homgenity of the American people. NSNR
If you have the right connections and belong to the right family in Aruba, does that mean you get to continually lie to the authorities without any consequences?
Which of the suspects in this case have "the right connections" or belong to a family of elite status in Aruba?
If we could only send them to big, bad Gitmo ;)
I can imagine JVS showing up for last call at the C&C that night and telling NH his cab was waiting outside for him
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