THE DARK SIDE OF COSTA RICA CRIME HISTORY OF CODO DEL DIABLO or ELBOW THE DEVIL The December 11, 1948, the junta that ruled Costa Rica after a brief civil war, the country declared a state of emergency and suspend individual rights. That same day, in the province of Limón, are put under arrest six suspects in the peasant struggles and the Communist Party. On the night of December 19 the six prisoners are moved to San José in a motor-car, but at a sharp bend of the railway line known as the Devils Elbow are murdered in cold blood. The death of six prisoners soon raise concerns among the population. He immediately asked the Governing forming an investigative commission and a judicial process where the actions of the officers questioned, creating tension within the Board at a time when the disintegration of the army was consolidated as started permanent institution. Although absent from the official historical narrative, this murder has become a benchmark of communist militants, as an example of political persecution with which he silenced the late forties an emerging party that had achieved important victories during the previous decade. In addition to highlighting the seriousness of this crime and impunity, it is possible to give other readings to the crime of Devils Elbow to understand the complex process that led to the abolition of the army in Costa Rica and interests, tensions and contradictions of the groups power when reshaping the political map of the country after the civil war and lay the foundations of contemporary Costa Rican government. While the crime was investigated and the perpetrators convicted, none served prison sentences. Instead, they fled the country, aided by authorities. Some historians claim that the role played by high political authorities at the time, such as Gonzalo Facio and Edgar Cardona, was never properly investigated.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 06:46:46 +0000
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