MORE STRIFE IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Grey River Argus, 20 April 1948, Page 5

MORE STRIFE IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Precautions Against Left Wing Risings (Rec. 9.15). NEW YORK, April 18. Latest reports from the Latin American republics reflect a fear of the possibility of the strife in Colombia and in Costa Rica involving other States.

The Carribean Legion, which is the air-sea arm of the Costa Rica Republic Right Wing’s Rebel Army, made the charge to-day that a shipload. of armed Mexican Communists have sailed from the Mexican port of Vera Cruz, apparently to attack Limon (one of Costa Rica’s chief ports) or some other Atlantic coastal point which is held by the Costa Rican Right Wing revolutionaries, who are anti-Communists.

The anti-Communist Carribean Legion captured Limon last week in a surprise attack, supported by planes. Reports at the time said that the landing force went- ashore from Guatemalan ships and that the planes were also of Guatemalan origin. BORDER CLOSED The Ecuador Republic has closed its northern border to prevent the entry of “undesirables” from Colombia, and precautions against reported Communist activity have been ordered in Guayaquil. Meanwhile, there has been a further flurry of sniping m Bogota. This has further postponed the plans for the Pan-American conference moving from its present suburban school headquarters .to the partially repaired capitol. Three soldiers, and one civilian were killed in to-day’s strife in Bogota, bringing to five hundred a conservative estimate of the number said to have perished in the insurrection which earlier began in Bogota. There has, moreover, been still another incident in Bogota. To-day Colombian army men tried to enter a house to recover what was believed to be a store of loot there. Civilians resisted them, and two soldiers and six civilians were killed, making the total of deaths for the day twelve.