"Fowlie Banned Again"

Fowlie Banned Again
By Farah Oshun

Costa Rica’s current Director General de Migración y Extranjería has concurred with the previous administration’s (i.e., Marco Badillia’s) decision: Daniel Fowlie is not allowed in Costa Rica.

Fowlie was banned in 2005 because of complaints that he allegedly caused violence during a trip he took there that fall, the first time Fowlie had been back to Pavones since his extradition to the United States in 1985. Fowlie had waited twenty long years to return to Pavones. Worrying that those who had stolen his land may attempt to plant illegal substances on him to keep him out of Costa Rica, Fowlie hired a Costa Rican police officer to accompany him 24 hours a day during the visit. Fowlie speculates that the land thieves fabricated claims of violence out of fear of losing their illegally acquired land holdings, which legally belong to Fowlie. Fowlie muses that it must be quite frightening to own land with Fowlie’s cloud on the title and wonder if the original owner will appear one day for his land.

The complaints center on claims that Fowlie threatened one of Fransisco (Chico) Gomez’s children; however, Fowlie has a video of the entire trip, including this incident. In the film, Gomez’s son stopped in his car and invited Fowlie back to his father’s house. Gomez, however, had profited extensively over the years off of Fowlie’s properties by selling them and keeping the cantina’s profits during Fowlie’s absence. Not surprisingly, the film shows Fowlie politely declining the offer. Instead of showing a confrontation, the video clearly depicts a peaceful encounter in which Gomez’s son smiles congenially before getting back into the expensive car, which Fowlie suspects was afforded by selling Danny Land illegally.

Another portion of the video shows Fowlie in his cantina, pointing to two police officers sitting outside. He had noticed them following him discretely for several days. The video shows Fowlie’s son exiting the cantina and striking a peaceful conversation with the officers. According to Fowlie’s son, they told him that they received complaints from local gringos and a couple of ticos but had yet to witness any disturbances. Fowlie’s son attests that the police stated that what they observed was peaceful and that they saw only the joy of people excited to see Fowlie return. Fowlie has begun to fight his exile in an international court using the video evidence, police reports of his peaceful stay, and historical facts about his past improvement of Pavones, Costa Rica.