Evening star., 1955-01-12
COSTA Ricans
Shoot Down
'Sfrafing Plane
Charge Fighter
Is yenezuelun;
Rebels Attacked
Or HE Assoeio,ed PressI

"a Venezuelan fighter plane
which came from Nicaragua"
machinegunned San Jose to-
day and then was shot down
by antiaircraft fire, the Civil
Guard announced.
The raider, which looked like
the American-built P-47 Thun-
derbolt of World War II vintage,
buzzed the downtown area of
this capital city and loosed ma
chinegun bursts at a residential
sector. This came as govern
ment troops battled in the north
to clear a rebel band from the
Villa Quesada area, about mid
way between San Jose and the
Costa acknowledgements frontier.
Three bursts were aimed into
the section surrounding the
Costa Rican White House, the
home Of President Jose Figueres.
The plane was climbing rap
idly as it passed the San Jose
airport control tower.
Fell Into River.
"A Civil Guard communique
said the raider was down by
antiaircraft artillery and fell in
a river called Los Ahogados tthe
Drownedp near Liberia. a town
of $500 about 100 miles north
west Of San Jose.
Though the plane approached
San Jose from the south, the
command said it came from q
Nicaraguan aiifield.
"The command recommends
that the inhabitants remain at
home and keep calm," 1t said.
because the antiaircraft de-
tenders will give q good account
of attacking planes, knocking
them down just as was done in
Liberia. ~
COSTA Rica's delegate to
the U. NJ, was informed from
San Jose that invading forces
captured two small port cities
on the Pacific Coast. The
delegate, Ambassador Ben
jarnin Nunez, identified the
cities as Puerto Solely. near the
Nicaraguan border. and Puerty
Cortez, In the southern part
OF Costa Rica. ne said also
invading planes had machine
gunned Turrialba and Car-
tago.) &
Launch Dawn Attack.
Costa Rican troops launched
an attack ct dawn upon the
armed band which seized the
Villa Quesada area yesterday.
There were unconfirmed reports
-one brought In by a govern
ment plane from the front--that
the troops had regained the town
| after a battle Of less than three
hours. The command headquar-
ters, however, refused confirma-
ton and said the action was
continuing.
Costa Rica, lacking an air
force. was using a Cessna for OBJ
servation and requisitioned
LACSA DC-3 transports for COM
bined machinegun and small
arms fire against the foe at Villa
Quesada.
The pilot Of the DC-3 which
rose to challenge the strike at
San Jose landed angry and
chagrined because the fighter
had kept going north instead Of
returning for a second pass.
many streets in the area cleared
quickly, but in others people
rushed outdoors to scan the sky.
Earlier primary interest had
centered on villa Quesada.
Rebels Yielding.
The Costa Rican command an
nounced the rebel force-vari-
ously estimated between 40 and
100 men-was outgunned and
withdrawing slowly to the heart
Of the town under assault OF
troops bolstered by ammunition
flown in by a Costa Rican plane
from the United States-con-
trolled Panama Canal Zone.
Villa Quesada and some
nearby villages were taken over
yesterday by airborne units
which government spokesmen
described as presumably Mica
raguan." A small detachment Of
the civil guard there was over
whelmed.
Nicaragua promptly described
the charges as foolish" and de-
| MED that the attacking force
| had come from its territory