Venezuelan businessman Harry Mannil Laul (82) has been kicked out of Costa Rica after allegations that he is a Nazi war criminal. 

A native Estonian, Mannil Laul had been identified in the Central American country by the US Department of Justice and the Simon Wiesenthal Center as having been a member of the Estonian Political Police during the Nazi occupation 1941-1943.  With business holdings in Costa Rica and a home in Venezuela, authorities say Mannil took part in persecuting the Jewish community in Estonia where Jews were arbitrarily detained and assassinated.

Costa Rica's director general of Immigration, Marco Badilla personally told Mannil Laul never to return to Costa Rica and that, if he tries, he'll be sent back as "a threat to Costa Rica's national security, public order and the quality of life."

United States officials apparently collaborated with Costa Rican authorities and say that Mannil Laul was a high-ranking member of the violent Estonian police unit ... he has denied the allegations, claiming he was simply involved in administrative tasks.

Venezuela-naturalized  Mannil Laul (82) had visited Costa Rica on at least 14 occasions last year on tourist visas and was originally suspected of visa violations after admitting he had traveled there on business.

The US Simon Wiesenthal Center has praised Costa Rica's initiative saying that Mannil Laul had tried to gain residency status in Costa Rica but had been denied the status because he has permanent residence in Venezuela.  The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi hunter, Dr. Efraim Zuroff says he would like to see Mannil Laul brought to justice in Estonia but claims the Estonian government is not doing enough to prosecute Nazi atrocities.

See http://www.amcostarica.com

Photography: Santiago Padilla