In May 1986, Jhon Hull, an American farmer with holdings in northern Costa Rica, sued American journalists Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey for libel and defarmation of character. The journalists had accused him, in their report on the La Penca press conference bombing, of working for the CIA, serving as a liaison to the contras operating out of Costa Rica, and being involved in drug trafficking. In the trial in San Jose, a series of withnesses including Eden Pastora, several mercenaries, other journalists and a U.S. public defender, gave startling testimony about the operations of the CIA and the contras in Costa Rica. The trial, which was largely ignored by Costa Rica's major media, pitted the American intelligence agency and the U.S. Embassy against the press. The judge ruled in favor of the journalists, absolving them of any crime. Jhon Hull appealed and, two months later, the Costa Rican Supreme Court threw out the case and uphald the journalists' innocence.   

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