President Leonel Fernandez arrived in the Colombian capital Bogota last night, and is about to embark on a busy agenda that includes the signing of an energy agreement. Fernandez is scheduled to meet with President Alvaro Uribe to sign a joint statement in the house of government. Fernandez wants to emulate Colombia's alternative energy programs in the DR, especially wind energy and the production of carbureting alcohol from sugar cane. The DR will have access to a credit line offered by the state-owned Banco de Comercio Exterior de Colombia (Bancoldex), which will be used for the acquisition of oil and coal. Fernandez will also visit the seat of the Supreme Court of Justice where he will be received by the court's president, Dr. Carlos Isaac Nader. Later he will address Colombia's National Congress where a plenary session is being held in honor of his visit. He will be received by the President of Congress Claudia Blue Barberi. President Fernandez is also scheduled to be awarded the keys to the city of Bogota by the Mayor.
The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice has approved the extradition of former lieutenant colonel Lidio Arturo Nin Terrero and driver Tirso Cuevas Nin, requested by the United States in connection with the Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo case, according to a report in Listin Diario. Nin Terrero and Cuevas Nin were on the truck that was carrying 1,387 kilos of cocaine when it was seized 18 December 2004 in Santo Domingo. Paulino Castillo was extradited on 19 February 2005 and is awaiting trial in New York together with Dominicans Richard Pena Mejia, twins Jean Paul and David Ulloa, and Abel Burdiez, who, according to the accusation, were part of an international network that smuggled drugs into the US. The decision to extradite Nin Terrero and Cuevas Nin comes at a time of rumors about a plot to kill the former to prevent him from testifying in the US court. This plot allegedly involves powerful sectors that are connected with the case who have hired paid assassins. Meanwhile, US ambassador Hans Hertell said that his government is satisfied with the SCJ move to extradite the two alleged drug traffickers. Hertell said that the court had acted in accordance with procedures established by Dominican law.
Diaio Libre reports that Executive Branch Legal Consultant Cesar Pina Toribio said that he is only waiting for the sentence to arrive in order to prepare the Presidential decree authorizing the handover of the two suspects.
Hoy reports that ambassador Hertell has stated that the US judicial authorities will be requesting more extraditions of Dominicans involved with crimes in his country.
The Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) is due to issue a sentence in the forthcoming days that will decide upon the procedure for foreign nationals to obtain Dominican citizenship, after interpreting the Constitution, international treaties and the Migration Law. According to a report in El Caribe, the high court must rule on two unconstitutionality cases against the Migration Law. The SCJ decided to rule on the cases after the Central Electoral Board (JCE) determined that priests Pedro Ruquoy and Vigny Bellerive had declared Haitians as Dominican citizens in the civil registries of Mao, Valverde and the southern region of the country. Central to the issue are the legal precepts of "jus solis" and "jus sanguini", which establish the determination of nationality based on place of birth (the former) or the nationality of parents (the latter).
Dominican business consultant Luis Alvarez Renta has been found guilty by a jury in Miami where he illegally transferred moneys stolen from collapsed Banco Intercontinental to several banks in Florida. Clave Digital also reports that he was found guilty of money laundering after being accused by the Dominican government of participating in a multi-million dollar fraud to transfer the funds out of the DR. He was ordered to pay US$174 million to the Baninter Liquidating commission, according to the sentence disclosed last night. The verdict came as a surprise as it only took the seven-member jury two hours to reach a unanimous decision. According to Central Bank Legal Consultant Fidel Ernesto Pichardo Baba, who was present during most of the trial, the process itself represents the beginning of true fight against corruption in the DR and the sentencing by US court is a clear and exemplary signal for the justice system in our country. Alvarez Renta was accused of using three banks in Florida to hide irregular Baninter operations totaling US$34 million. The greater part of that money had ended up in his personal bank account with Wadevile Investment, a subsidiary of a trust that belongs to his children.
Listin Diario indicates that Alvarez Renta was found guilty of three charges of fund transferring and money laundering by the Court of the Southern District of Florida and sentenced to pay the US$174 million in damages to the Dominican state for those fraudulent operations. The defendant was found guilty of violating the Act of Fraudulent Influence and Corrupt Organizations by participating in a conspiracy to channel money from Baninter to his own bank accounts in the US through a process involving loans. The case was taken to a court in Florida because the use of US financial institutions for the transfer of illegal funds is illegal. The process began 17 October 2005 and was led by Dominican-born judge Jose E. Martinez. The case involves three companies: Bankinvest, S.A., Interduty Free, LTD, and Wadevile Investments, all of which are owned by Alvarez Renta and were involved in the alleged Baninter US$2,000 million fraud. The court has evidence that Alvarez Renta would borrow the money from Baninter with no intention of ever paying it back.
El Caribe reports that the former Baninter consultant didn't hear the verdict as he had gone to his hotel in Coral Gables to rest, and didn't get back to the court in time. He will not have to serve a prison term because the case was civil.
Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito has questioned the ruling in favor of the defendants in the rock ash case (see DR1 Daily News 7 November 2005), and said this casts doubts upon the independence of the Judicial Branch. El Caribe indicates other cases that support his concern are the greenhouse fraud case and the Plan Renove. The Director of the Justice Department School, Aura Celeste Fernandez, said the decision by Instruction Judge Ramon Amaury Rodriguez was "alarming". The judge dismissed the case against Hector Rene Ledesma, former Deputy Minister of Environment; Domingo Rosario, President of the company that brought the rock ash to the DR; and Arsenio Volquez, former director of the Port Authority. Environment Minister Max Puig believes that the judge's decision is wrong and that he should not have focused on the material's toxicity. Supreme Court of Justice President Jorge Subero Isa said he is waiting for a copy of the sentence to study the motivations and considerations the judge used, and if they are weak, he will order an investigation. Subero stated that there still are judges who act too leniently, without understanding that the rights of the community override the rights of particular individuals, and that each case must be analyzed separately.
District Attorney Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero has said that all the required documentation has been turned over to the Attorney General for the extradition request of retired colonel Pedro Julio "Pepe" Goico Guerrero, but a Spanish court will have to decide upon his return to the DR. Diario Libre reports that Goico is wanted for questioning about his involvement in the Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo case. Goico was a top military aide to former president Hipolito Mejia. He allegedly received US$650,000 from Paulino Castillo for the purchase of a Colibri helicopter.
The former Dominican consul in Cap-Haitien, Radhames Ramos Garcia, who served 18 months in Najayo prison for smuggling illegal Asian immigrants through the DR-Haitian border, was selected as PRD candidate for Deputy of La Vega Province, in that party's convention held last Sunday. Ramos Garcia received 3,399 votes in section No. 1 which includes the municipalities of Jima and municipal districts of Ranchito, Rio Verde and Rincon.
The US Coast Guard has returned a group of 95 people to the DR after they were caught trying to reach Puerto Rico in a fragile boat. They included 25 women, three of whom are Haitian. The DR liaison officer with the US Coast Guard sea and air operations, Pedro Jimenez, said that patrolling increases during November, December and January as there is a greater number of people trying to make it across the Mona Passage by boat. The 95 were brought on board the "Diligence" tender ship which arrived at 9:00 am to Don Diego Port on Avenida del Puerto in Santo Domingo. These illegal trips are also used to take drugs into Puerto Rico, according to Jimenez.
According to Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa, the foreign exchange rate will continue to decrease because merchandise for December has already been purchased, hotels are full of tourists and next month Dominican expatriates will start arriving to spend Christmas at home. Also, Listin Diario reports that the government has completed the renegotiation of the private debt with the London Club, representing a relief of US$142 million, and with the Paris Club, which represents US$137 million. This is money that had to be paid, but after the renegotiation it is as if they were new resources in the economy.
The ten-member Municipal Council of Villa Mella has approved the Transport Reorganization Office (OPRET) proposal to build an elevated railway in their area, following Diandino Pena's presentation of the project. Diario Libre reports that retailers were also happy with the plans as they include the negotiation of soft loans through the Small and Medium Business Program which they can use to supply their inventories during the construction of the project, which will run along Hermanas Mirabal avenue.
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