DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

The most impactful news of the past week and over the weekend was the announcement by the United States government that sugar from the American-owned La Romana Sugar Corporation would no longer be accepted in any US port. The note alleged labor issues as the key point. Local reaction was swift, to say the least.

Agriculture Minister Limber Cruz said that there was no evidence of any sort of abuse against workers as alleged in the original note, and he stressed the importance of the US market for domestic sugar. While admitting that “years ago” there were certainly some poor labor practices, these have long since been overcome.

The Central Romana itself was quick to react to the note issued by the Customs and Border Protection agency and published a point by point denial at the end of the week. Briefly, the accusations of “forced labor” were dismissed out of hand, as...