DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

The presiding judge of the Fifth Chamber for Instruction in Santiago, Cirilo Salamon Sanchez, has ordered 70 persons and legal entities to go to criminal trial on charges of money laundering, drug trafficking and a list of other crimes. This trial will be the successful culmination of a long investigative process called Operation Hawk (Falcon in Spanish).

In his decision, the judge noted that the prosecutors had followed all of the legal process to the letter and the was no further reason to delay the trial on the many charges. The case is interesting because not only are many people indicted but also several commercial entities involving real estate and even gasoline stations. Many of the accused were under house arrest and wearing ankle bracelets.