Visa scandal at US embassy????

ju10prd

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Dominican Today:

Visa scandal shuts US Consulate in Dominican Republic:

Santo Domingo.- TV commentator Aridio Diaz on Friday said a major scandal linked to the issuing of aid visas is the real reason behind the shuttering of the US Embassy’s Consular Section, and not its “update of its database” announced Thursday.

“There are FBI agents in the Dominican Republic and five consuls have been fired, Castillo said, adding that investigators uncovered that 68 visas had been issued on payoffs.

Speaking on the popular program El Show del Mediodia on ColorVision Channel 9, Castillo lauded the US Embassy staff for what he says was their quick reaction to the incident, which affirmed involves the alleged sale of the visas for as much as US$4,000 each.

“This is a delicate case that is taking place. The fact is that five consuls have been fired, including Dominicans,” he said. “The FBI is looking for those visas to chancel them.”

Numerous calls for a response to the U.S. Embassy on their posted number 809-567-7775 were answered only by recordings, likely due to the announced closing today Friday an next Monday.


Consuls in US I guess are under investigation if story has legs.

Typo in headline....can't correct
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Nothing surprises me. Where were the people from who were fired?
Including Dominicans it says, but who else?
 

arturo

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Mar 14, 2002
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visas for sale

$4,000 does not seem like very much for a visa when you consider the fees alone are close to $1,000. That does not include travel expenses for applicants who are not from Santo Domingo. I suppose the value for the purchaser would be skipping the waiting period and interviews. It's not clear from any of the reports whether the applicants followed an otherwise normal process. Depending on how many insiders may have been involved, it might not have been possible to pull it off without bypassing the normal procedures.


Was "Hillery" involved?????

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

donP

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Dec 14, 2008
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Corrupt Consuls

Hey, do in Rome as the Romans do, they did. :bunny:

Indeed, the selling of visa was the real reason for the closure of the Italian embassy in Santo Domingo.
An Italian court, however, ruled recently, that the closure was illegal...

donP
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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I doubt the value resides in skipping line or waiting period. You can do a VIP process for like a couple of bucks.

The value resides in the fact that they are probably giving away paid visas to people that:
a) Have been barred or blocked from entering the USA
b) Would not get their visas normally approved
c) Are applying for work Visas and not travel visas
d) Assuming they have 4k to pay for a visa + several more to travel I highly doubt this is for travel visas
e) are criminals, or are using fake passports, or stolen identities

nothing would surprise me really.

the upshot of this is that people who should be easily qualified cannot get a visa because there is a finite amount that can be awarded. the consulate personnel are busy selling visas to suboptimal candidates, and denying them to better risks.
 

AlterEgo

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I doubt the value resides in skipping line or waiting period. You can do a VIP process for like a couple of bucks.

The value resides in the fact that they are probably giving away paid visas to people that:
a) Have been barred or blocked from entering the USA
b) Would not get their visas normally approved
c) Are applying for work Visas and not travel visas
d) Assuming they have 4k to pay for a visa + several more to travel I highly doubt this is for travel visas
e) are criminals, or are using fake passports, or stolen identities

nothing would surprise me really.

Bingo.
 
Jan 9, 2004
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If true, a huge disappointment. Depending on the scope/depth of the scandal....perhaps its time to recall the ambassador. Not that it will happen.....but should it?

Backing up for the moment, the President appoints an ambassador who has no diplomatic, management, or experience in foreign service. He appoints people, as a reward, many of whom are bundlers/fundraisers for a Presidents campaign. This ambassador is a perfect example.

He arrives here and immediately sets about to anger the Dominican people by advancing political agendas they feel are theirs to decide.

Instead of acting ambassadorial and diplomatic, he makes his lifestyle front page news creating a personal affront to both the church and the government. He brings in a group of Congressmen/women to meet with President Medina to lobby on behalf of Haitian people living in the DR, trying to cajole Medina into a solution they want, not one that must be palatable to the Dominican population.....meanwhile back at the Embassy.....

He was sent here as an ambassador, a representative of the US government abroad, to preserve and protect relations between the two countries....not to dictate policy and certainly not to allow control of immigration functions between the two countries citizens to be corrupted.

If the allegations in the press are true.....it may well be time to recall the ambassador...but I doubt the administration will do so.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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If true, a huge disappointment. Depending on the scope/depth of the scandal....perhaps its time to recall the ambassador. Not that it will happen.....but should it?

Backing up for the moment, the President appoints an ambassador who has no diplomatic, management, or experience in foreign service. He appoints people, as a reward, many of whom are bundlers/fundraisers for a Presidents campaign. This ambassador is a perfect example.

He arrives here and immediately sets about to anger the Dominican people by advancing political agendas they feel are theirs to decide.

Instead of acting ambassadorial and diplomatic, he makes his lifestyle front page news creating a personal affront to both the church and the government. He brings in a group of Congressmen/women to meet with President Medina to lobby on behalf of Haitian people living in the DR, trying to cajole Medina into a solution they want, not one that must be palatable to the Dominican population.....meanwhile back at the Embassy.....

He was sent here as an ambassador, a representative of the US government abroad, to preserve and protect relations between the two countries....not to dictate policy and certainly not to allow control of immigration functions between the two countries citizens to be corrupted.

If the allegations in the press are true.....it may well be time to recall the ambassador...but I doubt the administration will do so.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

please bear with me, playacaribe, but i fail to understand the nexus between the scandal at the CONSULAR office and the Ambassador. yes, i understand that the consulate falls under his proper purview, but i fail to make any connection between his inability to manage diplomacy and a bunch of renegade persons who set up a scam in the operation.

maybe you can establish that the comportment and inclinations of the ambassador served to compromise the morals and personal ethics of the malfeasants in question, importuning them to fashion an illegal enterprise. failing that, maybe you can establish that had he been of a different stripe, he would have known about the operation before he did, and it would have never developed to the point it did. or, maybe you can establish, to the facile satisfaction of the readership that his response, upon discovery, has been deficient, and defective.

if you cannot establish any of those queries with any degree of certitude, then i will conclude that yours is just one more foray into the territory of cheap shotting the administration and one of the representatives thereof.
 

donP

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Dec 14, 2008
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Wally's Friends?

Not that it matters...
But, do we know whether any of the fired embassy staff are gay? :rolleyes: :alien:

donP
 
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please bear with me, playacaribe, but i fail to understand the nexus between the scandal at the CONSULAR office and the Ambassador. yes, i understand that the consulate falls under his proper purview, but i fail to make any connection between his inability to manage diplomacy and a bunch of renegade persons who set up a scam in the operation.

maybe you can establish that the comportment and inclinations of the ambassador served to compromise the morals and personal ethics of the malfeasants in question, importuning them to fashion an illegal enterprise. failing that, maybe you can establish that had he been of a different stripe, he would have known about the operation before he did, and it would have never developed to the point it did. or, maybe you can establish, to the facile satisfaction of the readership that his response, upon discovery, has been deficient, and defective.

if you cannot establish any of those queries with any degree of certitude, then i will conclude that yours is just one more foray into the territory of cheap shotting the administration and one of the representatives thereof.

It's real easy Gorgon. The consulate is a subordinate post under the embassy.....which is administered by the ambassador.

As to "cheap shotting" the administration, please list Brewsters CV as it relates to foreign service. He was a bundler and was given the post as a reward by the President.

If you have other facts that refute that....please post them.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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It's real easy Gorgon. The Consulate is a subordinate post under the embassy.....which is administered by the ambassador.

As to "cheap shotting" the administration, please list Brewsters CV as it relates to foreign service. He was a bundler and was given the post as a reward by the President.

If you have other facts that refute that....please post them.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

i am fully aware of all you have said, but you are yet to establish a causal link between whatever Brewster is, and the development of the debacle. all you have to do is to proffer a logical reason why had Brewster been a stellar ambassador, this would not have happened. that is all i ask you to do. or, you can visit the issue from the other side and tell us whether or not you believe that he facilitated the operation, and how.
 
Jan 9, 2004
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i am fully aware of all you have said, but you are yet to establish a causal link between whatever Brewster is, and the development of the debacle. all you have to do is to proffer a logical reason why had Brewster been a stellar ambassador, this would not have happened. that is all i ask you to do. or, you can visit the issue from the other side and tell us whether or not you believe that he facilitated the operation, and how.

The buck stops at the top Gorgon.

The same way a CEO or any other agency administrator gets credit for the good and at the same time, must own the bad.

If true, we have yet to see the depth/scope of the problem....but he certainly is currently not well regarded as a diplomat by many in government and the church in the DR.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

arturo

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Mar 14, 2002
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There is a lot of logic in your points. I agree with the idea that the ambassador is ultimately responsible. The best case scenario for him will be a suspension followed by a quiet dismissal. If there were serious security breaches it could get much uglier for him.

I doubt the value resides in skipping line or waiting period. You can do a VIP process for like a couple of bucks.

The value resides in the fact that they are probably giving away paid visas to people that:
a) Have been barred or blocked from entering the USA
b) Would not get their visas normally approved
c) Are applying for work Visas and not travel visas
d) Assuming they have 4k to pay for a visa + several more to travel I highly doubt this is for travel visas
e) are criminals, or are using fake passports, or stolen identities

nothing would surprise me really.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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The buck stops at the top Gorgon.

The same way a CEO or any other agency administrator gets credit for the good and at the same time, must own the bad.

If true, we have yet to see the depth/scope of the problem....but he certainly is currently not well regarded as a diplomat by many in government and the church in the DR.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

playa, what we have here is a group of people participating in a clandestine criminal conspiracy. there are only two possibilities when such a thing is eventuating

1...it goes on forever

2..it is discovered.

in this case, we know it was discovered. how that was achieved is still a mystery, at least to us. that being the case, we do not know how well the Embassy performed its duties of due diligence.

we also know that drastic steps were taken, once the discovery was made. it is apparent that draconian measures have been taken to remedy the matter.

that having been said, maybe you can show us where the event constitutes a failure to perform.

and, please, save us the old cliche that the buck stops at the top. if one of my employees robs my company, not because i am head of the department makes it my fault. if i wait until he gets out of jail, and offer him an even more sensitive job, and he does it again, then maybe the buck stops with me.
 

arturo

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Mar 14, 2002
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I agree 100% that the ambassador is responsible for any irregularities in the embassy or its consulate section. We don't know the facts. Playa, I sense your disaffection with the current U.S. administration and/or its progressive policies. My opinion is opinions about US politics are beside the point of irregularities that might have happened. Presidents get to appoint diplomats, and there is no requirement that they be career foreign service professionals. An ambassador's core responsibility is the promotion of their country's policies and service to its country's citizens. I agree the American ambassador has promoted certain U.S. policies and laws that are offensive to certain Dominicans. An ambassador can be recalled by his or her country, or expelled by the foreign government. However offended anyone may be, is there any reasonable possibility the Dominican Republic would turn its back on badly needed foreign aid by expelling an ambassador? I don't see it. Let's see what information is released. It's a troubling situation.

If true, a huge disappointment. Depending on the scope/depth of the scandal....perhaps its time to recall the ambassador. Not that it will happen.....but should it?

Backing up for the moment, the President appoints an ambassador who has no diplomatic, management, or experience in foreign service. He appoints people, as a reward, many of whom are bundlers/fundraisers for a Presidents campaign. This ambassador is a perfect example.

He arrives here and immediately sets about to anger the Dominican people by advancing political agendas they feel are theirs to decide.

Instead of acting ambassadorial and diplomatic, he makes his lifestyle front page news creating a personal affront to both the church and the government. He brings in a group of Congressmen/women to meet with President Medina to lobby on behalf of Haitian people living in the DR, trying to cajole Medina into a solution they want, not one that must be palatable to the Dominican population.....meanwhile back at the Embassy.....

He was sent here as an ambassador, a representative of the US government abroad, to preserve and protect relations between the two countries....not to dictate policy and certainly not to allow control of immigration functions between the two countries citizens to be corrupted.

If the allegations in the press are true.....it may well be time to recall the ambassador...but I doubt the administration will do so.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

arturo

Bronze
Mar 14, 2002
1,336
97
48
I think you are right gorgon.

please bear with me, playacaribe, but i fail to understand the nexus between the scandal at the CONSULAR office and the Ambassador. yes, i understand that the consulate falls under his proper purview, but i fail to make any connection between his inability to manage diplomacy and a bunch of renegade persons who set up a scam in the operation.

maybe you can establish that the comportment and inclinations of the ambassador served to compromise the morals and personal ethics of the malfeasants in question, importuning them to fashion an illegal enterprise. failing that, maybe you can establish that had he been of a different stripe, he would have known about the operation before he did, and it would have never developed to the point it did. or, maybe you can establish, to the facile satisfaction of the readership that his response, upon discovery, has been deficient, and defective.

if you cannot establish any of those queries with any degree of certitude, then i will conclude that yours is just one more foray into the territory of cheap shotting the administration and one of the representatives thereof.