DR1 Daily News - Monday, 3 December 2018

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Medina travels to Mexico for Lopez Obrador inaugural
Growing opposition to UN migration pact
President Medina attends inauguration of new Referencia facility
Ministry of Economy launches National Border Observatory
Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi named emeritus scientific researcher
Punta Catalina to produce 200 MW in January: Diario Libre
Six-year old case brings to the open shutdown of Anti-Rabies Center
Willie Falcon could be your neighbor
TV host survives suicidal fall from third floor
Gerard Butler hospitalized in Santo Domingo
Airplane hijacking at Arroyo Barril Airport in Samana goes awry
Nothing moving in DR justice, but former owner of Banco Peravia gets three years in prison in Florida court
Winter Baseball update


Medina travels to Mexico for Lopez Obrador inaugural
President Danilo Medina left early on the morning of Saturday, 1 December 2018, from San Isidro Air Force Base to attend the inauguration ceremony for Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the newly elected president of Mexico. This was the third visit by Medina to Mexico since he took office.

On the official delegation were: Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta; president of the Senate Reinaldo Pared Pérez; manager of the governmental Banco de Reservas Simón Lizardo; president of the board of directors of the Refinería Dominicana de Petróleo, Félix Jiménez; spokesman for the government Roberto Rodríguez Marchena; special assistants Carlos Pared Pérez and Robert de la Cruz; and chief of presidential security Mayor General Adán Cáceres Silvestre.

President Medina returned on Sunday, 2 December 2018 to the Dominican Republic shortly after 10pm.

The Dominican Republic is the leading country for Mexican investment in the Caribbean, some US$7 billion, including Claro telecom, Bepensa (Coca Cola), Sigma (Sosua and Checo), Grupo Palace Resorts and Hard Rock, among others.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...ticipara-en-toma-de-posesion-de-andres-manuel
https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...dente-de-mexico-danilo-medina-regresa-al-pais
https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...pa-en-actos-toma-posesion-andres-manuel-lopez


Growing opposition to UN migration pact
Upon returning to the Dominican Republic from the inaugural of the President of Mexico, President Danilo Medina said late on Sunday, 2 December 2018 that he would speak to the nation regarding the migratory pact this week. President Medina is the Dominican President that has probably been the least available to questioning by the press.

Despite the matter being a trending topic in the media, the Dominican government has not confirmed whether the country has signed the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The agreement would create a new paradigm for migration. It is scheduled for a formal signing in Marrakesh, Morocco on the 10th and 11th December 2018.

Details on the agreement were only known recently in the country, after publications such as El Pais in Spain made known that countries such as the United States, Australia, Hungary and Czech Republic had not signied the pact, citing concerns of national security.

Celso Marranzini, former president of the National Business Council, in a Twitter post has advanced: “The country signed the migratory agreement proposed by the United Nations. We still have the chance in Marrakesh to reject signing the end to our nation as the recent incidents on the border have alerted to. Of course we need to leave behind the indifference policies or we will disappear as a nation.”

Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations Marjorie Espinosa told Listin Diario: "This is a multilateral event to which the member countries of the United Nations will attend, but I have not expressed any position on whether the Dominican Republic will participate or not, much less our formal position, because the spokesperson on this issue in my institution is the minister," she explained on Friday, 30 November 2018. Vargas has been abroad and not available to the press for commentary on the agreement.

Meanwhile, numerous organizations and persons continue to urge the nation’s authorities to not sign the agreement. Former legislator Pelegrín Castillo said the signing would be “a severe blow to national sovereignty, and would cause serious disruption on the island of Santo Domingo." He argued that the signing of that instrument would cause a so-called effect that would increase the exodus from a destabilized Haiti to the national territory.

Spokesmen for the opposition parties, PRM, PRSC and DxC, also reject the country signing the agreement. The president of the PRM, the largest opposition party, Jose Ignacio Paliza stated: "With full knowledge that the issue of migration is of vital importance for the harmonious life of the Dominican nation, the PLD government has been negotiating behind the back of the people for almost two years the Global Compact on Migration, proposed by the United Nations (UN)," said the PRM president in a statement released on Saturday, 2 December 2018 on the subject. He said that “a decision of this magnitude can not rest exclusively in the hands of a government "for which the issue of migration and the border are not priorities, and that serves in an improvised manner important bilateral relations with Haiti, without a structured plan."

Paliza added: "The Global Migration Pact is another important issue that is added to the long list of agreements that the government negotiates in the international context with complete opacity, without any transparency, agreements that commit to actions as a country without having previously consulted with all sectors. Given the widespread ignorance in our country about the content of that pact, the Modern Revolutionary Party urges the Dominican government not to sign it until it has carried out the broadest consultations at the national level and with the participation of the citizens”.

Former PRM presidential candidate Luis Abinader stated: “The international community has to understand that the Dominican Republic cannot carry the unsustainable load that the entrance to our country of a large number of irregular Haitians means.”

The president of the PRSC, Federico Antún Batlle urged President Danilo Medina and Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado to join the countries that have rejected adhering to the pact on grounds that it would be highly damaging to national sovereignty. "The Dominican Republic must travel a path of full independence, exercise its sovereignty and the migratory pact proposed by the UN does the opposite, since it forces us to bear the full weight of an impoverished nation and a failed state, as is Haiti, which could sink our nation if we receive more Haitian immigrants, as the United Nations' global migratory pact states," he said.

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ller-fijara-posicion-ante-el-pacto-migratorio
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...mistas-y-dxc-piden-no-firmar-pacto-migratorio
https://undocs.org/A/CONF.231/3
http://lodehoyrd.com/onu-obliga-a-r...arecera-como-nacion-explota-celso-marranzini/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...en-peligra-el-respeto-a-la-soberania-del-pais
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ana-hablara-sobre-pacto-migratorio-FB11544331


President Medina attends inauguration of new Referencia facility
President Danilo Medina attended the inauguration of the new main facility of the Referencia Laboratorio Clínico, the largest clinical laboratory in the Dominican Republic. The lab that is located on Avenida Luperon in western Santo Domingo and had recently announced obtaining the accreditation under the United States’ College of American Pathologists (CAP's) Laboratory Accreditation Program.

The new testing facilities can offer 600 tests with the same quality and processing times of major international centers, says Referencia. The new center has 11,000 square meters, of which 3,000 are for technical areas, 1,500 for administrative offices and parking for 150 vehicles.

Owner Patricia Leon announced important alliances of the center with the public hospital system. She said alliances have been reached for working together on the National Tuberculosis Program, the Human Identification Program (ADN), and the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF).

Leon highlighted the company has 46 branches located in cities and tourist destinations for servicing all in the Dominican Republic. Many of these centers are open 24/7.

https://elnuevodiario.com.do/presid...-sede-central-referencia-laboratorio-clinico/


Ministry of Economy launches National Border Observatory
The Ministry of Economy & Planning launched the National Border Observatory (Observatorio de la Zona Fronteriza – OZF) on Friday, 30 November 2018. Upon making the announcement, Economy & Planning Minister Isidoro Santana called the platform a mechanism to monitor the economic, social and environmental situation at the border. The platform focuses on the border provinces of Pedernales, Independencia, Elías Piña and Dajabón, the poorest provinces in the country. He said the information gathered by the platform confirms these provinces have the highest rates of interprovincial migration. He said these provinces also have high incidences of environmental degradation, such the manufacture of illegal charcoal.

Santana says that a close relationship with Haiti is vital as the latter is a major destination for farm exports and light industry.

http://economia.gob.do/mepyd-crea-observatorio-la-zona-fronteriza-ozf/
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...a-pobreza-se-concentra-en-frontera-AG11533175


Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi named emeritus scientific researcher
With prize money of RD$500,000, the life trajectory of marine biologist Idelisa Bonelly de Calventi was recognized on Friday, 30 November 2018, in an event organized by the Ministry of Higher Education at the Santo Domingo Sheraton. During the event, 430 local researchers were admitted to the National Career in Science, Technology and Innovation under the National Board for Higher Education, Science and Technology (Conescyt). The event was coordinated by deputy minister Palcido Gomez of the Ministry of Higher Education (MESCYT).

In addition to Bonelly, five other researchers in the different categories were awarded cash prizes of RD$250,000. These were: Melvin Arias Polanco, Milcidades Mejia, Rafael Amable Vasquez, Modesto Cruz Lluberes and Robert Paulino Ramirez and Marino Severo Peña.

The evening also served to honor the most innovative scientists, with the awards going to Manuel Diaz and Andres Contreras, of the digital Okus platform for teaching mathematics.

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...carrera-nacional-de-investigadores-en-ciencia


Punta Catalina to produce 200 MW in January
The executive vice president of the Dominican Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE), Ruben Jiménez Bichara, reaffirmed last week that the Punta Catalina coal-fired generating facility would begin operations between January and February 2019. He says the plant will make generate 200MW for the national electrical grid. Jimenez Bichara made the announcement when speaking during the monthly luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce held in Santiago.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...a-empezaria-con-200-megas-en-enero-KH11529517


Six-year old case brings to the open shutdown of Anti-Rabies Center
The Ministry of Public Health reiterated late last week that vaccinations for the prevention of human rabies are available in all of the public hospitals and Primary Attention Centers. Persons bitten by animals should get the preventive shots. Hector Quezada, the deputy minister of Collective Health, made the announcement to clarify that while it is true that the Anti-Rabies Center is closed for renovations, the vaccines are still available nationwide.

The announcement comes as the nation is following the case of a six-year-old boy who is in a coma at the Robert Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital in Santo Domingo and presenting symptoms of human rabies. Quezada said tests were sent to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia in order to verify the diagnosis of rabies now that the local Anti-Rabies Center is closed.

The former CMD president, Waldo Ariel Suero criticized the shutdown of the Anti-Rabies Center.

https://elnacional.com.do/salud-pub...en-hospitales-y-centros-de-atencion-primaria/
https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/salud/nino-con-posible-rabia-humana-esta-en-coma-BG11533435
https://elnacional.com.do/advierten-sobre-peligro-cierre-antirrabico/
http://hoy.com.do/sigue-en-coma-inducido-nino-con-sospecha-rabia/


Willie Falcon could be your neighbor
Minister of Interior & Police José Ramon Fadul (Monchy) acknowledged the general concern after a covert migratory agreement allowed 63-year old Cuban Augusto Falcon (better known as Willie, the cocaine cowboy) to be admitted to the Dominican Republic, according to a report in Listin Diario. Fadul has said he is living in an upscale neighborhood in Santo Domingo.

Fadul reaffirmed his stay here is transitory because it violates the migratory laws of the Dominican Republic. The government has not revealed why Falcon was admitted to the country after being deported from the United States along with a group of Dominicans. His presence in the country was only known after the story was in the Miami Herald almost two weeks after he had arrived to Santo Domingo.

Fadul spoke at the inauguration of new offices of the Ministry of Public Administration (MAP) and the Office of Information Technologies and Communication (Optic) of the Medina administration.

Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas said Falcon was admitted after a government to government deal was negotiated. Nevertheless, US Ambassador Robin Bernstein said that the US Embassy was not aware of any agreement.

Lawyer Felix Portes, who has assisted in several drug trafficking cases, calls the admitting of Falcon illegal and violates Dominican law and the Constitution. In a publication in MetroRD, he says with the action, President Danilo Medina violates the oath he took when taking on the Presidency. Portes asks why the covert action was taken.

He recalls that in 1966, Falcon was acquitted after bribing several of the jurors. One of the jurors later admitted to receiving US$300,000 of a promised US$1 million for his clearing Falcon in court. Portes also recalls that several of the witnesses that could testify against Falcon were murdered.

Portes says that Art. 15 of Migration Law 285-04 orders that foreigners convicted of crimes will be denied admission to the country. He says the exceptions to this rule do not apply to Falcon. He says the admission violates Art. 127 of the Dominican Constitution where the President swore to obey Dominican laws.

Portes doubts there was an agreement between the United States and the Dominican Republic and that this was a unilateral and sovereign decision of the Dominican government to receive the convicted drug trafficker and murderer. “The Dominican Republic will receive nothing in exchange for cooperating with the US government,” he writes. He explains this is so because the deportation was not political, but judicial with a federal character. And this is why the US ambassador had nothing to say on the matter.

Portes concludes his commentary:
“With the admission of Willy Falcón, has the Migration Law and the Constitution been enforced? Who managed the admission of Willy Falcón to the Dominican Republic? How much did this management cost, the admission letter, that the authorities violated the Migration Law, the promise of residency and that the government propaganda machinery and officers defend the admitting to the country of Willy Falcón despite the fact that the Constitution, laws and protocols have been ignored? “

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...-del-estado-vigila-a-willie-falcon-CG11535106
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...r-falcon-no-debe-ni-puede-quedarse-en-el-pais
https://www.metrord.do/do/destacado/2018/11/26/admision-falcon-acto-inconstitucional-e-ilegal.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article221920385.html


TV host survives suicidal fall from third floor
29-year old Kiara Luz Romero Sánchez, a TV host survived what is being described as a suicidal jump from her third floor apartment in northeastern San Franicsco de Macoris on Thursday, 30 November 2018, where she lives with her husband, 29-year old Gigantes del Cibao baseball team player Carlos Paulino.

Mother of one, she landed on the left side of her body and suffered head trauma, and fractures to her spine, hands and feet. She is now hospitalized in the Cedimat medical center in Santo Domingo.

Her father, Victor Ramon Romero had said his daughter had tried to take her life before, as she continued to suffer from the psychological trauma of being sexually abused by her stepfather, who is now deceased.

A close-circuit camera from a nearby building captures the sad moment when she came crashing to the ground, landing on the left side of her body.

https://www.metrord.do/do/destacado...tancias-cayo-kiara-romero-desde-edificio.html
http://lainformacion.com.do/noticia...onal-investiga-caso-de-presentadora-tv-en-sfm


Gerard Butler hospitalized in Santo Domingo
Scottish actor Gerard Butler has been hospitalized in Santo Domingo for treatment of diverticulitis. After on a humanitarian mission with Marys Meals in Haiti, the 49-year old actor Gerard Butler was hospitalized at the Centro de Diagnóstico Medicina Avanzada y Telemedicina (Cedimat) in Santo Domingo. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis, according to gastroenterologist Fernando Contreras, who said Butler’s condition was stable.

Diverticulitis is a condition where bulges in the large intestine become inflamed and sometimes infected, causing intense pain and digestive discomfort.

Butler is best known for his role as King Leonidas of Sparta in 300 and Geostorm. Since appearing in the film, he has also starred in several romantic comedies, including P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank and The Ugly Truth with Katherine Heigl, among others.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/ce...lized-in-dominican-republic-report/ar-BBQgtT5
https://www.metrord.do/do/destacado/2018/11/29/gerard-butler-sigue-ingresado-cedimat.html


Airplane hijacking at Arroyo Barril Airport in Samana goes awry
Officers of the Armed Forces are investigating the attempted theft of a Piper PA-23-350 aircraft at the Arroyo Barril International Airport in Samana on Wednesday, 28 November 2018 at around 10pm. The airport is mostly used for domestic flights to the south side of the peninsula of Samana and has very little traffic.

According to reports, security cameras and the electricity supply were cut off in the frustrated attempt to steal the aircraft. The authorities found out about the attempted theft when the airplane HI-896 was left stranded on the runway. An ID in the name of Venezuelan Ramon Castillo Manrique was found on site.

The Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC) told reporters the following day that the aircraft had been banned from flying. The IDAC called the attempted flight “clandestine and illegal.” What is known is that during the course of the day, the aircraft had flown into Samana, but the IDAC had prohibited the aircraft be allowed to fly until its airworthiness had been established. In spite of this restriction whoever was operating the aircraft tried, without establishing any communication with aviation authorities, to take off from runway 29. The aircraft sustained serious damage to its front landing gear and right wing.

Apparently pilot Ramon Castillo has a United States-issued pilot’s license and therefore the FAA has been advised of his actions.

The case is investigated by officers of the Specialized Corps of Airport Security (CESAC). As reported, the airplane had been transferred from La Isabela Airport in Santo Domingo to the Arroyo Barril airport on Wednesday.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...e-un-avion-en-aeropuerto-de-samana-MH11525669
https://elcaribe.com.do/2018/11/30/...nto-vuelo-ilegal-en-samana-tenia-impedimento/
https://noticiassin.com/intento-de-robo-de-un-avion-en-aeropuerto-de-samana/


Nothing moving in DR justice, but former owner of Banco Peravia gets three years in prison in Florida court
While the local case by failed Banco Peravia deposits for fraud of over RD$1.4 billion has stalled in the courts here in the Dominican Republic, international media have carried the news that a former owner of the bank, 50-year old Venezuelan Gabriel Arturo Jimenez Aray, was sentenced on Thursday, 30 November 2018 for his participation in a major money-laundering scheme. In addition to the three-year jail sentence, Jimenez agreed to forfeit US$38 million.

The court established that the Venezuelan and other partners purchased the bank in Santo Domingo to help launder money and use it to pay bribes to Venezuelan government officials in exchange for contracts to conduct currency-exchange schemes and to launder the money gained from running those schemes.

Jimenez admitted to having facilitated illegal transactions and bribe payments to foreign officials and others via bank issued credit cards, cash disbursements, wire transfers and other financial transactions.

Jimenez, who resides in Chicago, had already pled guilty last 20 March 2018 to a charge of conspiracy to commit money-laundering after reaching a plea bargain, in which Raul Gorrin Belisario, the owner and president of the Venezuelan TV channel Globovision, was also involved and is fugitive of US justice on charges of foreign bribery and money laundering through US banks and real estate.

Last Tuesday, 27 November 2018, Alejandro Andrade, the former treasurer in the administration of the late Hugo Chavez, was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for his implication in this multi-million dollar case. When he pled guilty in December 2017, Andrade admitted that he had received more than more than $1 billion from Gorrin and other persons implicated in the case in exchange for using his position as National Treasurer to allow them to carry out currency exchanges at favorable rates according to the prosecutor. As part of his plea deal, Andrade accepted the seizure of US$1 billion together with all the assets involved in the corruption scheme, including real estate, vehicles, horses, watches, airplanes and bank accounts.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/form...hree-years-prison-money-laundering-conspiracy
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ado-a-tres-anos-de-carcel-en-ee-uu-FG11530324
https://elnacional.com.do/libertan-a-otros-dos-caso-banco-peravia/
https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2018/10/03/535770/varian-coercion-en-caso-banco-peravia


Bartolo Colón didn’t help the Aguilas, but gets standing ovation
Beloved Aguilas pitcher, 45-year old MLB legend Bartolo Colon didn’t deliver as promised in the game he pitched against the Tigres de Licey in the Aguilas home ball park Estadio Cibao in Santiago on Thursday, 29 November 2018. But that didn’t matter and his fans expressed their appreciation with a standing ovation, as MLB reported.

It was Colon’s debut in the 2018-2019 Winter Baseball Championship. Colón has promised to pitch a game in each of the Dominican ballparks. He still has games pending to be played at the San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, Santo Domingo and San Francisco de Macoris ball parks.

Instead, Tigres del Licey’s pitcher Esmil Rogers controlled the Aguilas batters in the game. And then Juan Francisco batted a two run home-run that resulted in a 4-0 win for the Tigres del Licey.

Reporting on Colón’s debut, MLB website explained that Colon took the mound on Thursday for the Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Winter League and squared off with some familiar faces on the Tigres del Licey. It started off nicely, as he struck out the first batter he faced, 11-year MLB veteran Emilio Bonifacio, shared the MLB website.

But, the night didn’t go as planned. As reported: After inducing a ground ball from Erick Aybar, though, Colon ran into some trouble. Hanley Ramirez worked a walk, Juan Francisco smashed a single to center field and Gio Urshela also walked to load the bases. Colon then issued a free pass to Jorge Bonifacio to bring home a run, and after 29 pitches in the inning, his day was done.

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/bartolo-colon-gets-standing-ovation-in-winter-league/c-301286660
https://listindiario.com/el-deporte/2018/11/30/543891/francisco-y-rogers-estropean-debut-de-bartolo


Winter Baseball update
With the regular season ending on 17 December 2018, the very popular Aguilas Cibaeñas on Sunday, 2 December, in a 5-3 game they won against the Gigantes del Cibao, were able to tie with that team for the important fourth position and keep high their hopes for making the top four to move to the round robin that will decide who will play the playoff in January. Mathematically, any of the six teams could still make the round robin. There is just a four game distance from the first and fourth position as of games played on 2 December 2018.

The standing for the tournament is now:
Estrellas Orientales 22-18
Leones del Escogido 21-19
Tigres del Licey 21-19
Aguilas Cibaeñas 19-21
Gigantes del Cibao 19-21
Toros del Este 18-22.