President Medina attends inauguration of power plant in Punta Cana and tests an electric car
President decrees that retired persons get Senasa health plan
Supreme Court president Mariano German opts out of assessment
Political parties agree on rules for 2020 general elections
Funglode ranked 38th of 88 think tanks in Central America and South America
Dismantling a spare parts illicit trade in the capital city
Gravel mine affects crops and health of people in Villa Gonzalez
Plant nurseries in the Valle Nuevo protected areas?
What about the late Johnny Armando Santana Rodríguez?
7,000 crippled young men due to traffic accidents
Vicente Bengoa spouse protests separation from her husband
Who sponsors the big capos in the Dominican Republic?
Ozuna concert in Altos de Chavon
President Medina attends inauguration of power plant in Punta Cana and tests an electric car
President Danilo Medina was in Punta Cana on Tuesday, 5 February 2019 for the inauguration of the 85MW power generator of the Consorcio Energético Punta Cana-Macao. The new CEPM generator is a dual turbine (natural gas and diesel). While there, Medina took a Tesla electric car on a test drive. He drove the car accompanied by Rolando González Bunster, chief executive of the CEPM.
Electric cars are for sale in Punta Cana for around US$14,000. CEPM is installing around 500 fast electricity chargers and is promoting that tourist transportation switch to electricity-powered vehicles.
Speaking at the inauguration, González Bunster, CEO of InterEnergy Group, owner of CEPM, highlighted how the company supplies power to 50,000 hotel rooms by 2019 in the east that are 65% of the hotel inventory in the country. He said they also will be serving over 40,000 residential clients by the end of 2019.
The company has been operating in the eastern region of the country for more than 27 years and has 300MW in generation capacity. It is now investing in solar energy, and developing three photovoltaic energy parks to contribute 12MW this year.
https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...ende-300-megavatios-de-oferta-electrica-en-el
https://elnuevodiario.com.do/video-presidente-medina-conduce-auto-eletrico-en-punta-cana/
http://hoy.com.do/danilo-asiste-a-i...es-del-consorcio-energetico-punta-cana-macao/
President decrees that retired persons get Senasa health plan
President Danilo Medina ordered the creation of the Plan Especial Transitorio de Servicios de Salud, to benefit 116,334 retired persons with the Senasa government health plan. These are 82% of those that are registered in the Ministry of Hacienda.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...sionados-recibiran-seguro-de-salud-AB12024994
Supreme Court president Mariano German opts out of assessment
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice Mariano German said he would not opt to continue at the helm of the leading court. He will not subject his seven-year presidency record to assessment by the National Council of the Magistracy (CNM). He says he is retiring for personal reasons. He said he will remain in the job only until his successor is announced by the council of which he is a juror himself. The selection procedure is expected to end by April 2019 with the naming of the new judges. German himself was sworn in as president of the Supreme Court of Justice on 22 December 2011.
Judge Edgar Hernández also sent a resignation letter to the National Council of the Magistracy. He has been a Supreme Court of Justice for 21 years.
The members of the CNM met on Monday, 4 February 2019 at the Presidential Palace. During the session they approved the work calendar for the assessment of the new judges. The next meeting is set for Thursday, 28 February 2019. Wednesday, 27 February is a holiday in the Dominican Republic, celebrating Independence Day.
The members of the CNM participating in the meeting were: President Danilo Medina; Senate president Reinaldo Pared Pérez; Puerto Plata senator and president of the PRM José Paliza; PRM deputy Josefa Castillo; president of the Supreme Court of Justice Mariano Germán; president of the Chamber of Deputies Radhamés Camacho.
The procedures can be followed online at: www.cnm.gob.do
https://eldia.com.do/german-pondra-fin-a-legado-de-siete-anos-al-frente-scj/
cionales
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ano-german-declina-repetir-posicion-en-la-scj
Taxpayers ordered to pick up tab for political parties’ primaries
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) judges agreed with political parties that the government would pick up most of the tab for choosing their presidential candidates in the 2020 general election. In the past, the cost to choose the candidates was covered totally by the political parties. The Political Parties Law had established that the cost of the primaries would be deducted from taxpayer funding to the political parties.
In the meeting held at the JCE on 5 February 2019, nevertheless, the JCE agreed to cover RD$1.25 billion of the additional RD$1.5 billion cost for the government to organize the simultaneous primaries. The political parties will only contribute RD$200 million in quotas from now to December 2019, said president of the JCE, Julio Cesar Castaños. He said minority parties will contribute in the same proportion that they receive state funds.
The PLD, PRD, Al Pais and Opcion Democratica have adhered to open primaries. The PRM adhered to closed primaries. The primaries will all be held on the same day.
The political parties also agreed to new rules proposed by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) that will be assisting these with the organizing of the primaries. The political parties have accepted the implementation of the automated vote and the software the JCE technicians have developed for the elections.
The 2020 chronology calls for municipal elections on 16 February 2020. On 17 May 2020, citizens will vote for president and vice president and for legislators. To win these elections 50% + 1 of the vote is needed. Likewise, a run off election date of 28 June 2020 has been set in the case no single candidate meets the 50% + 1 requirement.
The JCE agreed to let the political parties audit the votes issued after the primary process is completed.
An editorial in El Dia protests the decision by the JCE to order taxpayers to pay for the primaries to choose their key candidates for the 2020 general elections. The editorialist says that the PLD, PRM and PRD would be receiving RD$903 million more than what the Political Parties Financing Law establishes, or a total of RD$2.15 billion.
https://eldia.com.do/jce-asumira-gran-parte-del-dinero-para-montaje-de-primarias/
https://eldia.com.do/la-junta-asumira-la-mayor-parte-del-gasto-para-primarias-simultaneas/
https://eldia.com.do/regalar-1249-millones-al-pld-prm-y-prd/
https://eldia.com.do/la-junta-asumira-la-mayor-parte-del-gasto-para-primarias-simultaneas/
Funglode ranked 38th of 88 think tanks in Latin America
The Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) ranked 38th in the Latin American and Caribbean region, with the exception of Mexico, in the Global Go To ThinkTanks Index Report 2018, carried out by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
The leading Dominican think tank competed against thousands of think tanks in the region. In the Dominican Republic alone, the survey identified 40 think tanks for the competition.
The survey is carried out as part of the Lauder Institute University of Pennsylvania and its Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. For the poll, more than 7,500 academics, public and private donors, politicians and journalists are surveyed.
Funglode was started in 2000 by former President Leonel Fernández when leaving his first term in government.
https://elnacional.com.do/escogen-a-funglode-entre-mejores-de-al/
https://repository.upenn.edu/think_tanks/16/
Dismantling a spare parts illicit trade in the capital city
Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez announced the arrest on 4 February 2019 of three whom he described as heads of a network that stole, distributed and sold spare automobile parts in the National District. Rodriguez announced the arrest of Edward Perez, his spouse Massiel Acevedo, and Elmer Encarnación (El Barón), saying these worked with dozens of suspect thieves.
In Santo Domingo, vehicle owners had come to accept their accessories would be stolen and they would have to go “uptown” to buy them back.
Rodríguez said that investigations that included use of surveillance videos, under cover agents and constant watch over suspect businesses in Villa Juana, National District resulted in the intervention of the stores: Repuestos JR, located at Calle Moca/ CalleAmérico Lugo No.137, Villa Juana; Francis Vidrio, located at Calle Arturo Logroño; Auto Electrónica Triple A, Calle Moca No. 136, and Repuestos Josué Auto Parts, located at Calle Pedro Livio Cedeño /Calle Seibo.
Rodríguez said overall 16 prosecutors, 21 agents of the criminal investigations unit, 60 police agents and 40 agents of the Ciudad Tranquila joint task force of the Ministry of Defense participated in the operation.
The Attorney General said that thieves would pose as drivers of parked taxis that were waiting for customers to steal parts to vehicles in public and residential areas. Afterwards the parts were taken to the “spare parts stores” in Villa Maria, Villa Consuelo and Villa Juana where they were sold as used parts, a very lucrative business model for those involved with the complacency of the authorities for years.
http://hoy.com.do/desmantelan-red-traficaba-piezas-de-vehiculos/
https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2019/02/05/552196/desmantela-red-robaba-piezas-para-vehiculos
Gravel mine affects crops and health of people in Villa Gonzalez
Residents in Villa Gonzalez in Santiago protested on Monday, 4 February 2019 the exploitation of the gravel mine in Loma El Boquerón, near the Pico Diego de Ocampo protected area. They call for the intervention of the Ministry of Environment. They blame the construction company, Constructora Mar that reportedly has a permit issued by the Ministry of Environment. The community members say this permit is illegal as it was not approved by the Villa Gonzalez city government councilors.
The community members say the mining of construction material is affecting the Pico Diego de Ocampo, and the health of the population. Dozens of large trucks lift much dust that affects the tobacco crops in the municipality (over 9,000 tareas or 5.6 million square meters). The dust also affects the health of the population. The community members have placed a complaint in court seeking a desist order for the mining operations.
Meanwhile, the Las Lagunas ecology group, also of the municipality of Villa González denounces that hundreds of square km in forest land to the south of the Cordillera Septentrional in areas adjacent to the Villa Tabacalera are being cleared to plant tobacco. Haitian nationals are in the area producing charcoal, says Andres Julio Pichardo, of the Las Lagunas organization. He said the Haitians have the complicity of Dominicans who purchase and sell the mahogany clandestinely cut in the Palmar Abajo area. The wood is toppled in the outskirts of the Pico Diego de Ocampo protected area by the slash and burn method, causing erosion of the soil.
https://telesistema11.com.do/teleno...extraccion-de-piedras-de-la-loma-del-boqueron
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...an-depredacion-en-la-cordillera-septentrional
Plant nurseries in the Valle Nuevo protected areas?
Fundación Acción Verde has gone public again with its criticism to the plant nurseries project that the Ministry of Environment has announced supposedly to benefit 350 farmers that have been evicted from farming in the Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo in La Vega province high mountains. The environmental protection non-profit says that the protected area does not have enough surveillance and farming has continued, despite a ruling to desist in order to protect the water sources in the area.
An original census carried out under the previous Minister of Environment Francisco Dominguez Brito determined there were 255 farmers of which 51 families were relocated to Villa Poppy, but now the Ministry of Environment under Minister Angel Estevez has increased the number to 350.
The foundation says that among those that would stand to gain are irregular owners of an ecotourism property in the area and flower and strawberry producers. He said these instead should be compensating the state.
He said the Ministry of Environment has allowed that those with influence continue to carry out intensive farming in areas within the National Park area, especially in the El Convento area. He said that in the south area of the park, in communities such as La Nuez, Las Espinas, Loma del Chivo and others the farmers have not met with any restrictions to plant as they wish, violating the resolutions to desist issued during the Dominguez Brito administration at the Ministry. The farmers have ignored a court ordered that also called for desisting in farming.
The foundation says that the Ministry of Environment only mans two access control points that are far from the farming areas and instead has abandoned those that are near the farming areas, with patrols down to a minimum.
The foundation says that the argument of Environment Minister Angel Estevez that he is "acting in defense of the poor farmers", is an excuse for not executing the Valle Nuevo rescue plan so that the farmers with influence can continue to source their water for the crops in the protected area.
http://hoy.com.do/accion-verde-denuncia-poca-vigilancia-y-cultivos-valle-nuevo/
What about the late Johnny Armando Santana Rodríguez?
President Danilo Medina visited PLD legislator for Santo Domingo East Karen Ricardo on Monday, 4 February 2019, shortly after she was taken out of the intensive care unit at the Dario Contreras Trauma Hospital where she was interned after a deadly accident on Saturday. The media has focused on the sufferings of the family. Ricardo was traveling with her husband, two children and nanny when their SUV clashed into a Toyota Paseo. The sole driver of the Toyota died almost immediately. News reports are that he was driving south on the Samana toll road to pick up his wife who was arriving from abroad. They had been married for just a year. The legislator was driving south to north for a holiday with her family.
While the focus has been on the recovery of the legislator and her family, practically nothing has been said of how the accident occurred. The family of Johnny Armando Santana Rodriguez, who died in the crash, are demanding an explanation from the authorities.
“We the relatives need to know the main cause of the accident. He was the most affected and we need an explanation. In all countries the authorities take charge but here no one says anything,” complained Andres Santana, brother of the late Johnny Armando Santana, who worked for the Specialized Touristic Security Corps (Cestur).
The family of the deceased corporal were interviewed on Channel 11 Telenoticias news program. His mother explained that Santana part-timed as a barber in San Jose de los Llanos where they lived and was much beloved.
They complained that at no time did the authorities or the media refer to what had happened to their relative. “He was left aside as if they had run over a donkey,” said a friend who accompanying her on the TV interview. The widow told of her anxiety when at the airport and her husband never showed to only learn later of his tragic death.
http://hoy.com.do/familiares-joven-...-un-lado-como-si-fuera-un-burro-que-chocaron/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...-diputada-karen-ricardo-exige-una-explicacion
7,000 crippled young men due to traffic accidents
The toll of mostly young Dominicans that have been crippled by traffic accidents in the past five years is estimated at up to 7,000, according to a report in El Dia. The Dario Contreras and Ney Arias Lora public hospitals, where most trauma victims in Greater Santo Domingo are taken, report registries of over 120,000 persons that suffered major injuries in traffic accidents. The physicians at the hospitals estimate at around 6% those that remain with permanent injuries. Of these too many will suffer from quadriplegia and paraplegia.
The physicians say that most of the severe injuries are because those driving motorcycles are speeding and do not use protective helmet. Outside of Greater Santo Domingo, the local traffic agents do not enforce the law that requires motorcyclists to use the protective helmets.
El Dia points out for many of the young men, their life after the accident has been “almost worse than death.”
https://eldia.com.do/casi-peor-que-...-quedan-postrados-o-mutilados-por-accidentes/
Vicente Bengoa spouse protests separation from her husband
The spouse of former Minister of Finance and administrator of the Banco de Reservas Vicente Bengoa has gone public with a family dispute. Tania Cordero, who has two minor children with Bengoa and has been married to Bengoa for 12 years, said that after the brain stroke her husband suffered in 2017, the elder children of Bengoa have him kidnapped and she has suffered from financial restraints.
She denounced the situation after meeting with National District prosecutor Rosalba Ramos together with her lawyer Jose Miguel Vasquez. Cordero said she had to appeal to the Children’s Court, so her children, ages 3 and 7, could see their father. She said prior to her husband suffering the stroke, her relations with his elder children were cordial.
She denounced that Bengoa is mistreated by his offspring and subject to a judicial interdiction procedure, where a court has ordered the Dominican Medical Guild (CMD) to appoint three specialists to evaluate his condition.
In 2007, in addition to being Secretary of State for Finance, he was appointed President of the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa) and representative of Dominican government in the Petrocaribe agreement with Venezuela. Previously, he was Superintendent of Banks from 1998 to 2000 and administrator of the state commercial bank, the Banco de Reservas 2012-2013.
http://hoy.com.do/video-denuncia-vi...yores-tras-sufrir-accidente-cerebro-vascular/
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/02...oa-denuncia-que-sus-hijos-lo-tienen-recluido/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...-bengoa-lo-tienen-secuestrado-tras-sufrir-acv
Who sponsors the big capos in the Dominican Republic?
PRM presidential pre-candidate Luis Abinader, in a campaign event on 5 February 2019, asked the question that is in the minds of many Dominicans. He said the government needs to investigate who are the godfathers of the capos that have been arrested in the Dominican Republic where they had made significant investments.
“It is not true that they are going to come here without a godfather. That has to be investigated, how they came,” he said. He said drug trafficking prevention mechanisms need to be strengthened together with other countries due to the complexity of the drug trafficking problem. “If they did not have godfathers to protect them, then those capos would not be in the country,” he said.
He spoke after receiving the backing of a group of academics, including Nino Felix, former candidate to rector of the state university UASD.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ierno-investigar-padrinos-de-capos-KB12028525
https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2019/02/06/552364/abinader-recibe-apoyo-de-grupo-universitario
Ozuna concert in Altos de Chavon
Tickets to see urban artist Ozuna perform at Altos de Chavon in La Romana are costing up to RD$22,000, Diario Libre reports. Ozuna is scheduled to perform at the 5,000-person amphitheater on Holy Saturday, 20 April. Tickets went on sale online starting at RD$3,865 and running through RD$22,000 for a seat in front stage. The tickets are available at Uepa Tickets online, at Jumbo, Supermercados Nacional ticket stands nationwide and at the Casa de Campo ticket office in La Romana. Mastercard holders can take advantage of a 15% discount for tickets purchased from 4 to 18 February 2019 using a Mastercard. Casa de Campo offers a 15% discount on stays at the resort and villas.
President decrees that retired persons get Senasa health plan
Supreme Court president Mariano German opts out of assessment
Political parties agree on rules for 2020 general elections
Funglode ranked 38th of 88 think tanks in Central America and South America
Dismantling a spare parts illicit trade in the capital city
Gravel mine affects crops and health of people in Villa Gonzalez
Plant nurseries in the Valle Nuevo protected areas?
What about the late Johnny Armando Santana Rodríguez?
7,000 crippled young men due to traffic accidents
Vicente Bengoa spouse protests separation from her husband
Who sponsors the big capos in the Dominican Republic?
Ozuna concert in Altos de Chavon
President Medina attends inauguration of power plant in Punta Cana and tests an electric car
President Danilo Medina was in Punta Cana on Tuesday, 5 February 2019 for the inauguration of the 85MW power generator of the Consorcio Energético Punta Cana-Macao. The new CEPM generator is a dual turbine (natural gas and diesel). While there, Medina took a Tesla electric car on a test drive. He drove the car accompanied by Rolando González Bunster, chief executive of the CEPM.
Electric cars are for sale in Punta Cana for around US$14,000. CEPM is installing around 500 fast electricity chargers and is promoting that tourist transportation switch to electricity-powered vehicles.
Speaking at the inauguration, González Bunster, CEO of InterEnergy Group, owner of CEPM, highlighted how the company supplies power to 50,000 hotel rooms by 2019 in the east that are 65% of the hotel inventory in the country. He said they also will be serving over 40,000 residential clients by the end of 2019.
The company has been operating in the eastern region of the country for more than 27 years and has 300MW in generation capacity. It is now investing in solar energy, and developing three photovoltaic energy parks to contribute 12MW this year.
https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...ende-300-megavatios-de-oferta-electrica-en-el
https://elnuevodiario.com.do/video-presidente-medina-conduce-auto-eletrico-en-punta-cana/
http://hoy.com.do/danilo-asiste-a-i...es-del-consorcio-energetico-punta-cana-macao/
President decrees that retired persons get Senasa health plan
President Danilo Medina ordered the creation of the Plan Especial Transitorio de Servicios de Salud, to benefit 116,334 retired persons with the Senasa government health plan. These are 82% of those that are registered in the Ministry of Hacienda.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...sionados-recibiran-seguro-de-salud-AB12024994
Supreme Court president Mariano German opts out of assessment
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice Mariano German said he would not opt to continue at the helm of the leading court. He will not subject his seven-year presidency record to assessment by the National Council of the Magistracy (CNM). He says he is retiring for personal reasons. He said he will remain in the job only until his successor is announced by the council of which he is a juror himself. The selection procedure is expected to end by April 2019 with the naming of the new judges. German himself was sworn in as president of the Supreme Court of Justice on 22 December 2011.
Judge Edgar Hernández also sent a resignation letter to the National Council of the Magistracy. He has been a Supreme Court of Justice for 21 years.
The members of the CNM met on Monday, 4 February 2019 at the Presidential Palace. During the session they approved the work calendar for the assessment of the new judges. The next meeting is set for Thursday, 28 February 2019. Wednesday, 27 February is a holiday in the Dominican Republic, celebrating Independence Day.
The members of the CNM participating in the meeting were: President Danilo Medina; Senate president Reinaldo Pared Pérez; Puerto Plata senator and president of the PRM José Paliza; PRM deputy Josefa Castillo; president of the Supreme Court of Justice Mariano Germán; president of the Chamber of Deputies Radhamés Camacho.
The procedures can be followed online at: www.cnm.gob.do
https://eldia.com.do/german-pondra-fin-a-legado-de-siete-anos-al-frente-scj/
cionales
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ano-german-declina-repetir-posicion-en-la-scj
Taxpayers ordered to pick up tab for political parties’ primaries
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) judges agreed with political parties that the government would pick up most of the tab for choosing their presidential candidates in the 2020 general election. In the past, the cost to choose the candidates was covered totally by the political parties. The Political Parties Law had established that the cost of the primaries would be deducted from taxpayer funding to the political parties.
In the meeting held at the JCE on 5 February 2019, nevertheless, the JCE agreed to cover RD$1.25 billion of the additional RD$1.5 billion cost for the government to organize the simultaneous primaries. The political parties will only contribute RD$200 million in quotas from now to December 2019, said president of the JCE, Julio Cesar Castaños. He said minority parties will contribute in the same proportion that they receive state funds.
The PLD, PRD, Al Pais and Opcion Democratica have adhered to open primaries. The PRM adhered to closed primaries. The primaries will all be held on the same day.
The political parties also agreed to new rules proposed by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) that will be assisting these with the organizing of the primaries. The political parties have accepted the implementation of the automated vote and the software the JCE technicians have developed for the elections.
The 2020 chronology calls for municipal elections on 16 February 2020. On 17 May 2020, citizens will vote for president and vice president and for legislators. To win these elections 50% + 1 of the vote is needed. Likewise, a run off election date of 28 June 2020 has been set in the case no single candidate meets the 50% + 1 requirement.
The JCE agreed to let the political parties audit the votes issued after the primary process is completed.
An editorial in El Dia protests the decision by the JCE to order taxpayers to pay for the primaries to choose their key candidates for the 2020 general elections. The editorialist says that the PLD, PRM and PRD would be receiving RD$903 million more than what the Political Parties Financing Law establishes, or a total of RD$2.15 billion.
https://eldia.com.do/jce-asumira-gran-parte-del-dinero-para-montaje-de-primarias/
https://eldia.com.do/la-junta-asumira-la-mayor-parte-del-gasto-para-primarias-simultaneas/
https://eldia.com.do/regalar-1249-millones-al-pld-prm-y-prd/
https://eldia.com.do/la-junta-asumira-la-mayor-parte-del-gasto-para-primarias-simultaneas/
Funglode ranked 38th of 88 think tanks in Latin America
The Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) ranked 38th in the Latin American and Caribbean region, with the exception of Mexico, in the Global Go To ThinkTanks Index Report 2018, carried out by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
The leading Dominican think tank competed against thousands of think tanks in the region. In the Dominican Republic alone, the survey identified 40 think tanks for the competition.
The survey is carried out as part of the Lauder Institute University of Pennsylvania and its Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. For the poll, more than 7,500 academics, public and private donors, politicians and journalists are surveyed.
Funglode was started in 2000 by former President Leonel Fernández when leaving his first term in government.
https://elnacional.com.do/escogen-a-funglode-entre-mejores-de-al/
https://repository.upenn.edu/think_tanks/16/
Dismantling a spare parts illicit trade in the capital city
Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez announced the arrest on 4 February 2019 of three whom he described as heads of a network that stole, distributed and sold spare automobile parts in the National District. Rodriguez announced the arrest of Edward Perez, his spouse Massiel Acevedo, and Elmer Encarnación (El Barón), saying these worked with dozens of suspect thieves.
In Santo Domingo, vehicle owners had come to accept their accessories would be stolen and they would have to go “uptown” to buy them back.
Rodríguez said that investigations that included use of surveillance videos, under cover agents and constant watch over suspect businesses in Villa Juana, National District resulted in the intervention of the stores: Repuestos JR, located at Calle Moca/ CalleAmérico Lugo No.137, Villa Juana; Francis Vidrio, located at Calle Arturo Logroño; Auto Electrónica Triple A, Calle Moca No. 136, and Repuestos Josué Auto Parts, located at Calle Pedro Livio Cedeño /Calle Seibo.
Rodríguez said overall 16 prosecutors, 21 agents of the criminal investigations unit, 60 police agents and 40 agents of the Ciudad Tranquila joint task force of the Ministry of Defense participated in the operation.
The Attorney General said that thieves would pose as drivers of parked taxis that were waiting for customers to steal parts to vehicles in public and residential areas. Afterwards the parts were taken to the “spare parts stores” in Villa Maria, Villa Consuelo and Villa Juana where they were sold as used parts, a very lucrative business model for those involved with the complacency of the authorities for years.
http://hoy.com.do/desmantelan-red-traficaba-piezas-de-vehiculos/
https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2019/02/05/552196/desmantela-red-robaba-piezas-para-vehiculos
Gravel mine affects crops and health of people in Villa Gonzalez
Residents in Villa Gonzalez in Santiago protested on Monday, 4 February 2019 the exploitation of the gravel mine in Loma El Boquerón, near the Pico Diego de Ocampo protected area. They call for the intervention of the Ministry of Environment. They blame the construction company, Constructora Mar that reportedly has a permit issued by the Ministry of Environment. The community members say this permit is illegal as it was not approved by the Villa Gonzalez city government councilors.
The community members say the mining of construction material is affecting the Pico Diego de Ocampo, and the health of the population. Dozens of large trucks lift much dust that affects the tobacco crops in the municipality (over 9,000 tareas or 5.6 million square meters). The dust also affects the health of the population. The community members have placed a complaint in court seeking a desist order for the mining operations.
Meanwhile, the Las Lagunas ecology group, also of the municipality of Villa González denounces that hundreds of square km in forest land to the south of the Cordillera Septentrional in areas adjacent to the Villa Tabacalera are being cleared to plant tobacco. Haitian nationals are in the area producing charcoal, says Andres Julio Pichardo, of the Las Lagunas organization. He said the Haitians have the complicity of Dominicans who purchase and sell the mahogany clandestinely cut in the Palmar Abajo area. The wood is toppled in the outskirts of the Pico Diego de Ocampo protected area by the slash and burn method, causing erosion of the soil.
https://telesistema11.com.do/teleno...extraccion-de-piedras-de-la-loma-del-boqueron
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...an-depredacion-en-la-cordillera-septentrional
Plant nurseries in the Valle Nuevo protected areas?
Fundación Acción Verde has gone public again with its criticism to the plant nurseries project that the Ministry of Environment has announced supposedly to benefit 350 farmers that have been evicted from farming in the Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo in La Vega province high mountains. The environmental protection non-profit says that the protected area does not have enough surveillance and farming has continued, despite a ruling to desist in order to protect the water sources in the area.
An original census carried out under the previous Minister of Environment Francisco Dominguez Brito determined there were 255 farmers of which 51 families were relocated to Villa Poppy, but now the Ministry of Environment under Minister Angel Estevez has increased the number to 350.
The foundation says that among those that would stand to gain are irregular owners of an ecotourism property in the area and flower and strawberry producers. He said these instead should be compensating the state.
He said the Ministry of Environment has allowed that those with influence continue to carry out intensive farming in areas within the National Park area, especially in the El Convento area. He said that in the south area of the park, in communities such as La Nuez, Las Espinas, Loma del Chivo and others the farmers have not met with any restrictions to plant as they wish, violating the resolutions to desist issued during the Dominguez Brito administration at the Ministry. The farmers have ignored a court ordered that also called for desisting in farming.
The foundation says that the Ministry of Environment only mans two access control points that are far from the farming areas and instead has abandoned those that are near the farming areas, with patrols down to a minimum.
The foundation says that the argument of Environment Minister Angel Estevez that he is "acting in defense of the poor farmers", is an excuse for not executing the Valle Nuevo rescue plan so that the farmers with influence can continue to source their water for the crops in the protected area.
http://hoy.com.do/accion-verde-denuncia-poca-vigilancia-y-cultivos-valle-nuevo/
What about the late Johnny Armando Santana Rodríguez?
President Danilo Medina visited PLD legislator for Santo Domingo East Karen Ricardo on Monday, 4 February 2019, shortly after she was taken out of the intensive care unit at the Dario Contreras Trauma Hospital where she was interned after a deadly accident on Saturday. The media has focused on the sufferings of the family. Ricardo was traveling with her husband, two children and nanny when their SUV clashed into a Toyota Paseo. The sole driver of the Toyota died almost immediately. News reports are that he was driving south on the Samana toll road to pick up his wife who was arriving from abroad. They had been married for just a year. The legislator was driving south to north for a holiday with her family.
While the focus has been on the recovery of the legislator and her family, practically nothing has been said of how the accident occurred. The family of Johnny Armando Santana Rodriguez, who died in the crash, are demanding an explanation from the authorities.
“We the relatives need to know the main cause of the accident. He was the most affected and we need an explanation. In all countries the authorities take charge but here no one says anything,” complained Andres Santana, brother of the late Johnny Armando Santana, who worked for the Specialized Touristic Security Corps (Cestur).
The family of the deceased corporal were interviewed on Channel 11 Telenoticias news program. His mother explained that Santana part-timed as a barber in San Jose de los Llanos where they lived and was much beloved.
They complained that at no time did the authorities or the media refer to what had happened to their relative. “He was left aside as if they had run over a donkey,” said a friend who accompanying her on the TV interview. The widow told of her anxiety when at the airport and her husband never showed to only learn later of his tragic death.
http://hoy.com.do/familiares-joven-...-un-lado-como-si-fuera-un-burro-que-chocaron/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...-diputada-karen-ricardo-exige-una-explicacion
7,000 crippled young men due to traffic accidents
The toll of mostly young Dominicans that have been crippled by traffic accidents in the past five years is estimated at up to 7,000, according to a report in El Dia. The Dario Contreras and Ney Arias Lora public hospitals, where most trauma victims in Greater Santo Domingo are taken, report registries of over 120,000 persons that suffered major injuries in traffic accidents. The physicians at the hospitals estimate at around 6% those that remain with permanent injuries. Of these too many will suffer from quadriplegia and paraplegia.
The physicians say that most of the severe injuries are because those driving motorcycles are speeding and do not use protective helmet. Outside of Greater Santo Domingo, the local traffic agents do not enforce the law that requires motorcyclists to use the protective helmets.
El Dia points out for many of the young men, their life after the accident has been “almost worse than death.”
https://eldia.com.do/casi-peor-que-...-quedan-postrados-o-mutilados-por-accidentes/
Vicente Bengoa spouse protests separation from her husband
The spouse of former Minister of Finance and administrator of the Banco de Reservas Vicente Bengoa has gone public with a family dispute. Tania Cordero, who has two minor children with Bengoa and has been married to Bengoa for 12 years, said that after the brain stroke her husband suffered in 2017, the elder children of Bengoa have him kidnapped and she has suffered from financial restraints.
She denounced the situation after meeting with National District prosecutor Rosalba Ramos together with her lawyer Jose Miguel Vasquez. Cordero said she had to appeal to the Children’s Court, so her children, ages 3 and 7, could see their father. She said prior to her husband suffering the stroke, her relations with his elder children were cordial.
She denounced that Bengoa is mistreated by his offspring and subject to a judicial interdiction procedure, where a court has ordered the Dominican Medical Guild (CMD) to appoint three specialists to evaluate his condition.
In 2007, in addition to being Secretary of State for Finance, he was appointed President of the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa) and representative of Dominican government in the Petrocaribe agreement with Venezuela. Previously, he was Superintendent of Banks from 1998 to 2000 and administrator of the state commercial bank, the Banco de Reservas 2012-2013.
http://hoy.com.do/video-denuncia-vi...yores-tras-sufrir-accidente-cerebro-vascular/
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/02...oa-denuncia-que-sus-hijos-lo-tienen-recluido/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...-bengoa-lo-tienen-secuestrado-tras-sufrir-acv
Who sponsors the big capos in the Dominican Republic?
PRM presidential pre-candidate Luis Abinader, in a campaign event on 5 February 2019, asked the question that is in the minds of many Dominicans. He said the government needs to investigate who are the godfathers of the capos that have been arrested in the Dominican Republic where they had made significant investments.
“It is not true that they are going to come here without a godfather. That has to be investigated, how they came,” he said. He said drug trafficking prevention mechanisms need to be strengthened together with other countries due to the complexity of the drug trafficking problem. “If they did not have godfathers to protect them, then those capos would not be in the country,” he said.
He spoke after receiving the backing of a group of academics, including Nino Felix, former candidate to rector of the state university UASD.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ierno-investigar-padrinos-de-capos-KB12028525
https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2019/02/06/552364/abinader-recibe-apoyo-de-grupo-universitario
Ozuna concert in Altos de Chavon
Tickets to see urban artist Ozuna perform at Altos de Chavon in La Romana are costing up to RD$22,000, Diario Libre reports. Ozuna is scheduled to perform at the 5,000-person amphitheater on Holy Saturday, 20 April. Tickets went on sale online starting at RD$3,865 and running through RD$22,000 for a seat in front stage. The tickets are available at Uepa Tickets online, at Jumbo, Supermercados Nacional ticket stands nationwide and at the Casa de Campo ticket office in La Romana. Mastercard holders can take advantage of a 15% discount for tickets purchased from 4 to 18 February 2019 using a Mastercard. Casa de Campo offers a 15% discount on stays at the resort and villas.