As posted in DR1 Daily News - Wednesday, 21 August 2019.....
Billions in assets seized, but Cesar Emilio Peralta slips away, again
The Attorney General announced on Tuesday, 20 August 2019 a crackdown on Cesar Emilio Peralta’s empire in the Dominican Republic. The Attorney General Office, the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) and other authorities raided several apartments, homes and businesses in Greater Santo Domingo, Santiago and La Romana on Tuesday, 20 August 2019 tied to Cesar Emilio Peralta (a.k.a. El Abusador).
At a press conference, Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez called the sweep the largest operation against organized crime in the country. He explained that Peralta is the head of a major drug dealing network that has been operating in the country. He said the system used the country as a springboard for the transit of drugs to the United States from South America.
The raids were carried out on 15 discotheques, 10 restaurants, 3 shopping centers, 6 business centers and more than 20 luxury apartment buildings in the National District and Santo Domingo East.
During the press conference, Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez told journalists “his time is up” (“a todo criminal le llega su momento”) when responding to a question on how a man with such a long list of crimes was not in jail. Peralta moved freely prior to the raid. He is not yet under arrest.
Peralta’s career in crime in the Dominican Republic is said to have lasted over 20 years, having taken over the operations from capos such as the convicted capos Rolando Florian Feliz and Quirino Ernesto Paulino.
Rodríguez said in the press conference that this time the criminal structure would be dismantled. Under arrest are network kingpins Baltazar Mesa, Jose de Jesus Tapia and Sergio Gomez Diaz. But Peralta is not yet under arrest. As reported, there is an extradition order received from the United States for these individuals.
Peralta recently was linked to the shooting of retired Dominican baseball player, David Ortiz in a Av. Venezuela area bar. He would post a video denying the speculation. Nevertheless, as part of the operation on 20 August 2019, the Blue Tower luxury apartment building in Naco, where both Peralta and David Ortiz have apartments, was raided.
The Attorney General announced that in this was a 700-agent operation, including 50 prosecutors and 500 National Drug Control Agency agents, the nightclubs owned by Peralta were shut down. Among these: VIP Room, Flow Gallery Lounge, Aqua Club, and La Kuora (Villa Consuelo).
Peralta is said to have accumulated billions from drug trafficking operations and built an empire of the leading Dominican discotheques and bars that are suspected to be where he laundered his illicit fortune with the complicity of the authorities. The nightclubs kept an active schedule with performances by top urban singers.
On the same day of the press conference in Santo Domingo, the US Treasury announced that it is applying the Kingpin Act to the Cesar Emilio Peralta and his criminal organization. This affects all assets in which these persons have an interest in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked, and must be reported to US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The US Treasury reports that Dominican nationals Ramon Antonio del Rosario Puente (a.k.a. “Toño Leña) and Kelvin Enrique Fernandez Flaquer (a.k.a. “Cotto”), both major Dominican drug traffickers in their own right, were also designated under the Kingpin Act for their support to Peralta and his criminal organization.
The head of National Drug Control Agency, Felix Alburquerque Comprés said during the press conference that the tipping point of the operation was a 1,050-kilo shipment of cocaine from South America to Puerto Rico in which three Dominicans were arrested by US law enforcement agents.
Investigative journalist Angel Martínez had said in May 2019 that said he would be sending the file with his investigations on the criminal career of Cesar Emilio Peralta to the US Department of Justice. He said the impunity around Peralta is evidence of how organized crime is in control in the Dominican Republic.
During the raids, the former Major Baseball League baseball player Octavio Dotel was arrested.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm755
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-ce...ents/drugs.pdf
https://n.com.do/2019/08/20/video-ru...r-el-abusador/ -- see minute 3:20 for start.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrZNwb5lT6c -- Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCp74AK3qi8 - Angel Martínez – 13 May 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JywhhVvKpiA - Corrupcion al Desnudo
https://n.com.do/2019/08/20/autorida...das-de-drogas/
https://listindiario.com/la-republic...so-david-ortiz
https://almomento.net/procuraduria-a...-infracciones/
https://eldia.com.do/cesar-el-abusad...co-en-el-pais/
https://listindiario.com/la-republic...rsion-la-kuora
https://listindiario.com/la-republic...ar-el-abusador
https://listindiario.com/la-republic...os-en-el-narco
https://www.diariolibre.com/actualid...dor-LI13827095