DR1 Daily News - Wednesday, 21 August 2019

D

Dolores

Guest
Vice President Margarita Cedeño says it’s time to talk about robotics
Teachers asked to reconsider protests
What does the DR gain by participating in Parlacen?
Higher court authorizes pre-candidate campaign advertising on radio and TV
Billions in assets seized, but Cesar Emilio Peralta slips away, again
Jailbreak out in Mao
Marlin Martinez to walk free
Nathaly Ramírez is MasterChefDR
Coffeest: Dominican Republic Coffee Festival
Ronald Harwood’s “The Dresser” at the National Theater



Vice President Margarita Cedeño says it’s time to talk about robotics
Vice President Margarita Cedeño urged engaging in a broader discussion on how technology, especially robotics and artificial intelligence, can be used to offer clients or visitors a better quality experience, without putting at risk the needed employment. She highlighted the Dominican Republic is an open service-based economy and that already robotics is being used in Dominican industries.

The country must remain at the forefront of technological change to take advantage of the potential for creating more of the better-qualified and better-paid jobs made possible by the fourth industrial revolution, she writes in a feature in the Listin Diario.

She said that countries such as ours cannot afford to postpone the discussion on the new forms of work. She says the times are right for adapting the educational system to technological transformation, to facilitate access to innovation and the development of ideas.

We must continue to invest in young people, so they gain the skills and abilities to be active players in the digital and technological revolution, she writes.

She clarified that whether or not we are needed for the future of humanity will depend on our ability to continually prepare for change, which is already the only constant on the planet.

The future of work is not as far away as we think; it is closer than ever, and it forces us to be proactive, she concludes.

https://listindiario.com/puntos-de-vista/2019/08/20/578915/somos-necesarios-para-el-futuro


Teachers asked to reconsider protests
Education Minister Antonio Peña Mirabal has called on public school teachers, who have called for a protest march to put teaching their students above any particular or sectoral interests. Peña Mirabal insisted students have the right to a timely and quality education, but that depends in no small extent on their families and their teachers.

The Dominican Teachers’ Guild (ADP) has announced a march on 22 August to the Ministry of Education with a series of demands, and this march coincides with the start of the 2019-2020 school year.

Xiomara Guante, president of the ADP, has said that many schools are behind schedule and are not ready for this school year. She also complained that many teachers had not received their incentive payments for over two years.

https://almomento.net/ministro-educacion-llama-a-maestros-anteponer-ensenanza-a-los-intereses/


What does the DR gain by participating in Parlacen?
Dominican Republic participation in the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) costs the country around RD$140 million a year. The benefits of participation are not known. El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Guatemala and the Dominican Republic are members. Costa Rica opted out from the start. The Parlacen is based in Guatemala.

The 20 Parlacen deputies representing the Dominican Republic are not elected by direct popular vote, but rather are carried over by the senatorial vote in each election.

The Parlacen deputies are paid US$4,658 a month and travel once a month to Guatemala for the sessions. Their travel expenses are covered.

The Parlacen was created to promote regional integration. The president of the Chamber of Deputies Radhamés Camacho defended the expenditure. “In these times, to carry out the peace processes and the processes of integration, one must have capable human resources, and leaders working on policies that can affect the quality of life of Dominicans," Camacho said.

The Dominican Republic representatives in Parlacen for the 2016-2020 period are:
Manuel de Jesús Pichardo, Diego Aquino Acosta Rojas, Silvia García Polanco, Franklin Rafael de la Cruz Ramos, María Edelmira Marmolejos, José Francisco Peña Guaba and Miguel del Carmen Oviedo Campos, Santiago de Jesús Rodríguez Peña, Altagracia Martha Pérez Campusano, Manuel Antonio Moisés Adames Lockward, Juan Pablo Plácido, María Elena Pérez Ferreras and Víctor Manuel Mojica. And Tony Raful Tejada, Ramón Emilio Gori Taveras, Sergia Elena Mejía, Claudio Miguel Marte González, Máximo Lebrón, Carmen Mirelys Uceta and Carlos José Guzmán Abreu.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ta-al-pais-rd-140-millones-anuales-PK13808421
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...rol-del-parlamento-centroamericano-GL13819258


Higher court authorizes pre-candidate campaign advertising on radio and TV
The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) overruled provisions in the ruling for the Political Parties Law 33-18 that had banned political party pre-candidates from advertising on radio and TV during the primary campaign. The same law had allowed digital advertising and the Dominican Association of Radio Stations (Adora) submitted a motion to the court on 9 August complaining of discrimination.

The TSE orders the Central Electoral Board (JCE) to allow the pre-candidates that will compete in the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) primaries on 6 October 2019 to advertise on radio and TV. The revoked provisions were in Art. 14.4 and 15.7 of the ruling.

https://listindiario.com/entretenim...ude-la-decision-permitira-publicidad-politica


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-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/drugs.pdf
https://n.com.do/2019/08/20/video-r...os-simultaneos-a-bienes-de-cesar-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/autorid...cion-en-rd-para-traficar-toneladas-de-drogas/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...salir-entre-los-acusados-del-caso-david-ortiz
https://almomento.net/procuraduria-...das-a-lavado-de-activos-y-otras-infracciones/
https://eldia.com.do/cesar-el-abusa...ecilla-de-una-red-de-narcotrafico-en-el-pais/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...allanan-establecimiento-de-diversion-la-kuora
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...y-apartamentos-vinculados-a-cesar-el-abusador
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ingo-y-quirino-y-lleno-sus-vacios-en-el-narco
https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/todo-lo-que-se-sabe-del-caso-cesar-el-abusador-LI13827095


Jailbreak out in Mao
On Monday night, 19 August 2019, 12 prisoners escaped from the preventive jail in Mao, Valverde province in the northwest of the country. The group escaped by breaking the bars at the rear of their cell. So far two have been rearrested, Michael García and Heriberto Reyes Rosario. Both were injured with shots to their legs.

The authorities continue to look for the rest of the prisoners, and an investigation into the escape has also been opened. Those still on the run are: Félix Danny Morales, Alberto García, Daniel Alexander Polanco Suero, José Martínez Martínez, Cecilio Rodríguez, Feliz Rafael Reyes, Daniel Rodríguez, Amalfi Hernández, Junior Peña Jiménez and Manuel Antonio Verigüeto.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...clusos-de-carcel-preventiva-de-mao-FL13815671


Marlin Martinez to walk free
In nine days’ time, on 30 August 2019, Marlin Martinez will have completed two years in jail for the death of the teenager Emely Peguero, which happened in August 2017.

Martínez was originally sentenced to five years in jail but the sentence was reduced to two years as the court determined that her involvement in the death of the teenager could not be proven, only that she was involved in hiding the body.

Martínez has been in prison since 30 August 2017, the day she handed herself over to the authorities. The Public Prosecution has appealed to the Supreme Court against the reduction in her sentence, this will not affect her leaving jail at the end of this month.

According to her lawyer, Carlos Balcácer, if she stays in jail a minute longer than she should, her detention is illegal according to the new Penal Process Code, as appeal processes cannot obstruct her liberty.

Should the appeal be granted, Martínez will have to appear at a new trial, still while being free, unless the judge considers she should be sent back to prison for coercive measures, says her defense counsel.

For the same case, her son, Marlon Martínez, is serving a 30-year jail sentence, having been found guilty of the murder of 16-year old Emely, who was pregnant with his son.

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...o-emely-peguero-saldria-de-prision-en-11-dias


Nathaly Ramírez is MasterChefDR
Nathaly Ramírez, a 30-year old cooking aficionado, was chosen the MasterChef for the Dominican Republic during the reality show's closing episode on Sunday, 18 August 2019. She is a graduate in international business from the State University of Utah and works in international cooperation at the Ministry of Public Health. She learned to cook from her mom. She remembers her first preparation was a “morir soñando” refreshment, made from passion fruit juice and milk. She was born in Santo Domingo, but her family is from Banica, in Elías Piña.

http://www.lainformacion.com.do/noticias/mirador/135879/nathaly-ramirez-gana-master-chef-rd
https://masterchefrd.com/los-participantes/nathaly-ramirez/


Coffeest: Dominican Republic Coffee Festival
The Coffee Festival “Coffeest 2019” will be held on 24-25 August 2019 at the Centro Cultural Español, the Spanish Embassy cultural center located in the Colonial City. Dominican producers will be holding presentations on the product and its preparation. There will be product sales and tastings. Activities will take place from 10am to 8pm.

Ramírez Coffee will be explaining the perspectives of coffee marketing and the opportunities and challenges for Dominican coffee on Saturday, 24 August from 2 to 3pm.

On Sunday, 25 August at 2pm, there will be a talk on the importance of coffee growing in the Dominican Republic.

These events are all free.

The Coffee Festival organizers are Luis Acosta, Rafael Tejeda and Albert Sants. They explain that the idea is to promote the sustainable development of Dominican coffee that is a culture that goes back many years, says Acosta. Tejeda adds: "The goal is to create a platform that promotes the consumption of quality coffee and promotes linkages between the producer, the retailer and the consumer."

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/perspectivas-sobre-el-mercado-del-cafe-tickets-69333015917


Ronald Harwood’s “The Dresser” at the National Theater
“El Vestidor”, the play by British playwright Ronald Harwood, opens at the Sala Ravelo, the theater hall of the National Theater this 23-25 August 2019. It tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. Leading Dominican actors perform in the drama. These are Giovanny Cruz, Exmin Carvajal, Yanela Hernández, Luvil González and Karoline Becker. Mario Lebrón is the director. The play will continue on the next weekend, too, from 30 August to 1 September; Fridays and Saturdays the shows are at 8:30pm and on Sundays at 7pm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresser