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Is Dorian coming? The DR is in hurricane mode
University Sports Games set for 19-29 September 2019
Who will replace Gonzalo Castillo?
New arrangement for primaries
Guillermo Moreno and Minou Tavarez Mirabal to campaign together
Ceduca campaigns for more and better quality jobs for youths
Congress still has not passed bill to seize assets from proven crimes
The expensive luxuries of Cesar Emilio Peralta
JCE orders investigation into the second ID allegedly used by Cesar Emilio Peralta
Police spokesman on the MLB payroll, Ortiz denies ties to Cesar Emilio Peralta
Pablo Ross sentenced to 10 years in jail for child sexual abuse
Montecristi prosecutor ordered to six months of custody
Arrest in another drug case
Correction re:Torre Atiemar
Colombian tourist rescued off Saona Island
Is Elvis Crespo a look-alike with Jean Alain Rodriguez
Is Dorian coming? The DR is in hurricane mode
President Danilo Medina met at the Presidential Palace with members of the National Emergency Commission (COE) on Monday, 26 August 2019 to kick start disaster mitigation preparations. We are in the midst of the peak hurricane season for the Caribbean, and Dorian now threatens to hit the country.
The director of the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) Gloria Ceballos says that all forecast models indicate that Dorian is coming our way. The intensity of the storm is not clear, though. So far, the country will begin to be affected on Wednesday evening by a strong tropical wave, a tropical storm or a hurricane category 1. Ceballos says at worst the storm will not be stronger than a category one hurricane. She explained that most forecasts concur the storm will hit the Dominican Republic, but there are differences in how hard it will hit.
"Some models say it will continue as a hurricane. Others say when it gets near to the DR, the storm will find unfavorable conditions for development and will instead become a tropical storm," she explained. She had said that once the storm enters Caribbean waters, a better forecast will be had. As it begins to move west through the eastern Caribbean, the storm has weakened.
Ceballos has said that regardless of the intensity, everyone should prepare for a big rainstorm, especially in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country. All those in the Dominican Republic should prepare for heavy squally rain, power outages and flooding. Ceballos warned to prepare for gusty storm-force winds, especially in the Punta Cana, La Romana and Samana areas.
In its 8am report on Tuesday, 27 August, the storm had weakened to tropical storm strength. The model shows it crossing through La Altagracia province, meaning it will affect Punta Cana. It is scheduled to hit the area late in the evening of Wednesday and early morning of Thursday, 28-29 August.
Follow the storm through the DR1 Weather Forum at:
https://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/175150-2019-Hurricane-Season?p=1971631#post1971631
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...arse-y-estar-atento-a-los-boletines-de-dorian
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...o-adopta-medidas-ante-paso-de-tormenta-dorian
University Sports Games set for 19-29 September 2019
The Ministry of Sports (Miderec) announced the National University Sports Games will be held 19 to 29 September 2019. 30 universities have entered their athletes in 13 sports. The competitions will be in chess, track and field, basketball, basketball 3x3, futsal, judo, karate, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball. The announcement was made by Minister Danilo Díaz and Deputy Minister in charge of university sports, Marcos Díaz.
https://elcaribe.com.do/2019/08/22/deportes/polideportivo/anuncia-juegos-nacionales-universitarios/
Who will replace Gonzalo Castillo?
Almost a month has gone by since Gonzalo Castillo resigned as Minister of Public Works and Communications. So far, President Danilo Medina has not named his replacement.
Castillo resigned on 31 July when he announced he wanted to run for President for the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). He says he is the best man to continue the work of President Danilo Medina. Castillo had waited until President Danilo Medina addressed the nation on 22 July 2019 to say he would not seek a second reelection.
Gonzalo Castillo was the last of four Medina cabinet ministers to resign to campaign for the Presidency. In April 2018, the first was Francisco Domínguez Brito, then minister of Environment. He was followed by Carlos Amarante Baret, who left the Ministry of Interior & Police in May 2018. Andrés Navarro was third, when he resigned as Minister of Education in February of this year.
Castillo's announcement was not well received by the so-called group of six. These are Reinaldo Pared Pérez, Carlos Amarante Baret, Francisco Domínguez Brito, Andrés Navarro, Radhamés Segura and Juan Temístocles Montás. They have agreed to carry out three polls to determine who is best positioned to compete against former President Leonel Fernandez in the PLD primary on 6 October. Fernández is the leader of a dissident group within the PLD.
Amarante Baret, although not accusing Castillo directly, has complained that the Ministry of Public Works has threatened that those mayors who do not support Castillo will not have the roads in their municipality repaired or resurfaced.
The opposition party, the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) has complained Castillo has billboards and other resources that violate the Political Parties Law.
These complaints do not seem to concern Castillo, who has been holding meetings across the country. Castillo says he embodies the "new blood" that President Danilo Medina in his speech announcing he would not seek reelection said the country needs.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ras-publicas-cumple-tres-semanas-sin-ministro
New arrangement for primaries
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) will divide the country into five regions for the primaries on 6 October 2019 to ensure that the event runs smoothly. 7.4 million Dominicans are eligible to vote in the primaries of the two main political parties, the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM).
The initiative follows a plan that will be implemented by the Election and IT departments of the JCE. A supervisor is assigned to each of the 3,890 electoral offices for the primaries, in the 7,372 voting stations and to make the administration simpler. Each of the five areas will have a member of the JCE board in charge.
The metropolitan area will be supervised by Castaños Guzmán, president; the East by Henry Mejía Oviedo; the South by Roberto Saladín Selin; Northeast by Rosario Graciano and North by Carmen Imbert Brugal.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...nes-para-las-primarias-de-partidos-GC13880024
Guillermo Moreno and Minou Tavárez Mirabal to campaign together
Guillermo Moreno of AlPaís and Minou Tavárez Mirabal of Opción Democrática formalized the merge of the two minority parties. Tavárez Mirabal announced her political movement would be backing the presidential aspirations of Guillermo Moreno.
In her words at the event marking the merge, Tavárez Mirabal said: "We have come this far to present a new organization. It is a step forward in the process of shaping the political alternative.
Moreno hopes to be the third party alternative that may win the presidential election in May 2020. Both parties proclaimed to their followers their commitment to challenge the corrupt and fight for a better nation.
AlPais president Guillermo Moreno guaranteed that if his party wins, they will promote the independence of the Judicial Branch and the National Council of the Magistracy, among other proposals.
https://z101digital.com/minou-alianza-pais-le-tiene-habilitada-una-silla-en-los-tribunales-a-danilo/
https://hoy.com.do/moreno-y-minou-se-juntan-y-desafian-a-los-corruptos/
Ceduca campaigns for more and better quality jobs for youths
The Centro para la Educación y el Desarrollo (Ceduca) has published findings of a study on youth employment in the Dominican Republic. The findings indicate that more than 20% of the population aged 15 to 29 is not studying or working.
Alba Reyes, director of Ceduca said the study, "Dominican Young People, Those Unknowns" reveals that youth unemployment in the country is at 29%. This is double the regional average for Latin America and the Caribbean that stands at 14%, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
She remarked that of these most work in the informal sector that is characterized by the high vulnerability of jobs and less pay. She said that the informal sector employs 73.5% of young people aged 15 to 18, 46% of those 19 to 24 years and 42.7% of those aged 25 to 29. She complained that those jobs do not provide health insurance or other social security benefits.
Ceduca is beginning a campaign to draw the attention of the authorities on the impact of low and poor quality jobs is having on youths and society.
https://hoy.com.do/ceduca-pide-gobierno-atienda-desempleo-de-jovenes-en-rd/
Congress still has not passed the bill to seize assets from proven crimes
The Bil on Confiscation of Illicit Property (Extinction of Dominion) is still pending in the National Congress. Listín Diario reports that the Senate has already approved the second reading, but included changes that mean it returns to the Chamber of Deputies for approval.
The bill (Ley sobre Juicios de Extinción de Dominio para el Decomiso Civil de Bienes Ilícitos) would enable the state to take full possession of properties linked to criminal activities. In the past, goods have been seized but have had to be returned to well-known drug traffickers.
The bill would allow the government to keep and sell off millions of goods derived from drug trafficking activities, such as those the Attorney General's Office now attributes to the Cesar Emilio Peralta (The Abuser) Drug Trafficking Operation.
The legislature obliges banks to give information to judges. It opens the country to international cooperation and homologates foreign sentences as long as they do not contradict the Dominican Constitution and laws. The bill indicates that assets derived from illicit activities, those that are instruments of illicit activities or where it is intended to hide assets of illicit origin, are subject to civil forfeiture, even when no sentence has passed that determines criminal responsibility. The forfeited property will be distributed according to the money laundering legislation. It also orders that jurisdiction in this matter be exercised, in all cases, by the courts of extinction of dominion, with the category of Court of Appeal, made up of not less than five judges.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...iente-la-ley-para-decomiso-de-bienes-ilicitos
The expensive luxuries of Cesar Emilio Peralta
Investigative journalist Nuria Piera has presented insights into the costly taste of now accused Cesar Emilio Peralta. The United States Treasury presented evidence of drug trafficking and money laundering activities and designated Peralta and eight accomplices under the Kingpin Act. The US shared the file with the Dominican Republic that a month later would carry out a sweep but did not detain a single person on the US Treasury list.
https://n.com.do/2019/08/26/conozca...os-extravagantes-gustos-de-cesar-el-abusador/
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm755
JCE orders investigation into the second ID allegedly used by Cesar Emilio Peralta
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) is investigating the ID allegedly issued to fugitive drug capo Cesar Emilio Peralta in the name of Eduardo Saldaña Rodríguez. The JCE has preliminary information showing he had two IDs with the same photograph, one with the name Cesar Emilio Peralta and another under Eduardo Saldaña Rodríguez.
The JCE explained that the ID with the name of Eduardo Saldaña Rodríguez shows a non-active status and has never been renewed. It should have been cancelled. The investigation seeks to determine which documents were used for the issuing of the IDs, and the biometric data associated to these.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ga-duplicidad-de-cedulas-de-cesar-el-abusador
Police spokesman on the MLB payroll, Ortiz denies ties to Cesar Emilio Peralta
The spokesman for the Police, Colonel Frank Félix Durán Mejía confirmed on Monday, 26 August 2019 that he is paid for collaborating with the MLB for over 10 years. This was not publicly known until the Boston Globe reported on the possible conflict of interests in the case of the shooting of retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Felix Durán said on the El Sol de la Mañana radio talk show that he has not participated in the investigative phase of the David Ortiz case.
A Monday 26 August 2019 Ortiz's spokesman Joe Baerlein said that Ortiz had hired former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to investigate his shooting at the at Dial Bar and Lounge in eastern Santo Domingo on 9 June 2019.
The Police and Attorney General Office have said it was a case of mistaken identity. Baerlein told the Boston Globe: "He had no basis for a long time to challenge their theory of mistaken identity. However, as new facts continue to come up, it lends some optimism that there may be some other conclusions that are drawn before it's over about why David was shot."
As reported in the Boston Globe, Dominican National Police Colonel Frank Felix Duran Mejia told the Boston Globe that investigators looked into other possible motives behind the shooting but they were unsubstantiated. He added that Ortiz was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Baerlin reported that the Edward Davis Company is monitoring and analyzing information from various sources in the Dominican Republic around the motives for the shooting of David Ortiz on 9 June. The company is also providing personal security services for Ortiz and his family.
Davis was police commissioner from 2006 to 2013. He was overseeing the department during the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing.
The bullet passed through Ortiz’s lower back and perforated his intestines and lower organs before hitting his friend, TV personality Jhoel Lopez, in the leg. The Police said that Sixto David Fernández Vásquez was the target, not the MLB star. Fernández’s cousin, Victor Hugo Gomez Vásquez, was accused by the Attorney General and the Police of orchestrating the botched hit. He has been arrested, along with several other suspects.
Now the private investigation seeks to find out what really happened. A video uploaded by Gómez Vásquez directs investigators to his cousin, Fernández Vásquez, who he says is not simply the owner of a detailing workshop as the authorities have said.
The David Ortiz shooting has been in the media again with the US Treasury releasing information on drug capo Cesar Emilio Peralta. A video showed that Peralta was at the Centro de Medicina Avanzada medical center where David Ortiz was taken on the evening of the shooting. The Dominican Police, nevertheless, did not include Peralta in the known investigations nor the findings that were made public. Baerlein has said that Ortiz has no relationship with César Emilio Peralta (El Abusador). Peralta is accused by the US Treasury of running a drug trafficking and money laundering operation.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/david-ortiz-photos-dominican-republic-shooting-probe
https://hoy.com.do/caso-david-ortiz...stionara-su-trabajo-por-colaborar-con-la-mlb/
https://z101digital.com/mi-funcion-...-la-investigacion-vocero-pn-sobre-caso-david/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...rs-find-out/kSwS3DwuIuQxSjtbcKFqZM/story.html
https://listindiario.com/el-deporte...boston-para-aclarar-atentado-sufrido-en-junio
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...-el-abusador-comprara-el-penthouse-MN13879489
Pablo Ross sentenced to 10 years in jail for child sexual abuse
Radio and TV host and marketing expert Pablo Timoteo Ross was sentenced to 10 years in jail and RD$2 million penalty for sexual abuse of his stepdaughter. He was ordered to serve the term in the Najayo Men's Jail.
The First Collegiate Court of the National District determined the sexual abuse had begun in 2014 when the child was 12 years old. The case had been heard since September 2018 when the biological father of the child got involved. Since then, Ross had been in pretrial custody.
https://pgr.gob.do/2019/08/27/minis...blo-ross-por-cometer-incesto-contra-hijastra/
https://hoy.com.do/condena-a-10-anos-prision-a-mercadologo-pablo-ross/
https://n.com.do/2019/08/26/diez-anos-de-prision-para-pablo-ross-por-abuso-sexual-a-hijastra/
Montecristi prosecutor ordered to six months of custody
The Court of First Instance of Montecristi ordered on the evening of Friday, 20 August 2019 pretrial custody for six months against former Montecristi prosecutor Carmen Lisset Núñez and four former National Drug Control Agency (DNCD). They are accused of planting drugs in a barbershop in Villa Vásquez.
Meanwhile, the barbershop says business is bad. One of its owners Carlos Manuel Escoto told Diario Libre that their patrons have been scared away. Otherwise, people in Villa Vásquez expressed their satisfaction with the jail order. Many recalled having been victims of the prosecutor.
The prosecutor lead a raid on the barbershop on grounds it was a drug sales point. A video came to the rescue of the business. The surveillance video showed how the DNCD agents entered and planted small packets.
Núñez had attempted to leave the country, but was not allowed to do so by precautionary measures at the Las Americas International Airport. Her husband did travel abroad after the incident.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...lizadora-maltrato-a-una-embarazada-AN13873452
Year in preventive custody in drug case
A Santo Domingo judge has handed down a year in preventive custody as coercive measures against those accused in the case of the confiscation of the 484 kilos of cocaine at the Caucedo Port and has declared the case to be complex.
The sentence was against the accused men, José Alberto de Jesús, Julio Francisco Hernández Sosa and Hansel Santana Báez.
Officials from the National Drug Control Agency, accompanied by intelligence agents, found the drugs in a container in a ship called Tanya, whose destination was Rotterdam, Holland.
Three men were arrested during the operation after putting the drugs into the container. They tried to escape in a truck but hit a wall without being able to leave the terminal.
https://eldia.com.do/dictan-coercio...s-de-droga-decomisados-en-multimodal-caucedo/
Arrest in another drug case
The National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) has arrested a man in connection with 393 kilos of cocaine found in the capital and Santiago and more than two million dollars confiscated last year in the Haina Oriental port.
Fernando José Esteffani Fermin, aged 46, had been sought for more than a year, and is thought to be part of a drug dealing and money laundering gang, and of having taken the dollars to the port, hidden in vehicle parts. He is also thought to be linked to the network of Cesar Emilio Peralta (El Abusador).
https://almomento.net/capturan-uno-por-393-paquetes-cocaina-investigan-vinculo-con-el-abusador/
Correction re:Torre Atiemar
In the report on Monday, 26 August on the fire at Torre Atiemar on Av. Pedro Henríquez Ureña, DR1 erroneously cited Arturo del Tiempo has owner of the tower. Arturo del Tiempo was the developer.
Del Tiempo was convicted to seven years in jail after being arrested attempting to smuggle 1,200 kilos of cocaine into Spain. The tower was then repossessed by the financiers, the Dominican government Banco de Reservas.
Prior to being arrested in Spain for smuggling the cocaine, a shipment was seized in the Dominican Republic, but this case did not move through the justice system nor was Del Tiempo arrested in the Dominican Republic. At the time, news media pointed out that one of the apartments was owned by the then chief of the Police, Rafael Guillermo Guzmán Fermín, and another by Guzmán's father, also a former chief of the police.
Colonel José Luis Frometa of the Santo Domingo Firemen reported that while the fire could be seen up to the 18th floor because the smoke went up by the air-conditioning duct, there were only material damages.
https://eldia.com.do/fuego-en-torre...so-y-la-humareda-se-propago-hasta-el-piso-18/
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...n-el-hsbc-publica-el-confidencial-FAdl1008841
Colombian tourist rescued off Saona Island
A Colombian tourist, who had been missing since Friday 23 August, has been found safe and sound. Gustavo Alexander González Ríos, aged 41, was found by fisherman the following day, hanging off a coral reef off Saona Island.
According to the National Police, he and his wife had taken an excursion to the island, but he had a bad stomach and went off into the brush to relieve himself. While there he hit his head on a branch and lost consciousness, only coming to at sunset when he decided to head for the sea to find a way out.
He was taken back to his hotel in Bayahibe and from there to hospital for medical care.
https://hoy.com.do/en-estas-condici...saparecido-desde-el-viernes-en-la-isla-saona/
Is Puerto Rican Elvis Crespo a look-alike with Jean Alain Rodríguez
Does Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez have a double? Actually no. But the physical similarities between Puerto Rican singer Elvis Crespo and Rodríguez are astonishing. Rodríguez tweeted on Monday, 26 August 2019 about them, after receiving a visit from Crespo at his office. Crespo is a Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning merengue singer and songwriter.
https://hoy.com.do/jean-alain-rodriguez-no-estas-viendo-doble-de-verdad-tenemos-un-gran-parecido/
https://eldia.com.do/elvis-crespo-v...iguez-y-comprueban-que-son-dos-gotas-de-agua/
University Sports Games set for 19-29 September 2019
Who will replace Gonzalo Castillo?
New arrangement for primaries
Guillermo Moreno and Minou Tavarez Mirabal to campaign together
Ceduca campaigns for more and better quality jobs for youths
Congress still has not passed bill to seize assets from proven crimes
The expensive luxuries of Cesar Emilio Peralta
JCE orders investigation into the second ID allegedly used by Cesar Emilio Peralta
Police spokesman on the MLB payroll, Ortiz denies ties to Cesar Emilio Peralta
Pablo Ross sentenced to 10 years in jail for child sexual abuse
Montecristi prosecutor ordered to six months of custody
Arrest in another drug case
Correction re:Torre Atiemar
Colombian tourist rescued off Saona Island
Is Elvis Crespo a look-alike with Jean Alain Rodriguez
Is Dorian coming? The DR is in hurricane mode
President Danilo Medina met at the Presidential Palace with members of the National Emergency Commission (COE) on Monday, 26 August 2019 to kick start disaster mitigation preparations. We are in the midst of the peak hurricane season for the Caribbean, and Dorian now threatens to hit the country.
The director of the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) Gloria Ceballos says that all forecast models indicate that Dorian is coming our way. The intensity of the storm is not clear, though. So far, the country will begin to be affected on Wednesday evening by a strong tropical wave, a tropical storm or a hurricane category 1. Ceballos says at worst the storm will not be stronger than a category one hurricane. She explained that most forecasts concur the storm will hit the Dominican Republic, but there are differences in how hard it will hit.
"Some models say it will continue as a hurricane. Others say when it gets near to the DR, the storm will find unfavorable conditions for development and will instead become a tropical storm," she explained. She had said that once the storm enters Caribbean waters, a better forecast will be had. As it begins to move west through the eastern Caribbean, the storm has weakened.
Ceballos has said that regardless of the intensity, everyone should prepare for a big rainstorm, especially in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country. All those in the Dominican Republic should prepare for heavy squally rain, power outages and flooding. Ceballos warned to prepare for gusty storm-force winds, especially in the Punta Cana, La Romana and Samana areas.
In its 8am report on Tuesday, 27 August, the storm had weakened to tropical storm strength. The model shows it crossing through La Altagracia province, meaning it will affect Punta Cana. It is scheduled to hit the area late in the evening of Wednesday and early morning of Thursday, 28-29 August.
Follow the storm through the DR1 Weather Forum at:
https://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/175150-2019-Hurricane-Season?p=1971631#post1971631
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...arse-y-estar-atento-a-los-boletines-de-dorian
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...o-adopta-medidas-ante-paso-de-tormenta-dorian
University Sports Games set for 19-29 September 2019
The Ministry of Sports (Miderec) announced the National University Sports Games will be held 19 to 29 September 2019. 30 universities have entered their athletes in 13 sports. The competitions will be in chess, track and field, basketball, basketball 3x3, futsal, judo, karate, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball. The announcement was made by Minister Danilo Díaz and Deputy Minister in charge of university sports, Marcos Díaz.
https://elcaribe.com.do/2019/08/22/deportes/polideportivo/anuncia-juegos-nacionales-universitarios/
Who will replace Gonzalo Castillo?
Almost a month has gone by since Gonzalo Castillo resigned as Minister of Public Works and Communications. So far, President Danilo Medina has not named his replacement.
Castillo resigned on 31 July when he announced he wanted to run for President for the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). He says he is the best man to continue the work of President Danilo Medina. Castillo had waited until President Danilo Medina addressed the nation on 22 July 2019 to say he would not seek a second reelection.
Gonzalo Castillo was the last of four Medina cabinet ministers to resign to campaign for the Presidency. In April 2018, the first was Francisco Domínguez Brito, then minister of Environment. He was followed by Carlos Amarante Baret, who left the Ministry of Interior & Police in May 2018. Andrés Navarro was third, when he resigned as Minister of Education in February of this year.
Castillo's announcement was not well received by the so-called group of six. These are Reinaldo Pared Pérez, Carlos Amarante Baret, Francisco Domínguez Brito, Andrés Navarro, Radhamés Segura and Juan Temístocles Montás. They have agreed to carry out three polls to determine who is best positioned to compete against former President Leonel Fernandez in the PLD primary on 6 October. Fernández is the leader of a dissident group within the PLD.
Amarante Baret, although not accusing Castillo directly, has complained that the Ministry of Public Works has threatened that those mayors who do not support Castillo will not have the roads in their municipality repaired or resurfaced.
The opposition party, the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) has complained Castillo has billboards and other resources that violate the Political Parties Law.
These complaints do not seem to concern Castillo, who has been holding meetings across the country. Castillo says he embodies the "new blood" that President Danilo Medina in his speech announcing he would not seek reelection said the country needs.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ras-publicas-cumple-tres-semanas-sin-ministro
New arrangement for primaries
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) will divide the country into five regions for the primaries on 6 October 2019 to ensure that the event runs smoothly. 7.4 million Dominicans are eligible to vote in the primaries of the two main political parties, the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM).
The initiative follows a plan that will be implemented by the Election and IT departments of the JCE. A supervisor is assigned to each of the 3,890 electoral offices for the primaries, in the 7,372 voting stations and to make the administration simpler. Each of the five areas will have a member of the JCE board in charge.
The metropolitan area will be supervised by Castaños Guzmán, president; the East by Henry Mejía Oviedo; the South by Roberto Saladín Selin; Northeast by Rosario Graciano and North by Carmen Imbert Brugal.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...nes-para-las-primarias-de-partidos-GC13880024
Guillermo Moreno and Minou Tavárez Mirabal to campaign together
Guillermo Moreno of AlPaís and Minou Tavárez Mirabal of Opción Democrática formalized the merge of the two minority parties. Tavárez Mirabal announced her political movement would be backing the presidential aspirations of Guillermo Moreno.
In her words at the event marking the merge, Tavárez Mirabal said: "We have come this far to present a new organization. It is a step forward in the process of shaping the political alternative.
Moreno hopes to be the third party alternative that may win the presidential election in May 2020. Both parties proclaimed to their followers their commitment to challenge the corrupt and fight for a better nation.
AlPais president Guillermo Moreno guaranteed that if his party wins, they will promote the independence of the Judicial Branch and the National Council of the Magistracy, among other proposals.
https://z101digital.com/minou-alianza-pais-le-tiene-habilitada-una-silla-en-los-tribunales-a-danilo/
https://hoy.com.do/moreno-y-minou-se-juntan-y-desafian-a-los-corruptos/
Ceduca campaigns for more and better quality jobs for youths
The Centro para la Educación y el Desarrollo (Ceduca) has published findings of a study on youth employment in the Dominican Republic. The findings indicate that more than 20% of the population aged 15 to 29 is not studying or working.
Alba Reyes, director of Ceduca said the study, "Dominican Young People, Those Unknowns" reveals that youth unemployment in the country is at 29%. This is double the regional average for Latin America and the Caribbean that stands at 14%, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
She remarked that of these most work in the informal sector that is characterized by the high vulnerability of jobs and less pay. She said that the informal sector employs 73.5% of young people aged 15 to 18, 46% of those 19 to 24 years and 42.7% of those aged 25 to 29. She complained that those jobs do not provide health insurance or other social security benefits.
Ceduca is beginning a campaign to draw the attention of the authorities on the impact of low and poor quality jobs is having on youths and society.
https://hoy.com.do/ceduca-pide-gobierno-atienda-desempleo-de-jovenes-en-rd/
Congress still has not passed the bill to seize assets from proven crimes
The Bil on Confiscation of Illicit Property (Extinction of Dominion) is still pending in the National Congress. Listín Diario reports that the Senate has already approved the second reading, but included changes that mean it returns to the Chamber of Deputies for approval.
The bill (Ley sobre Juicios de Extinción de Dominio para el Decomiso Civil de Bienes Ilícitos) would enable the state to take full possession of properties linked to criminal activities. In the past, goods have been seized but have had to be returned to well-known drug traffickers.
The bill would allow the government to keep and sell off millions of goods derived from drug trafficking activities, such as those the Attorney General's Office now attributes to the Cesar Emilio Peralta (The Abuser) Drug Trafficking Operation.
The legislature obliges banks to give information to judges. It opens the country to international cooperation and homologates foreign sentences as long as they do not contradict the Dominican Constitution and laws. The bill indicates that assets derived from illicit activities, those that are instruments of illicit activities or where it is intended to hide assets of illicit origin, are subject to civil forfeiture, even when no sentence has passed that determines criminal responsibility. The forfeited property will be distributed according to the money laundering legislation. It also orders that jurisdiction in this matter be exercised, in all cases, by the courts of extinction of dominion, with the category of Court of Appeal, made up of not less than five judges.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...iente-la-ley-para-decomiso-de-bienes-ilicitos
The expensive luxuries of Cesar Emilio Peralta
Investigative journalist Nuria Piera has presented insights into the costly taste of now accused Cesar Emilio Peralta. The United States Treasury presented evidence of drug trafficking and money laundering activities and designated Peralta and eight accomplices under the Kingpin Act. The US shared the file with the Dominican Republic that a month later would carry out a sweep but did not detain a single person on the US Treasury list.
https://n.com.do/2019/08/26/conozca...os-extravagantes-gustos-de-cesar-el-abusador/
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm755
JCE orders investigation into the second ID allegedly used by Cesar Emilio Peralta
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) is investigating the ID allegedly issued to fugitive drug capo Cesar Emilio Peralta in the name of Eduardo Saldaña Rodríguez. The JCE has preliminary information showing he had two IDs with the same photograph, one with the name Cesar Emilio Peralta and another under Eduardo Saldaña Rodríguez.
The JCE explained that the ID with the name of Eduardo Saldaña Rodríguez shows a non-active status and has never been renewed. It should have been cancelled. The investigation seeks to determine which documents were used for the issuing of the IDs, and the biometric data associated to these.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ga-duplicidad-de-cedulas-de-cesar-el-abusador
Police spokesman on the MLB payroll, Ortiz denies ties to Cesar Emilio Peralta
The spokesman for the Police, Colonel Frank Félix Durán Mejía confirmed on Monday, 26 August 2019 that he is paid for collaborating with the MLB for over 10 years. This was not publicly known until the Boston Globe reported on the possible conflict of interests in the case of the shooting of retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Felix Durán said on the El Sol de la Mañana radio talk show that he has not participated in the investigative phase of the David Ortiz case.
A Monday 26 August 2019 Ortiz's spokesman Joe Baerlein said that Ortiz had hired former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to investigate his shooting at the at Dial Bar and Lounge in eastern Santo Domingo on 9 June 2019.
The Police and Attorney General Office have said it was a case of mistaken identity. Baerlein told the Boston Globe: "He had no basis for a long time to challenge their theory of mistaken identity. However, as new facts continue to come up, it lends some optimism that there may be some other conclusions that are drawn before it's over about why David was shot."
As reported in the Boston Globe, Dominican National Police Colonel Frank Felix Duran Mejia told the Boston Globe that investigators looked into other possible motives behind the shooting but they were unsubstantiated. He added that Ortiz was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Baerlin reported that the Edward Davis Company is monitoring and analyzing information from various sources in the Dominican Republic around the motives for the shooting of David Ortiz on 9 June. The company is also providing personal security services for Ortiz and his family.
Davis was police commissioner from 2006 to 2013. He was overseeing the department during the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing.
The bullet passed through Ortiz’s lower back and perforated his intestines and lower organs before hitting his friend, TV personality Jhoel Lopez, in the leg. The Police said that Sixto David Fernández Vásquez was the target, not the MLB star. Fernández’s cousin, Victor Hugo Gomez Vásquez, was accused by the Attorney General and the Police of orchestrating the botched hit. He has been arrested, along with several other suspects.
Now the private investigation seeks to find out what really happened. A video uploaded by Gómez Vásquez directs investigators to his cousin, Fernández Vásquez, who he says is not simply the owner of a detailing workshop as the authorities have said.
The David Ortiz shooting has been in the media again with the US Treasury releasing information on drug capo Cesar Emilio Peralta. A video showed that Peralta was at the Centro de Medicina Avanzada medical center where David Ortiz was taken on the evening of the shooting. The Dominican Police, nevertheless, did not include Peralta in the known investigations nor the findings that were made public. Baerlein has said that Ortiz has no relationship with César Emilio Peralta (El Abusador). Peralta is accused by the US Treasury of running a drug trafficking and money laundering operation.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/david-ortiz-photos-dominican-republic-shooting-probe
https://hoy.com.do/caso-david-ortiz...stionara-su-trabajo-por-colaborar-con-la-mlb/
https://z101digital.com/mi-funcion-...-la-investigacion-vocero-pn-sobre-caso-david/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...rs-find-out/kSwS3DwuIuQxSjtbcKFqZM/story.html
https://listindiario.com/el-deporte...boston-para-aclarar-atentado-sufrido-en-junio
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...-el-abusador-comprara-el-penthouse-MN13879489
Pablo Ross sentenced to 10 years in jail for child sexual abuse
Radio and TV host and marketing expert Pablo Timoteo Ross was sentenced to 10 years in jail and RD$2 million penalty for sexual abuse of his stepdaughter. He was ordered to serve the term in the Najayo Men's Jail.
The First Collegiate Court of the National District determined the sexual abuse had begun in 2014 when the child was 12 years old. The case had been heard since September 2018 when the biological father of the child got involved. Since then, Ross had been in pretrial custody.
https://pgr.gob.do/2019/08/27/minis...blo-ross-por-cometer-incesto-contra-hijastra/
https://hoy.com.do/condena-a-10-anos-prision-a-mercadologo-pablo-ross/
https://n.com.do/2019/08/26/diez-anos-de-prision-para-pablo-ross-por-abuso-sexual-a-hijastra/
Montecristi prosecutor ordered to six months of custody
The Court of First Instance of Montecristi ordered on the evening of Friday, 20 August 2019 pretrial custody for six months against former Montecristi prosecutor Carmen Lisset Núñez and four former National Drug Control Agency (DNCD). They are accused of planting drugs in a barbershop in Villa Vásquez.
Meanwhile, the barbershop says business is bad. One of its owners Carlos Manuel Escoto told Diario Libre that their patrons have been scared away. Otherwise, people in Villa Vásquez expressed their satisfaction with the jail order. Many recalled having been victims of the prosecutor.
The prosecutor lead a raid on the barbershop on grounds it was a drug sales point. A video came to the rescue of the business. The surveillance video showed how the DNCD agents entered and planted small packets.
Núñez had attempted to leave the country, but was not allowed to do so by precautionary measures at the Las Americas International Airport. Her husband did travel abroad after the incident.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...lizadora-maltrato-a-una-embarazada-AN13873452
Year in preventive custody in drug case
A Santo Domingo judge has handed down a year in preventive custody as coercive measures against those accused in the case of the confiscation of the 484 kilos of cocaine at the Caucedo Port and has declared the case to be complex.
The sentence was against the accused men, José Alberto de Jesús, Julio Francisco Hernández Sosa and Hansel Santana Báez.
Officials from the National Drug Control Agency, accompanied by intelligence agents, found the drugs in a container in a ship called Tanya, whose destination was Rotterdam, Holland.
Three men were arrested during the operation after putting the drugs into the container. They tried to escape in a truck but hit a wall without being able to leave the terminal.
https://eldia.com.do/dictan-coercio...s-de-droga-decomisados-en-multimodal-caucedo/
Arrest in another drug case
The National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) has arrested a man in connection with 393 kilos of cocaine found in the capital and Santiago and more than two million dollars confiscated last year in the Haina Oriental port.
Fernando José Esteffani Fermin, aged 46, had been sought for more than a year, and is thought to be part of a drug dealing and money laundering gang, and of having taken the dollars to the port, hidden in vehicle parts. He is also thought to be linked to the network of Cesar Emilio Peralta (El Abusador).
https://almomento.net/capturan-uno-por-393-paquetes-cocaina-investigan-vinculo-con-el-abusador/
Correction re:Torre Atiemar
In the report on Monday, 26 August on the fire at Torre Atiemar on Av. Pedro Henríquez Ureña, DR1 erroneously cited Arturo del Tiempo has owner of the tower. Arturo del Tiempo was the developer.
Del Tiempo was convicted to seven years in jail after being arrested attempting to smuggle 1,200 kilos of cocaine into Spain. The tower was then repossessed by the financiers, the Dominican government Banco de Reservas.
Prior to being arrested in Spain for smuggling the cocaine, a shipment was seized in the Dominican Republic, but this case did not move through the justice system nor was Del Tiempo arrested in the Dominican Republic. At the time, news media pointed out that one of the apartments was owned by the then chief of the Police, Rafael Guillermo Guzmán Fermín, and another by Guzmán's father, also a former chief of the police.
Colonel José Luis Frometa of the Santo Domingo Firemen reported that while the fire could be seen up to the 18th floor because the smoke went up by the air-conditioning duct, there were only material damages.
https://eldia.com.do/fuego-en-torre...so-y-la-humareda-se-propago-hasta-el-piso-18/
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...n-el-hsbc-publica-el-confidencial-FAdl1008841
Colombian tourist rescued off Saona Island
A Colombian tourist, who had been missing since Friday 23 August, has been found safe and sound. Gustavo Alexander González Ríos, aged 41, was found by fisherman the following day, hanging off a coral reef off Saona Island.
According to the National Police, he and his wife had taken an excursion to the island, but he had a bad stomach and went off into the brush to relieve himself. While there he hit his head on a branch and lost consciousness, only coming to at sunset when he decided to head for the sea to find a way out.
He was taken back to his hotel in Bayahibe and from there to hospital for medical care.
https://hoy.com.do/en-estas-condici...saparecido-desde-el-viernes-en-la-isla-saona/
Is Puerto Rican Elvis Crespo a look-alike with Jean Alain Rodríguez
Does Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez have a double? Actually no. But the physical similarities between Puerto Rican singer Elvis Crespo and Rodríguez are astonishing. Rodríguez tweeted on Monday, 26 August 2019 about them, after receiving a visit from Crespo at his office. Crespo is a Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning merengue singer and songwriter.
https://hoy.com.do/jean-alain-rodriguez-no-estas-viendo-doble-de-verdad-tenemos-un-gran-parecido/
https://eldia.com.do/elvis-crespo-v...iguez-y-comprueban-que-son-dos-gotas-de-agua/