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Corrupted officials in Luperon Harbor
Pleasure boaters using Luperon Harbor continue to complain about the abuses of corrupt officials. Last winter, a group of pleasure boaters using Luperon Harbor made a formal complaint about corruption and abuse by harbor officials. The MInistry of Tourism responded by sending up an investigation team, however nothing seems to have changed. A boater recently posted the following lament on the POP Report Message Board.
"We have now more corruption among Comandante de la Marina de Guerra and Autoridades Portuarias Dominicanas, the new employees from the PRD, who are asking and threatening for bribes North-Americans boaters in Luperon, the biggest yacht-harbour of the North-Coast. Some officials are now charging boaters a 15% on what they bought ashore in the village, which is of course illegal, and will scare foreigners to visit the country. A few days ago, the new Comandante de la Marina de Guerra physically threatened a scandinavian lady for 50.00US$. Please anyone with connections to authorities, Marina de Guerra, government, Politur, Turismo, whatsoever, in Puerto Plata or Sto Dgo, send inspectors in Luperon to clean things up. We can now see the aftermath in our remote village of this gvt, who placed untrained people in strategic posts, and they only want to invent scams to get extra-easy-money."
The unfortunate thing is the problems of the pleasure boating industry are too easily ignored given how small a market it represents compared to charter tourism. However, it is a sector that can help significantly to sustain and develop remote areas such as Luperon and Samana. Both of these harbors have been fraught with problems in the past, and the bad reputation spreads like wildfire among the thousands of pleasure boaters navigating the Caribbean each year. It is ironic that so many cry out that tourism should go after a more affluent market, while ignoring the abuses that are keeping affluent pleasure boaters sailing right past the Dominican Republic.
Pleasure boaters using Luperon Harbor continue to complain about the abuses of corrupt officials. Last winter, a group of pleasure boaters using Luperon Harbor made a formal complaint about corruption and abuse by harbor officials. The MInistry of Tourism responded by sending up an investigation team, however nothing seems to have changed. A boater recently posted the following lament on the POP Report Message Board.
"We have now more corruption among Comandante de la Marina de Guerra and Autoridades Portuarias Dominicanas, the new employees from the PRD, who are asking and threatening for bribes North-Americans boaters in Luperon, the biggest yacht-harbour of the North-Coast. Some officials are now charging boaters a 15% on what they bought ashore in the village, which is of course illegal, and will scare foreigners to visit the country. A few days ago, the new Comandante de la Marina de Guerra physically threatened a scandinavian lady for 50.00US$. Please anyone with connections to authorities, Marina de Guerra, government, Politur, Turismo, whatsoever, in Puerto Plata or Sto Dgo, send inspectors in Luperon to clean things up. We can now see the aftermath in our remote village of this gvt, who placed untrained people in strategic posts, and they only want to invent scams to get extra-easy-money."
The unfortunate thing is the problems of the pleasure boating industry are too easily ignored given how small a market it represents compared to charter tourism. However, it is a sector that can help significantly to sustain and develop remote areas such as Luperon and Samana. Both of these harbors have been fraught with problems in the past, and the bad reputation spreads like wildfire among the thousands of pleasure boaters navigating the Caribbean each year. It is ironic that so many cry out that tourism should go after a more affluent market, while ignoring the abuses that are keeping affluent pleasure boaters sailing right past the Dominican Republic.