While to you it may seem a joke, the Dominican people believe Quirino.
No drug empire ever existed in this country without the help, silent consent or outright co-operation of the top politicians and 'law & order' institutions.
The facts and proofs even made it to the courts... alas, no further.
In this country, of course, this does not mean, that the accusations are false...
donP
agreed,
no Intl Narco Ring on this globe exists without the full help of different countries officials, which always includes higher ranks than just a single average customs officer in charge of checking a container/load of Habichuelas or such, and that is fact always on both ends of a Narco Route including the "midlecountries" like the DR is one of the most famous of.
don't get me wrong, I do sure not try to deny that officials or even highest ranked politicians/Drugforcemembers/Customs Generals etc are involved, the opposite, I know that such people always are part of the payroll of the Rings, the Narco Routes could not run without those high ranked helpers.
but the same time it is also easy to use such widely known facts/practises for false accusations, maybe to get rid of some who formerly Refused to be part of the criminal gang, or to simply give a lil helping hand to the ones who formerly been very helpful(help the Hipolito Gang to get rid of the Leonel Party for reelections, it is fact that Paulino started and run his Narco Gang while the country been under the command of Hippolito and Party, while he got caught and Deported under Leonel).
I am a believer that in this world, all countries together, there is NOT a Single High Rank Politician who would not have some small thingy which he would like to keep off the papers(here i do mean minor stuff, NOT talking about assisting a Narco Ring). so it is easy to falsely accuse a EX-President, THE President who caught and deported Paulino, of beeing his former Buddy in crime, even without any proof to show. it would be tough for Leonel to fight such false accusations back. sure he could get a demand/order against Paulino for false accusations, but such would mean a real investigation, run by a Not-Leonel-depending party, heck, of course they would digg out the usual trash found under every politicians carpet and present it in the News in the right way to let Leonel look like the worst criminal ever, even if they would Not find anyhing about a connection to Paulino other than that he caught and deported the Narco Puzzy.
for such reasons, i don't think that Leonel will go too hard against the Paulino-way, he can not do much more than to leave it as it is. the ones who will due that, think that he would be guilty and not vote for him, those ones anyways been not with him and never intended to vote for him. minor damage, or even if mayor damage, it is the least demolishing way. a open fight with a ongoing real investigation, such kind of course with the News guys/gals and their cameras all over the stuff, would IMHO be destroying for a Top Rank Politician(and not just for a former president of DR).
due such circumstances a guy like Paulino can stay every once in a while in the News like the actual Telephone Interview, keep some publicity with it and keep looking like a powerful Man in his little world.
to me personall they are all guilty, Politicians, Lawyers and Priests, the 3 groups of persons who tell 100% lies to the people just to get their money and /or souls.
BUT,
as long as not even the slightest piece of proof of something is shown and found to be real, so long i do not accuse anybody of anything or "sentence" in my mind anybody for anything.
for that i named above the presentations of Paulino a Joke.
going on and on with accusations without prooving anything makes it for me simply a Clownbin.
Mike