President Joaquin Balaguer, in presidential decree No. 159-96, made several personnel changes in the prison service and the military. Dr. Germinal Guillen was named General Director of Prisons in place of Dr. Alberico Hernández. Mr. Hernández is currently being investigated in connection with charges of embezzling funds allocated for the feeding of inmates and implication in the escape of a convicted drug trafficker from Venezuela.
Among other appointments was that of Colonel Felipe Jiménez Abreu as assistant to the head of the presidential bodyguard, in place of General Hernan Disla Hernández, who was recently named head of the Army.
On 21 May, Angel Lockward, former candidate for the presidential nomination of the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC), was removed as Co-ordinator of the Lome IV treaty in the D.R., and replaced by Aristides Fernández Zucco. The replacement of Mr. Lockward has political implications involving the 30 June presidential run-off election and who the PRSC will support (See politics, page 6.)
31 May – 6 June 1996