Rolando Florian Feliz, a convicted drug trafficker who was recently arrested by the National Police, is believed to have planned the murders of the head of the Drug Control Agency (DNCD), Admiral Julio Cesar Ventura Bayonet, journalist Claudia Fernandez and politician Marino Vinicio (Vincho) Castillo. These plans were apparently revealed during the questioning of Mr. Florian Feliz in the offices of the DNCD after he was arrested on 8 June. He denies, however, that he created the plan, which has shocked Dominican society.
Admiral Ventura Bayonet has been the director of the DNCD since 1992 and has been praised for his efforts against the drug trade in the D.R., while Dr. Castillo has conducted a relentless public campaign against drug traffickers in and out of the country, producing alleged evidence of such activities on his daily television program. Mrs. Fernandez, who is a reporter for El Siglo newspaper, has frequently conducted aggressive investigations into the drug trade in the Dominican Republic.
Mr. Florian Feliz is believed to be one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the Caribbean and to have been the main link between the Cali cartel from Colombia and dealers in the D.R. His conviction stems from the confiscation of 953 kilograms of cocaine from the ship “Phoenix”, which was intercepted off the coast of Pedernales. He received a sentence of 20 years in prison, although he was not captured until this month.