Former presidential candidate Jose Francisco Peña Gomez is in the U. S. undergoing tests to determine the cause of a reported pain in his abdomen, two years after having a malignant tumor and his spleen removed. Dr. Peña Gomez’s spokesman, Marino Mendoza, told the newspaper Listin Diario that the leader of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) was undergoing tests at the Central Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, after receiving a check-up at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. As was the case two years ago when Dr. Peña Gomez was first diagnosed with cancer in his pancreas, there has been considerable secrecy about his condition in the news media. The three-time presidential candidate had the tumor removed from his abdomen on 5 October, 1994. He impressed most observers by conducting an energetic and aggressive campaign in 1995 and 1996, just after running for president in 1994.
Throat cancer claimed the life of another prominent Dominican politician, Jacobo Majluta, earlier this year.