1996 vice presidential candidate Maribel Gasso has been named adviser to the President in the area of foreign trade. Miss. Gasso accompanied the then Vice President Jacinto Peynado on the ticket of the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC). Her appointment has come as a surprise to many observers, as the candidacy of Mr. Peynado did not openly support the campaign of Leonel Fernandez as did the rest of the PRSC in the decisive second round. Among other appointments made by President Fernandez via No. 527-96, Vicente Moronta was named assistant director of the Civil Aviation Department, replacing Luis A. Flores Mota.