The turbulent strike in Licey del Medio was called off last night by its organizers after the intervention and mediation of Archbishop Juan Antonio Flores Santana. The National Police (PN) commander in the region agreed to release most of the people detained by police during the strike and to pull out the police cordon from the town. Furthermore, Santiago Governor Ram?n Ventura Cemejo agreed to meet with community leaders on Friday to discuss further steps. In San Crist?bal, a two-day strike in the northern zone ended after the Public Works Ministry agreed to repair the SC-Villa Altagracia road within 30 days, a major demand of strikers.In Puerto Plata the transport strike ended after the 24 hours called for by the National Central of United Transporters (CNTU), but not before demonstrations and tire burning in the street and confrontations with police that ended in shooting and tear gas. Tourists along the Puerto Plata-R?o San Juan highway had to utilize "motorconchos" and other alternatives to get around. The PP strike was called by drivers to protest the bad conditions along the highway.Meanwhile, in Nagua a strike called by populist organizations reportedly had a 95% observation rate yesterday, meaning most stores and schools were closed and transport not operating. The strike will continue, say its organizers, until populist leaders imprisoned on Monday are released. In Santiago, the Popular Organizations Collective and the CNTU have announced a 48-hour transport strike for that city and the surrounding Cibao region starting this morning. The two organizations say that they are calling the strike because the Fern?ndez Government has not made good on past promises made to them on a variety of issues.
