The authorities of Panama and Nicaragua, respectively, detected illegal traffic of Dominicans to the United States, going through their countries and then crossing the Mexican-Texas border into United States. The newspaper Hoy said that the travelers used both a Dominican and a US passport. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday of last week, 40 Dominicans were returned to Santo Domingo by Panamanian and Nicaraguan authorities. The Dominicans alleged that they were vacationers. The authorities believe that the illegal travelers had contacts in Mexico in order to make their way to the US with false documents. The Dominicans that were returned to the DR said they had paid RD$50-80,000 for the false documents. Others declared that families in the US sent fake papers to them.
