Army general complains traffickers find accomplices in justice Commander of the Second Brigade of Infantry of the Army based in Santiago, Brigade General Jose Almonte Sanchez denounced that persons that have been arrested for smuggling illegal Haitians into the DR are protected by persons that apparently have lots of power to avoid those that are infringing the law be subject to the law. The high ranking officer told Hoy newspaper that when the army arrests a person caught smuggling illegal Haitians into the DR and sends that person to justice, nothing happens, and in a few hours the trafficker is released without any penalty. "When one arrests a smuggler of illegal Haitians, there are 50,000 persons that defend him claiming that his vehicle be returned. And when that person is taken to justice, two hours later, he is out," said Almonte. He warned that the trafficking of Haitians, drugs and weapons along the frontier will have long term repercussions in the DR. He lamented that Dominican justice has been weak in applying the law to the smugglers that he said are reaping millionaire earnings. He denounced gangs that in complicity with the children’s parents, transport these with their children to tourist points so that these can beg and they can reap earnings.
