President Hipolito Mejia has appointed Pedro Russo, deputy minister of Public Works, as consul general in Port au Prince, Haiti. El Siglo reports that the post pays about US$50,000 a month. Russo held the post during the government of Salvador Jorge Blanco (PRD 1982-1986), and is known to be a close friend of President Mejia. Recently, the Ministry of Public Relations criticized the previous consul, Hector Rodriguez, for issuing more than the authorized number of visas. El Siglo says the Ministry complained that the visas produced revenues of US$300,000 for the former consul. The newspaper explains that consuls usually pocket 65% of the proceeds of visas.
