Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito said that violence is on the rise in general in the province of Santiago. As reported in El Caribe’s headline story this morning, he said that “in the past days” at least 15 people had been assassinated. He said the authorities are attributing these deaths to the “settling of narco-trafficking accounts.” In addition, he said at least 10 taxi drivers have been murdered and 20 women have been reported raped. The newspaper states that none of these crimes have been solved.
Police Chief General Tomas Holguin de la Paz said that the police are stepping up their patrols in the center of the DR’s second city. “What is important for the authorities is to put a stop to this situation,” he told El Caribe.
Court of Appeals prosecutor Vielka Calderon said that the recent violence could be traced to the massive amount of pardons granted to prison inmates during the previous government. According to the report, 2,932 individuals were released from prisons across the country, many of whom were accused of drug trafficking.