Police Chief Major General Manuel de Jesus Perez Sanchez designated his assistant, General Rafael Calderon Efres, the assistant prosecutor assigned to the National Police, Guillermo Jimenez, and the Interior & Police Vice-Minister Juan Adames to head a high-level commission to investigate the charges made by Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito and Archbishop Nicolas de Jesus Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez regarding possible criminal elements operating within the police force in Santiago de los Caballeros. As reported in Hoy, both Dominguez Brito and the archbishop told reporters they were convinced that drug dealers had ties to the police, the military and certain politicians. The commission will present a report to the NP chief within a few days.
Last Monday, Attorney General Dominguez Brito confirmed the fact that killers with ties to politicians, police and the military were at large in Santiago and who are responsible for 50 murders over the past two years. Dominguez said that these groups must be “eradicated” in order to avoid greater damage to Dominican society. A day later, the attorney general’s statement was collaborated by Armed Forces Minister Sigfrido Pared Perez, who said there “had to be ties to military and police, as well to politicians” in these cases.