The commission appointed by President Leonel Fernandez to look into the causes of the riots and fire that resulted in more than 130 deaths in the Higuey Regional Prison, established that a dispute for the control of drug distribution within the prison was the root cause of the tragedy.
In a press note sent from Madrid, President Fernandez said that last January he met with Higuey bishop Nicanor Pena to discuss the crowding of the local penal facilities. The President said that he had agreed with Bishop Pena to construct a model prison for the region.
The commission has still not found out how the weapons, including firearms and knives got into the prison yard. Nor has the commission found out how the drugs entered the jail.
Vice President Rafael Alburquerque told reporters that the commission was absolutely sure that the origin of the fight was for control of drug sales within the prison.
The high level commission includes the provincial governor, the Attorney General, the Minister of the Interior and the Police, the chief of Police, and the head of the National Department of Investigations.
According to Alburquerque, the commission is currently working on establishing just who was responsible for the incident and what was the role of the police detachment stationed at the jail.
Only 83 bodies have been handed over to relatives and many of these have been buried in a common grave. As of yesterday, there were still 51 bodies that had not been identified. At least thirty bodies, some unidentified and other at the request of relatives, were buried yesterday in four common graves on land donated by the local municipal government. Officials provided transportation and coffins for the deceased.
El Caribe newspaper today presents a long list of tragic stories involving the deceased prisoners, apparently some of whom were supposes to be released shortly.
The newspaper Hoy reports that 60% of the inmates were awaiting trial or the final disposition of their cases. Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito told reporters that the percentage of inmates in jail without a sentence was about average for most Dominican jails and that his office has been able to reduce the average.