Venezuelan Ambassador Francisco Belisario Landis has asked that Dominican authorities investigate the allocation of contacts for the construction of sports facilities that were used in the 2003 Pan-American Games, as reported in the Listin Diario. He stated that he is preparing a report for president Hugo Chavez and the Banco de Desarrollo de Exterior (Bandex), which provided the loan for the construction of those facilities. He claimed that his country is interested in knowing whether the funds provided were used correctly. The Ambassador said he was closely following the Salazar-Castillo trial, where Venezuelan businessmen testified regarding the construction of the sports facilities. Ambassador Belisario Landis is referring to Carlos Carrion and Pablo Trujillo, of the Conacero consortium, which won the bid for the construction of 20 multi-purpose sports facilities and which was later forced to share 50% of the contract with Elite, a company that had not gone through the bidding process, after alleged pressure from the Ministry of Sports. Conacero had to accept the deal because they were warned that if legal action was taken, Venezuela would not disburse the estimated US$61 million. Salazar’s involvement in the negotiations for the awarding of the final contracts was used as part of the defense case in the libel suit against Marino Vinicio Castillo (Vincho).