2008 – Page 53

The fact that the PLD’s Political Committee had instructed its deputies to ratify the loan agreement for US$93.6 million to buy eight Super Tucano airplanes from Brazil, a loan negotiated with the National Bank of Social and Economic Development and the Embraer Company of Brazil, and which had been approved by the Senate, did not …

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Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez has announced that next Tuesday the contract for a loan for US$80 million would be placed on the agenda. The loan would be used to pay part of the CDEEE’s debts. Pared Perez provided this information after a visit from CDEEE executive vice-president Radhames Segura to talk about the loan …

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Economist and historian Bernardo Vega says that the Dominican Republic could be subject to political pressure from the United States, once Barack Obama takes office, on the issue of the presence of Haitians in the DR. In this sense Vega pointed out that Obama has advisors who feel that the Dominican Republic has to do …

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Several Dominican politicians and sociologist Rosario Espinal share the view that the Obama victory in the United States elections represents a message of hope to the world. PRD secretary general Orlando Jorge Mera said that the election reflected the change that the US wanted in the face of the economic crisis. He hoped that Obama …

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Dominican doctor Alex Blanco was elected mayor of Passaic, New Jersey on US Election Day, and is the first Dominican to be elected mayor in US history. Cid Wilson, former president of the Dominican-American Round Table, called the election “a historic achievement.” Dr. Blanco, a podiatrist, won in a five-man race for the unexpired term …

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In another election, 36-year old Nelson Castro became the first Dominican elected to the New York State Assembly for the Bronx as of the 4 November. This is the first time a Dominican is elected to any major office (city or state) in the history of The Bronx. The Bronx has one of the largest …

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The Dominican Constitution celebrates the 164th anniversary of its birth in the middle of a controversial and broad process aimed at a reformation in which one part is arguing for a Constituent Assembly and the other argues for a National Review Assembly. The proposed reforms to the Constitution, submitted by the Executive Branch, for the …

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The president of the Vallejuelo Farmers Board, Simeona Morillo Vicente and Sister Maria Marciano, director of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters, have stated that each onion farmer was made to pay Ministry of Agriculture officials between RD$10,000 and RD$50,000 just for weighing their onion crops. Both women stated clearly that it is not enough …

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Judge Kimba Woods has sentenced Luis Eduardo Rodriguez Cordero to 14 years in jail on charges of laundering drug-dealing related assets and conspiracy in the case of former Dominican army colonel Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, accused of heading an international drug trafficking ring. The case is 04CR1353. As reported in El Nacional, Rodriguez, who pleaded …

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A merchant killed two of five alleged robbers, one of whom, according to the police, was wanted by the National Drug Control Department (DNCD). The other dead man was named as a former PRD deputy from Villa Altagracia. Two of the men who took part in the alleged robbery attempt were detained by the police …

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