According to the Listin Diario, the firearms arsenal found in one of the basements of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) is suspect to belong to the FELABEL (Grupo Estudiantil de Liberacion Amin Abel). The university council suspended all operations of the student group that dates back to the 70s.
The National Police have arrested at least three persons in connection to the weapons – an automatic rifle, handguns and hand grenades.
Police sources say they had been watching the group closely for a year. Their surveillance showed persons removing military uniforms, equipment and at least 7 handguns and placing them in a vehicle with a official license plate belonging to one of the top authorities of the university whose name was not released. This lead the Police to call for a search.
Over the past two years, members of the group have been arrested for illegal weapons and the use of military gear during student demonstrations on campus.
Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez found out about the discovery as he was leading a pilgrimage from the UASD to downtown Santo Domingo. He said that the university was for studying and not for armed demonstrations. He added that the biggest problem of the UASD was the overcrowding of the student body that is said to surpass 160,000.