The United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Raul Yzaguirre is mentioned in the case involving the promotion of the controversial contract for placing X-ray equipment in Dominican ports. Together with Democratic Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey, who is also the chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a Miami-based Dominican ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, Yzaguirre is reported to have pushed for the deal to go through. The Washington Post reports that Yzaguirre received major support from Menendez during his stalled nomination hearings. Menendez received many thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, free flights to the Dominican Republic and the use of the Melgen villa in La Romana.
The Washington Post and Hoy report that while the Customs X-ray machine deal “languished for more than a decade amid stiff resistance from the American Chamber of Commerce and the country’s customs authorities. The ambassador’s team pushed the government to enforce the contract – despite objection over its merits and its price tag.” The US newspaper said: “When Yzaguirre’s nomination in 2009 to become ambassador to the Dominican Republic was held up by Republicans in Congress over other disputes with the State Department, Melgen and Menendez came to his aid.” At the time, Menendez chaired the subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that handled Caribbean affairs. When the nomination stalled, Melgen spoke with the senator and once again registered his support for Yzaguirre’s confirmation, according to Melgen’s lawyer.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/menendez-pressed-us-officials-to-help-his-close-friend-and-donor/2013/02/01/7a509dc0-6cb3-11e2-bd36-c0fe61a205f6_story.html
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dominican-republic-port-contract-scrutinized-along-with-senator-eye-doctors-relationship/2013/02/16/89b0aae6-76ed-11e2-aa12-e6cf1d31106b_story_1.html