A former Army captain assigned to the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), lawyer Raisa de la Cruz Olivares, denied yesterday, Tuesday 22 October that she had been arrested in Puerto Rico for alleged links to drug dealer Ramon Antonio del Rosario Puente (Tono Lena).
She said that she was surprised to read an online publication that said that the United States Federal authorities had arrested her. The document, quoted by acento.com.do, says that according to Tono Lena, De la Cruz offered to protect drug shipments airdropped from aircraft in Dominican Republic’s eastern region, the area under her command, on at least six occasions.
In an interview with Noticias SIN, she denied the allegations and mentioned that she is at home, only a week away from giving birth.
In 2007, De la Cruz Olivares was voted “Woman of the Year” by Diario Libre newspaper for her fight against drugs and when interviewed by telephone on “Sol de Manana” she said that she was awarded the prize for her loyalty to the service.
De la Cruz Olivares, who now lives in Puerto Rico, said that she visits her family in the Dominican Republic every three months but she will not be making a special visit to them to discuss these accusations as they know her and do not need explanations.
Despite her statements, in Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Dia (endi.com) newspaper reports that the details of her arrest appear in a document in which Federal officers report on the deal Ramon Antonio del Rosario Puente (Tono Lena) made with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the US judiciary for a reduction of at least half of his time in jail.
As reported in endi.com, De la Cruz also made a deal with the US federal authorities and has leaked important information, including a claim that she was the lover of a high-ranking DNCD officer who knew about her illicit activities.
El Dia reports that a former DNCD director of operations, Francisco Hiraldo Guerrero had called De la Cruz to organize a safe landing of the drugs that were being dropped by air. The newspaper mentions six occasions on which De la Cruz carried out operations to protect the drug drops. Each operation is reported to have involved 400 kilos of cocaine. Hiraldo Guerrero was later extradited to the United States on drug charges.
www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2013/10/22/296727/Excapitana-DNCD-niega-que-haya-estado-detenida-en-PR-por-presunta
www.acento.com.do/index.php/news/129960/56/Revuelo-por-arresto-de-narco-policia-dominicana-en-Puerto-Rico.html
www.elnuevodia.com/revueloporarrestodenarcopoliciadominicanaenpuertorico-1625789.html
Fiscalía NY acusa a excapitana de proteger cargamentos de drogas