TV investigative journalist Nuria Piera announced on Thursday, 29 October 2015, that reliable sources told her that the United States Department of State has cancelled the US visa of Senator Felix Bautista (PLD-San Juan de la Maguana). Bautista is also the secretary of organization of the ruling PLD party. The notification of the cancellation of the visa was relayed to Bautista on Friday, 23 October 2015; the Ministry of Foreign Relations was subsequently notified.
Bautista over the past years has been accused of diverting state funds when he was at the helm of the Office of Supervisory Engineers of State Works (OISOE). His personal fortune has been documented to have increased from RD$500,000 declared in his first government worth statement to around RD$25 billion as disclosed in the file prepared by the Attorney General in the prosecutor’s request to open the case against the senator.
PLD senator Felix Bautista proudly stated on Monday, 26 October 2015 that he has won six rulings from the Supreme Court of Justice releasing him from penal responsibility for corruption, as reported in Diario Libre. The six rulings have prevented the case for corruption when he headed the Office of Supervisory Engineers of the State (OISOE) from being heard in court.
Nuria Piera, who is editorial director for the TV network NCDN, broke the news on her Twitter account: “On last Friday, Senator Felix Bautista was notified his US visa was suspended.”
The US Embassy has as a general practice to not confirm or deny matters related to visas. The US State Department has been known to refuse entry to the US of persons said to have been involved in corruption. Visas can be cancelled on the basis of “credible information that those persons are either engaging in or benefiting from corruption.”
http://nuria.com.do/2015/10/29/eeuu-suspende-visa-a-senador-felix-bautista/