Politician Francisco Javier García Fernández said in a press release on Thursday, 2 March 2017, that from his perspective as member of the Political Committee of the ruling PLD, the decision of Judge José Alejandro Vargas rejecting the validation of the agreement between the Attorney General Office and Odebrecht is good for the government party (the PLD) because it shows not all is lost with the Dominican judiciary. The decision was announced on 2 March 2017.
The Attorney General Office had agreed to accept Odebrecht’s offer of US$184 million over the eight years as compensation to the Dominican government for the bribery scandal. The amount was double the US$92 million in bribes the Brazilian construction company confessed in a New York City Court to have paid out to receive Dominican government contract work.
57-year old García Fernández is a member of the deciding Political Committee of the PLD and has been campaign manager for Presidents Leonel Fernández and Danilo Medina. He is also an aspirant to the Presidency of the Republic himself.
García said: “The opinion is the best demonstration that the PLD does not control the judiciary and that President Danilo Medina is not interested in controlling the judciary.” He said the Attorney General needs to continue working and that he has the independence and mandate to work on the case.
In the opinion recently handed down, the presiding judge, José Alejandro Vargas, rejected the procedure used to adjudicate the penalty, not the agreemend itself.
García has been administrator of the National Lottery, president of the Dominican Petroleum Refinery, executive director of the Port Authority and Minister of Industry and Commerce during the Leonel Fernandez governments.
He has also been Minister of Tourism during the Leonel Fernandez government (2008-2012) and the Medina governments (2012- present).
He was the election campaign coordinator for Leonel Fernandez (1996, 2004 and 2008) and for Danilo Medina (2012).
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
3 March 2017
