President Luis Abinader appointed Margarito de León Castillo as the new consul in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, after dismissing José Altagracia Valenzuela Arias, suspect of selling visas to Haitians. Decree 784-21 names De León. The decree is dated Friday, 3 December 2021 but was made known on Monday, 6 December.
Margarito de Leon had been deputy director of the National Department of Investigations (DNI) since 19 August 2020.
Last week, Haitian citizen Erwing Pierre Louis was arrested by the military with 92 passports and US$11,000 in his possession in the province of Santiago Rodríguez. As reported, he was an employee of the consulate. Media reports say Pierre Louis is a messenger of a cash delivery service.
After the arrest of Pierre Louis, Valenzuela Arias distanced himself from his employee saying that no person should pay for the actions of another.
The firing of Valenzuela Arias occurs shortly after major complaints of Haitians who said the Dominican consulate did not have visas and that those requesting these had to wait for February or March.
Read more in Spanish:
Presidency
La Nacion Dominicana
7 December 2021