Roberto Santana, director of the National Office of Support for Penitentiary Reform, again blasts the the Penitentiary Affairs Cabinet within the Attorney General’s Office. As reported in Noticias SIN, he says there are mafias within the Attorney General Office that protect dark interests and destabilize the efforts to reform the jail system.
Santana says this is the cabinet that has failed to address systemic issues within the Dominican Republic’s prison system, particularly in the aftermath of a deadly fire at La Victoria prison and the denouncing of the widespread Starlink satellites within the jail for service to the prisoners.
Santana says that the cabinet that was established in 2021 to coordinate actions related to the country’s penitentiary system is ineffective and complicit in ongoing corruption. Santana claims that the cabinet has failed to produce a comprehensive report on the deadly La Victoria fire, and has also neglected to investigate the installation of Starlink satellites within the jail for service to the prisoners.
“There are entrenched mafias within the Attorney General’s Office that are protecting dark interests and undermining efforts to reform the penitentiary system,” Santana asserted. He argued that removing penitentiary affairs from the Attorney General’s Office would help dismantle these criminal networks.
Santana makes his remarks at a time when the National Council of the Magistracy will soon choose the new Attorney General to replace Miriam German Brito who has been in the position since 2020.
Santana questioned the cabinet’s ability to address the systemic issues plaguing the prison system, citing the ongoing problems at La Victoria as a prime example.
Headed by Jonathan Baró Gutiérrez, the cabinet includes representatives from various departments within the Attorney General’s Office. Its primary responsibilities include developing operational plans for the penitentiary system, overseeing the construction of new prisons, and managing the daily operations of existing facilities.
The Penitentiary Affairs Cabinet was established by the Superior Council of the Public Ministry on 16 June 2021, as an operational coordination body. It is led by Jonathan Baró Gutiérrez, an appeals court prosecutor and former head of the San Cristóbal Regional Prosecutor’s Office, who serves as its coordinator.
The cabinet also includes key representatives from various sectors of the Public Ministry, including:
• National Penitentiary and Correctional Services Agency
• Institute of Penitentiary and Correctional Studies (formerly the National Penitentiary School)
• Legal Department of the Public Ministry
• Public Ministry’s General Career Services Department
• Public Ministry’s Human Resources Department
• Public Ministry’s General Administrative and Financial Department
• Engineering Department of the Public Ministry
• National Comprehensive Care Centers for Adolescents in Conflict with the Law Agency
Santana contends that the cabinet is more concerned with maintaining the status quo than with implementing meaningful reforms. He has accused the cabinet of being infiltrated by individuals with ties to the corruption that has plagued the Dominican Republic’s prison system for years.
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Noticias SIN
9 January 2025