The president of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and Production, Ricardo Fondeur Victoria, warns that the current wave of criminal activity and violence is affecting the city’s economic activities. This, according to Hoy, is one more in the long list of voices speaking out on the serious situation that citizens are facing every day. Fondeur and the Santiago Chamber of Commerce join CONEP, the Las Mercedes parish priest and the Dominican Council of Bishops in voicing concerns about the rise in criminality. In his comments to reporters from Hoy, Fondeur said that, in the Cibao area, many business establishments have had to close early, and others have not bothered to open their normal, evening and nighttime establishments for fear of being targeted by criminals. Fondeur said that the creation of new jobs may well be one way to halt the growing violence. With this idea, he echoed AIRD president Yandra Portela who also said that the high unemployment rate went hand in hand with the rising crime rate. In his comments, Fondeur asked that a strict record be kept of deportees from the United States for different criminal activities.