A cover story in El Día on 22 August 2019 reveals that the United States had requested cooperation on 16 July 2019 from the Dominican Attorney General for an investigation into the criminal activities of drug capo César Emilio Peralta (a.k.a. César El Abusador). The request came after rumors circulated that Peralta was in some way involved in the shooting of Boston Red Sox retired player, David Ortiz in an eastern Santo Domingo nightclub. The Attorney General and the Police left Peralta out of the investigations and conclusions of the David Ortiz shooting on 9 June 2019 in a bar in eastern Santo Domingo.
El Día reports that the investigation that the Attorney General Office would carry out following up on the US request for collaboration has now unveiled a major structure for laundering of assets primarily at nightclubs where important urban artists from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico would frequently perform.
The US government has requested the extradition of Cesar Emilio Peralta and others involved in the crime ring.
An editorial in Diario Libre observes that the prosecution against major crime in the Dominican Republic has been originated in an interest expressed by the United States government. The newspaper editorial acknowledges the transglobal nature of drug trafficking and corruption today. Nevertheless, it observes that Cesar El Abusador’s criminal activities in the country were vox populi. Diario Libre says that the César El Abusador news has revived the interest of the US press in the case of David Ortiz and the “strange explanation” that his shooting was but a case of mistaken identity.
Read more in Spanish:
El Dia
Diario Libre
22 August 2019