Over the past five years, more than 7,800 criminal cases were closed due to the extinction of criminal action. Listin Diario has published a compilation of the thousands of criminal cases where the accused were acquitted after defense counsel was able to extend these cases beyond the term authorized by the Penal Code. The measure of submitting recourses that delay the cases, such as calls for changes in the judge or medical excuses, has proven to be effective for those seeking to evade justice.
The extinction of criminal action refers to the termination of a judicial process when it has not been addressed within the maximum four-year period set by the Dominican Criminal Procedure Code. Notable cases such as Super Tucano, Bahía de Las Águilas, and Los Tres Brazos come to mind when discussing the extinction of criminal action, reports the Listin Diario.
In the past five years, a total of 157,562 cases have been brought to trial in the Dominican Republic. Of these, 7,825 were closed due to the extinction of criminal action in first- and second-level courts, according to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ).
This legal provision arises when the judicial process is not completed within the prescribed four-year period.
According to data provided to Listin Diario by the Supreme Court of Justice, 2,756 cases were extinguished in 2024 alone. The main reasons for these decisions included 1,335 cases without recorded details of their motives, 1,262 cases due to the expiration of the process’s deadline, 136 cases due to prescription, 14 cases by withdrawal, eight cases due to the defendant’s death, and one case based on the application of the opportunity criterion.
Between 2020 and 2024, the distribution of closed cases across the 34 judicial districts that cover the 31 provinces and the National District of the country was as follows:
La Vega led the list with a total of 1,043 cases closed over the past five years, followed by San Cristóbal with 1,012, San José de Ocoa with 709, the National District with 595, and Montecristi with 408.
Other districts with notable numbers included Santiago (370), Monseñor Nouel (351), Sánchez Ramírez (349), Espaillat (324), and Valverde (311). Peravia and Azua each had 306, while La Altagracia recorded 254 and La Romana 228. Other districts such as Villa Altagracia, San Juan de La Maguana, and Puerto Plata also saw significant numbers, ranging from 129 to 170 cases.
On the other hand, the districts with the fewest extinguished cases included Dajabón (one), Independencia (one), María Trinidad Sánchez (eight), Monte Plata (nine), and Santiago Rodríguez (13). Other districts with minimal numbers of extinguished cases included Hato Mayor, Constanza, El Seibo, Hermanas Mirabal, and Samaná.
In a comparative scale of requests for the extinction of criminal action in each judicial district, the National District went from 124 cases in 2020 to 137 in 2021, then 183 in 2022. In 2024, it saw a significant increase of over 150% (128 cases) compared to 2023, when there were only 23.
San Cristóbal witnessed a significant rise, from just nine requests in 2020 to 368 in 2024, marking a dramatic increase of over 3,000% over the five-year period.
La Vega saw an increase from zero requests in 2020 to 374 in 2024, with the most significant spike occurring in 2022, where cases surged by over 900% to 264.
Espaillat, which had zero requests in 2020 and 2021, climbed to 225 in 2024, reflecting a rise of more than 1,300% compared to 2023, when there were just 83.
San Juan de la Maguana also saw a sharp increase, going from one request in 2020 to 64 in 2024. The year 2021 saw a 2,600% increase (60 cases), and 2022 followed with a more than 400% jump (43 cases).
Valverde, meanwhile, went from two requests in 2020 to 190 in 2024, peaking at 17 requests in 2023, representing a more than 160% rise compared to 2022, which had 70 requests.
Notable cases
The cases of Super Tucano, Bahía de Las Águilas, and Los Tres Brazos have become emblematic when discussing the extinction of criminal action. In each of these cases, at least one phase of the judicial process was concluded with the application of this legal provision that enables the closure.
Yet, in December 2024, a unanimous decision by the three judges of the Third Penal Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District overturned the extinction of the criminal action in the case involving bribes for the purchase of eight Super Tucano aircraft in 2007. This case had become one of the most famous and significant examples of criminal action extinction in the Dominican Republic.
The Super Tucano case involved a corruption scandal regarding the purchase of eight Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano combat aircraft by the Dominican Republic, worth approximately $94 million, financed through a loan from the Brazilian bank BNDES.
The main defendant was Pedro Rafael Peña Antonio, the former Minister of Defense during the presidency of Leonel Fernández. Other accused individuals included Carlos Ramón Piccini Núñez, former director of the Dominican Air Force’s Special Projects Department, and Daniel Aquino Hernández, a businessman linked to the process.
Embraer, the Brazilian company involved, admitted to paying US$3.5 million in bribes to Dominican officials. As a result, in 2018, Embraer was sentenced to pay the Dominican state a compensation of US$7.04 million.
In September 2023, the Fourth Collegiate Court of the National District declared the extinction of criminal action against the defendants due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, as the investigation had exceeded the eight-year limit. This process involved collaboration between judicial authorities from the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Brazil.
However, in December 2024, the Court overturned the decision, ordering a retrial and emphasizing that the statute of limitations is not simply a mathematical calculation but must account for various legal and procedural factors.
Bahía de las Águilas case
This case focused on the alleged fraudulent sale of land in a protected area in the southwest of the country. After years of litigation, in 2018, the Constitutional Court declared the extinction of criminal action.
The judges Felipe Molina Abreu, Tania Yunes Sánchez, and José Gregorio Bautista from the First Collegiate Court of the National District’s Criminal Chamber ordered the cessation of any coercive measures against the accused, Jaime Rodríguez Guzmán, former director of the Agrarian Institute of the Dominican Republic (IAD); his brother Rafael Antonio Rodríguez Guzmán; and his wife Reina Margarita Martínez, as well as any action restricting the effective exercise of their fundamental rights.
Los Tres Brazos case
In April 2024, the Fourth Collegiate Court of the National District declared the extinction of criminal action for the third time in the case involving the sale of land in the Los Tres Brazos sector in Santo Domingo Este. This decision followed a request from the defense of one of the defendants, Lisetel González.
The decision also favored other individuals, including Leoncio Almánzar Objío, former director of the Dominican Corporation of State Enterprises (Corde), as well as several others involved in the case.
The accused were arrested in July 2018. In June 2022, they were granted a “no case to answer” ruling, and in December 2023, the First Penal Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District partially accepted an appeal filed by the Public Ministry, ordering a new trial for some of the defendants. However, the criminal action was extinguished for others.
Despite the dismissal of past cases, recently judges have voted against filing recent high-profile corruption cases, as reported in El Dia.
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Listin Diario
Listin Diario
El Dia
31 March 2025