Powerful interests are said to hamper justice. Diario Libre and El Caribe focus again on the complicity of crime with government that has impeded the solving of crime and corruption scandals. On occasion of the most recent case of the Atiemar Tower, in which President Leonel Fernandez himself participating in the ground opening and the governmental Banco de Reservas was the realtor and financier, the newspapers again make the point of the penetration of drug trafficking with higher up sectors.
Bringing the most recent important drug trafficking and money laundering cases to a conclusion has been a very difficult task for the civil and judicial authorities due to ties with powerful elements that have been made by the accused, they conclude.
In order to promote their “industry”, the networks headed by Quirino Paulino Castillo, the Benitez brothers, the people who carried out the killings at Paya, the Figueroa Agosto clan and lately the people associated with the Spaniard Arturo del Tiempo Marquez, penetrated the military and the National Police, allied themselves in some cases with businessmen, with respectable, upper class families, with professional people, common citizens and it is presumed that they sought the protection of government officials.
Even though no drugs or money were seized, the Paya case (which occurred in August 2008) is the one that best reveals the meddling of these criminal networks in the armed forces. Eleven members of the military were initially accused together with 14 civilians of the murder of 7 Colombians. Their motive was an alleged drug “heist”. At the present time the case is in court, and although it was said that there were some “big fish” in back of everything, the investigations seemed to stagnate when they reached the level of colonel.
Also, in the case of former army captain Quirino Paulino Castillo, in which 1,387 kgs of cocaine were seized at the end of 2004, there was talk of a supposed relationship with high ranking military personnel and even of government officials, but the names never appeared. The media made mention of the information that the Justice Department of the United States had revoked the visas of at least 10 retired generals, for their supposed relation to the case, many of whom were also requested in extradition. But this has not been confirmed by the United States embassy.
“Drug trafficking, it has been shown, has managed to capture part of the structures of the security organizations and of the police”, the former District Attorney for the National District, Guillermo Moreno told Diario Libre. He adds that “all this can only happen with the complicity of politicians, and of sectors that hold a lot of power, beneficiaries of the illicit money for the party primaries and later for the campaigns to win seats in Congress, from where they can give protection to the drug traffickers”.
Diario Libre recalls that Wilton Guerrero, the senator who has been the leading spokesperson in the fight against government complicity behind drugs, recently reiterated that in both the cases of Quirino and Paya there are still some “big fish” who have not been touched. Apparently, his complaints are falling on deaf ears, says the newspaper.
In order to “whiten” US$60 million dollars in properties, the brothers Oscar, Luis Jose and Carlos Benitez had to count on the complicity of powerful persons.
When the case was at its highest point last year, assistant Attorney General German Miranda, said that the Benitez had 8 presumed Dominican partners against whom charges of money laundering would be lodged. But seven months have gone by and these names have never even been revealed. The case fell into a sort of limbo. Once it was said that the brothers were in jail in their country, but Cuba has never officially confirmed this.
Another scandal that threatened to “knock over some saints” was that of the Puerto Rican Jose Figueroa Agosto, accused by the authorities of leading a network of drug trafficking and money laundering. The sum of US$4.6 million in cash was seized from one of his vehicles. The very president of the National Commission of Ethics and Corruption Fighting, Marino Vinicio Castillo, said that the fugitive (from both the Puerto Rican and Dominican authorities) was protected by the governments and that he had ties “so broad that he even frequented places that were visited by the former United States ambassador in the country, Hans Hertell”.
In spite of all of this, until now only civilians have been caught, accused of being front men and women for the Puerto Rican’s operations, but none of the really big people that gave him protection have been brought to court. Figueroa Agosto is a fugitive also of Puerto Rican justice, where he was sentenced to 209 years in jail.
El Caribe reports, “Throughout the country, drug traffickers, money launders, scam artists and fugitives of justice have paraded and easily buy their way and cover up by investing millions in real estate in the city and outside”.
El Caribe mentions the cases of Ricardo Diez Conde (Ruben Ramos) who the authorities would confiscate 66 apartments in Bavaro, and who supposedly left the country. Or that of the Benitez brothers, known for Medicare fraud for US$110 million in the US, that also fled once their case reached the press. Or that of Jesus Baldera, with ties to the Marbella real estate scandal in Spain. Or that of Joaquin Alviz, president of Icasur, the company that was negotiated the contract with the Ministry of Public Works to issue vehicular revision permits (Revista).