Dominicans are shocked to learn that the rising star who was given national hero status is now being accused of trafficking in heroin. Martha Heredia, the 22-year old “Baby,” winner of the 2009 Latin American Idol reality show, faces preventive custody of a year and a maximum sentence of 10-20 years in jail. The case against her will be heard in the Santiago courts. She was arrested on Wednesday 20 February while attempting to leave the country via Cibao International Airport with 1,283 grams of heroin concealed in her shoes.
Her father, Felipe Heredia defended her, saying she was innocent and had been set up. “We will not leave her to her own fate and will continue to back her,” he said.
Martha Heredia would have represented the Dominican Republic in the III Song Festival in Panama from 8-12 May. Producer Roy Tabare was just finishing her new album when he heard about the arrest, as reported in El Dia.
www.eldia.com.do/espectaculos/2013/2/21/107659/Martha-apresada-a-la-hora-Tabare-terminaba-su-disco
www.hoy.com.do/alegria/2013/2/21/468208/La-estrepitosa-caida-de-MarthaHeredia
Watch videos of her performance in the 2009 Latin American Idol reality show and the 2010 Casandra awards:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjA02lQZzE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPRmQbFAxsU
Since then, her life has been marked by the road accident in which a Haitian man was killed and the recent scandal after she accused her husband, fellow singer Manuel Varet Martes (Vakero) of domestic violence. Vakero is being held in preventive custody in San Pedro de Macoris.