The Ministry of Armed Forces under Major General Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez had publicly denied it had any debt with the soldiers. The soldiers were banned from talking to the press about their time in Iraq or the money they had been promised.
President Mejia sent 522 soldiers to Iraq in solidarity with the US. He recalled the troops before their term was up, after the Spanish head of state did so. However, it now emerges that Soto Jimenez did in fact put in a request for government funding to pay the soldiers, but President Mejia did not authorize the disbursements. With the change of government, Admiral Sigrido Pared Perez followed up. He announced yesterday that the government authorized the payment of RD$24.4 million (US$873,000) to the soldiers who served in the Quisqueya Task Force I and II, as reported in Clave Digital. The first mission was from 7 August 2003 to 2 February 2004, and the second left on 20 January and returned on 15 May 2004, a day before the national election. Payments will range from a maximum of RD$160,000 to colonels to RD$35,000 for the lower ranks.