1998 – Page 145

46.7% (6,582) of the 14,076 criminals deported by the US to 15 Caribbean countries from 1993 to 1997 are Dominicans, according to the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Jamaica is the second largest recipient nation of deported nations, with 34.3% (4,836), followed by Haiti with 7.3% (1,036). Most of those deported had drug trafficking sentences. The …

Read more…

The Chamber of Deputies approved a bill whereby the tax on personal computers would be reduced to 1.5%, down from 10%. The bill also establishes the elimination of the payment of value-added tax on computers. The bill establishes spare parts, accessories and software programs would be either fully tax exempt or partially tax exempt. The …

Read more…

Today, 16 April 1998, the Dominican Republic will sign its first free trade agreement, a major concrete step in the direction of regional integration. The agreement will be signed by President Leonel Fernández and the chiefs of state of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua. Guatemala will be represented by its Minister of Economy. …

Read more…

The Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada, the largest business organization, says it is in favor of the treaty but insists that Congress must rule lowering import tariffs to levels similar to those existing in Central America. While the maximum tariffs in Central America are between 15-19%, in the Dominican Republic imports are still affected …

Read more…

President Leonel Fernández will travel to Santiago de Chile on 17 April. The official commission is as follows: Eduardo Latorre, Minister of Relations Foreign; Luis Manuel Bonetti; Minister of Industry and Commerce; Ligia Amada Melo de Cardona; Minister of Education; Daniel Toribio Marmolejos; Minister of Finance; Attorney General Abel Rodríguez del Orbe; Mayor General Luis …

Read more…

A Listín Diario-Wall Street Journal Americas survey carried out in February revealed that most Dominicans do not feel represented "at all" by the municipal and congressional candidates chosen by the political parties for the 16 May elections. 32.1% said they would abstain from voting. The survey showed that among those who said they would vote …

Read more…

El Siglo reported that the Comisión de Reforma de la Empresa Pública, the committee entrusted with the privatizing of state enterprises, is giving priority to the capitalization of Molinos Dominicanos, Molinos del Norte flour mills, the tobacco companies Compañía Anónima Tabacalera and Tabacalera de Santiago, and the state airline Compañía Dominicana de Aviación.

President Leonel Fernández instructed the intelligence services of the nation to prepare a dossier containing all investigations carried out on the disappearance of Narcizo González, a university professor who opposed the Balaguer regime. Minister of the Armed Forces, Ruben Paulino Alvarez, Police Chief Jose Anibal Sanz Jiminián and the chief of the local Investigations Bureau …

Read more…

The case of Dominican journalist Vianco Martínez who was beaten up at the Havana international airport by Cuban security officers was presented by the United Nations to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Listín Diario reported. Martínez is the communications officer for the UN Population Fund in the Dominican Republic. Martínez was told on …

Read more…

Minister of Foreign Relations Eduardo Latorre said that while Cuban President Fidel Castro has accepted an official invitation to visit the DR, made by high level Dominican government executives in Cuba for the formal opening of the Dominican consulate in Havana, the date has not been set. Latorre said that Castro said that in the …

Read more…