2005 – Page 255

President Leonel Fernandez last week named former president (1980-1996) of the collapsed Banco de Comercio as the Dominican Republic’s ambassador in Japan. This is Urena’s first diplomatic appointment. The Banco del Comercio was salvaged by the government in 1996 and sold under privileged terms to Baninter. This bank subsequently also collapsed in 2003 this time …

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Participacion Ciudadana, the leading Dominican civic society group that has been vocal in combating corruption at a local level, announced their partnership with Transparency International (TI). Transparency International is a non- governmental organization based in Berlin, Germany. TI is regarded as the leading global non-governmental organization devoted to combating corruption. Its mission is to create …

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Richard Arostegui, of the Haina Companies and Industries Association (AEIH) stated over the weekend that the cost of installing a company in the DR is 30% higher compared to Central America. He said that if this situation is not resolved before the FTA with the US goes into effect, the treaty would be merely one …

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Beat Siegenthaler of Commerzbank writes that there is positive news in the Standard & Poor’s last week downgrading of the DR’s foreign currency, following the government acknowledging arrears on commercial bank debt. Siegenthaler writes that after the restructuring, the DR would be rated B, and that domestic confidence was likely to be boosted by sustained …

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Poultry producers lowered the price of chicken to RD$14 per pound, a price cut of RD$3.50. Due to a large increase in fertile eggs imports in November and December, farmers have more chickens compared to the usual demand for February. Dionnis Fernandez, a poultry farm group spokesperson, confirmed that prices could have gone even lower, …

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Different Christian denominations in the Dominican Republic have spent over one billion pesos on church construction over the past ten years. According to the Listin Diario, the Mormons spent RD$300 million on their temple in Santo Domingo. The money came from tithes from their 100,000 members in the Dominican Republic. The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ structure on …

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Remittances are a US$45 billion dollar industry. This large sum is substantial enough to attract the attention of public security and money laundering agencies around the world. In the 2003, the Inter-American Development Bank calculated that US$38 billion went to Latin America and the Caribbean. The figure for 2004 is US$45 billion. In the case …

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The DNCD seized 40 kilos of cocaine at the Las Americas airport over the weekend, arresting 11 people, including military, airport service personnel and foreigners. DNCD spokesperson Buenaventura Bueno Torres, told reporters that the cocaine would have been shipped to Europe and the United States. Of the 11, six are foreigners, from Surinam, France, Holland …

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In a surprise move, accused alleged drug lord Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo was sent back to the cells at the National Drug Control (DNCD) offices just hours after the Supreme Court Penal Chamber postponed the decision on his extradition to the United States until 18 February. Paulino Castillo is under indictment in the United States …

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The Miami Herald has published a report claiming that the authorities searching Quirino Paulino Castillo’s house found confidential US Drug Enforcement Administration documents, and that this is proof of his ties to high-ranking personnel. As reported in the Listin Diario, the Miami Herald report, echoes the opinions expressed last week by Elena Brinneman, USAID director …

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