2008 – Page 68

Close to 2,500 government officials who took up their posts on 16 August have still not filed their declarations of personal wealth as required by Law 82-79. Meanwhile, Diario Libre reports that others have declared large fortunes in real estate, buildings, businesses, bank accounts and luxury cars. All government officials who began, ended or were …

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The National Police have announced that Frigate Captain (Lieutenant Colonel) Ricardo Rafael Guzman Perez was the operational chief behind the killing of seven Colombians in Paya, Bani, on 4 August. Guzman Perez, who was recently captured by the police when he came to the assistance of his wife when she was found to be carrying …

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The massacre that took place on 4 August in Paya, Bani, where seven Colombians were murdered, has uncovered an organized gang of drug traffickers led by high-ranking naval officers, operating at the very heart of the institution. It also emerged that this ‘mafia’ controlled illegal boat trips to Puerto Rico. Yesterday, according to Diario Libre, …

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Minister of the Environment Jaime David Fernandez has announced that the small cultivated plots known as “conucos” in Los Haitises National Park will be plowed over, and as of tomorrow all sand and gravel extraction companies will have to get out of the riverbeds where they are currently operating. Fernandez has warned the sand and …

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Radhames Segura, the executive vice-president of the Dominican Corporation of State-owned Electricity Enterprises, better known as CDEEE, is reassuring the country that there will be fewer blackouts later this month. He said that this would be due to lower temperatures, increased hydroelectric generation and greater use of the low-consumption light bulbs. Segura said that lower …

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The executive vice-president of the Dominican Association of Free Zones, Jose Manuel Torres, says that the textile factories, or most of them, are working normally. But Hoy newspaper reporter Aleida Plasencia reports that the free zones are almost entirely dependent on production orders that come from the United States. Because of this, if things are …

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The price of gasoline has seen a double-digit decline for the second week in a row. Diesel fuel also went down considerably. Over the last two weeks premium gasoline has gone down RD$22.60, regular by RD$22.30 and diesel by RD$15.20, much to the relief of consumers. However, compared to 2007 prices, when West Texas Intermediate …

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The Dominican Academy of Science has announced its opposition to the construction of a highway linking the Cibao Valley with the south west of the country. The Academy said that the highway that would cross the Central Mountains would affect the Jose del Carmen Ramirez and Armando Bermudez National Parks, an area known as the …

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International economic problems are threatening world tourism and local tourism activities. Tour operators, according to Listin Diario, estimate that fewer tourists are arriving from Europe and the United States, the principal tourist suppliers to the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, they indicate that up until now, there have been no massive cancellations of high season reservations. Elizabeth …

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Two Dominicans were stopped for a traffic violation in Puerto Rico and traffic cops found about US$700,000 packed in duffle bags on the back seat. The Hidalgo brothers, who have rap sheets for drugs and money laundering, according to the police in Puerto Rico, were stopped for a traffic violation, and when Miguel and Eric …

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