The heavily populated barrio called Capotillo, located in the northern reaches of Santo Domingo, has enjoyed a week of peace and quiet after President Fernandez decreed that the Police should patrol the streets day and night when he inaugurated his “Democratic Security Plan”. Kids were playing under the hot sun, and little girls were throwing cans of water at each other as the owner of a beauty salon waited for the electricity to come on in order to start working on several clients who were waiting patiently on the sidewalk. At least during the morning, the 14 colorful Harley-Davidson patrols were not around, but foot patrols were everywhere, led by young officers and non-coms. Although the exact number of officers is not known, their presence along the main streets was very obvious. Residents reported that at night, the number of police officers has increased markedly. There were SWAT teams on patrol, especially on the streets leading to the Ozama River banks.<\/p>\n
As a result of the evident peace and quiet in Capotillo, the barrio of Gualey, equally famous for crime and violence as well as drugs, has requested through its community leaders to be included in the Security Plan. The news was given out by Interior & Police Minister Franklin Almeyda during a meeting at the Hotel Lina. The request was restated by residents of Gualey as they talked to El Caribe reporters during a tour of the barrio. According to the local residents the Capotillo criminals have moved over to the Gualey sector as the police moved in to take charge. Community leader Lidio Brito Fabian told the reporters that Gualey is “a hotbed of evil-doers.” As a result, all the barrios around Capotillo are now clamoring for police protection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The heavily populated barrio called Capotillo, located in the northern reaches of Santo Domingo, has enjoyed a week of peace and quiet after President Fernandez decreed that the Police should patrol the streets day and night when he inaugurated his “Democratic Security Plan”. Kids were playing under the hot sun, and little girls were throwing … <\/p>\n