The Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) gave a press conference on Friday, 3 May to announce a supposed conspiracy against the life of its presidential candidate, Jos\u00e9 Francisco Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez. The previous day, Dr Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez himself had condemned the existence of an alleged plan to hinder the election, by provoking armed confrontations between members of his party and the Partido de la Liberaci\u00f3n Dominicana, his principal rivals in the forthcoming election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
At the PRD press conference, in the presence of TV producers Nuria Piera and Jos\u00e9 Corpor\u00e1n de los Santos and Juan Sully Bonelly, a judge with the JCE, Rafael Antonio Pimentel Anderson was presented. He was arrested by members of the security force accompanying Dr Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez. He explained that he had been hired to change the route of a PRD procession through San Crist\u00f3bal, so that an attempt on the candidate’s life could be made. The plot was discovered when the head of the Nigua office checked the change of route with the head of the PRD in San Crist\u00f3bal who, not being informed about it himself, checked with the candidate’s security officers. He agreed to make a public confession if his life was guaranteed by the television people. Mr Pimentel went so far as to say that an earlier attempt on the life of Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez had been made the previous week in Villa Altagracia, but it had been the candidate himself who had changed route. He also said that he was a member of the PRSC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
When asked by the press to comment on the affair, the PRSC presidential candidate Jacinto Peynado, said he knew nothing about it, but it was not the first time that the PRD leader made this kind of announcement. Leonel Fern\u00e1ndez, of the PLD, discarded the possibility of government officers being involved in a plot to assassinate Dr Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez and said it was a show staged to attract attention, promoted by the proximity of the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
On Saturday, speaking at the Police headquarters to the press, the prisoner, Rafael Antonio Pimentel Anderson, said he made the public statement about his participation in a plot against Dr Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez under pressure from people of the PRD, but maintained that he was hired by an officer supposedly linked to the government to watch the route of the PRD presidential candidate. The Police said that his real name is Anderson Jos\u00e9 Tailar Quintero and he has 14 files with the Police for falsification and fraud, involving eight pseudonyms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Dr Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez when interviewed on Saturday, also said that he “nether believes nor disbelieves” that there is a plot against his life, but accused the inner circle of the presidency of conspiring prevent the election from being held.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) gave a press conference on Friday, 3 May to announce a supposed conspiracy against the life of its presidential candidate, Jos\u00e9 Francisco Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez. The previous day, Dr Pe\u00f1a G\u00f3mez himself had condemned the existence of an alleged plan to hinder the election, by provoking armed confrontations between members of … <\/p>\n