{"id":238554,"date":"2025-07-14T08:01:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T12:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/?p=238554"},"modified":"2025-07-14T08:58:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T12:58:26","slug":"robert-santana-blasts-jails-run-by-police-and-army-urges-corrections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2025\/07\/14\/robert-santana-blasts-jails-run-by-police-and-army-urges-corrections\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Santana blasts jails run by Police and army, urges corrections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Roberto Santana, executive advisor on Security Policy and the Prison System to the Presidency, has once again issued a stark warning about the fractured control over Dominican prisons, revealing that neither the Attorney General\u2019s Office nor the General Directorate of Prisons holds authority over 19 detention centers currently under the control of the National Police and the Army, as reported in El Nacional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on the television program D\u2019Agenda with journalist H\u00e9ctor Herrera Cabral, Santana explained that 12 of the facilities are operated by the military and seven by the police \u2014 including La Victoria, a notorious facility he describes as a police-run detention center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santana stressed that the country’s prison system is effectively divided into three separate spheres of power: the Army, the Police, and the Attorney General\u2019s Office. In the facilities run by the military or the police, the Attorney General has no jurisdiction. \u201cEven the Director of Prisons, Colonel Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez of the National Police, can be denied entry to these prisons by a low-ranking officer unless cleared by a superior,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis situation underscores the urgent need for the creation of a Ministry of Justice,\u201d Santana argued. \u201cThe prison system is scattered, with parts controlled by the military, others by the police, and only a fraction under the Attorney General. Where the AG\u2019s office lacks control, it has no authority at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also criticized the blurred lines between criminal elements and authority in the country\u2019s traditional prisons. \u201cIn those facilities, there\u2019s no clear boundary between the law and criminality. It\u2019s why they must be phased out,\u201d he said, citing a past case where a journalist witnessed an inmate being shot and killed with a pistol that was never recovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese old-model prisons are no-man\u2019s land,\u201d he declared. \u201cThey are a disgrace for the nation, its citizens, and its institutions\u2014especially for lawmakers, judges, and public officials who allow this to continue despite being fully aware.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santana called it a case of \u201cculpable irresponsibility,\u201d accusing state-paid security agents of colluding with inmates to organize criminal activity from within. \u201cAnd yet, the state and society turn a blind eye,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the interview, Santana said that once inmates are moved to the Las Parras facility, the deteriorated La Victoria prison will undergo partial demolition and reconstruction. It will be converted into a small-scale preventive detention center aligned with the country\u2019s New Penitentiary Model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proximity of La Victoria to the capital makes it strategically important, he added, noting that Las Parras, located near Bayaguana, is over 70 kilometers from the Ciudad Nueva courthouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Santana cautioned that the decision to remodel or completely demolish La Victoria will ultimately depend on the financial findings of the Onesvie government assessment. \u201cIf repairs cost more than rebuilding, then we\u2019ll tear it down\u2014even if parts of the structure remain intact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santana spoke of the linkages between organized crime and prison control. Addressing concerns over organized crime, Santana warned that transnational criminal networks have long had a presence in the Dominican Republic. He cautioned that if these groups gain control over the prison system, the nation\u2019s governability could collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo those debating whether international crime exists here\u2014I say clearly, yes, it does. It has for years. The only question is how deep their involvement goes,\u201d he said. Santana urged the public and government to take the issue seriously before the country faces a crisis like those seen in El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, or Guatemala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must act before we find ourselves in the same position as Ecuador, where criminal groups run the prisons and openly challenge state authority,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santana pointed out that in several Latin American countries, public officials\u2014including lawmakers\u2014have ties to organized crime. \u201cLet\u2019s not forget that Pablo Escobar was once a congressman. Let\u2019s not delude ourselves by thinking we\u2019re immune.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized that the Dominican Republic is used as a route for international drug trafficking, and that this illicit flow is not orchestrated by “priests or nuns,” but by powerful criminal organizations entrenched in the country\u2019s ports and institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen organized crime takes over the prisons, it won\u2019t just be a correctional problem\u2014it will be a national security and governance crisis,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more in Spanish:
El Nacional <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

14 July 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roberto Santana, executive advisor on Security Policy and the Prison System to the Presidency, has once again issued a stark warning about the fractured control over Dominican prisons, revealing that neither the Attorney General\u2019s Office nor the General Directorate of Prisons holds authority over 19 detention centers currently under the control of the National Police … <\/p>\n

Read more\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[337,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238554"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238607,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238554\/revisions\/238607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}