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Two robberies took place yesterday at the Plaza de Salud and at the Dominican Savings Loan Association on Hermanas Mirabal Avenue (Villa Mella). In the latter the guard, Domingo Mateo Rodriguez, was killed. Dashira Martinez, public relations manager at the Plaza de Salud hospital complex said that yesterday morning, unknown persons removed more than a half a million pesos from the main safe.
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Hector Franjul, the business manager at the Villa Mella SL, said that the thieves took RD$607,000 in cash. The robbers arrived in a gray Toyota Corolla and immediately entered the bank, aiming weapons at those present and taking the money. When guard Mateo Rodriguez tried to intervene by shooting at the robbers, they turned against him and killed him. The search for the assailants began yesterday.

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The General Prosecutor’s office is denying reports that three district prosecutors from Puerto Plata (Grimilda Disla, Wilfredo Martinez and Ramon Nunez Liriano) have been arrested. Assistant prosecutor general Ramon Aristides Madera Arias said that the three were interviewed so they can provide details on several Puerto Plata court cases, as reported in Listin Diario.
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He said that Puerto Plata Court of Appeals prosecutor Feliz Alvarez invited the assistant prosecutors to his office at the General Prosecutor’s Office in Santo Domingo. Madera said that once the results of any possible irregularities on the job of the Puerto Plata prosecutors is known, this will be revealed to the press.
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Yesterday, DR1 carried a story on the reported arrest of three district prosecutors from Puerto Plata, indicating that they were being sent to Santo Domingo for further investigations. Recently, 30 law enforcement officials have been suspended in Puerto Plata, as the [...]

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The Weather Department (Onamet) is forecasting scattered rains today. Onamet says that they expect an increase in cloudiness as well as rains in the provinces of Montecristi, Puerto Plata, Samana, Santiago, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, San Cristobal, Monsignor Nouel, La Vega, Sanchez Ramirez, Duarte and Monte Plata. Santo Domingo and the National District may also get rains today, and some strong wind gusts towards the afternoon. Onamet says a frontal system over the Windward Passage will also bring cool temperatures. Onamet says that small craft warnings are in place for the north coast due to abnormal wave conditions in the open sea.

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The report on Human Rights 2008 for the Dominican Republic published by the United States Department of State indicates that serious problems persist with the human rights situation in the country because illegal killings, beatings of suspects, limited access to justice, corruption and violence against women and minors continues. The broad report tells of an increase of 37% in violent deaths with respect to 2007, and attributes 19% of these to the National Police. It adds that the law enforcement institution continued the practice of torturing prisoners and unarmed civilians, requested bribes from citizens and carried out arbitrary arrests and detentions. Nevertheless, the report indicates that 312 agents were discharged and 563 were punished for these practices. The judicial system was also accused of its share of violations. The report attributes inefficiency and corruption within the justice department to the significant number of accused who were granted bail only to [...]

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The First Court of Instruction in Santiago has ordered preventative custody for 11 people accused of fraud worth more than US$100 million against the United States Treasury Department. Three of the accused were sent to jail while the rest are under house arrest and banned from traveling. Among those subject to coercive measures were Elvin Quiroz, Alfy Tavarez, Carlos Balbuena and Elvis Balbuena. According to the investigation carried out jointly with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the accused cheated the Treasury Department for US$100 million in checks cashed. Meanwhile, this year the requests for fraudulent tax returns corresponding to tax year 2008 that have been presented total over US$70 million, but none of the tax return checks were sent because of the fraudulent operation. The Prosecutor General of the Dominican Republic Radhames Jimenez Pena and Santiago district prosecutor Raul Martinez stated that several of the people accused of the [...]

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The National Police reports that a suspected assailant or accomplice in the raid on the Parmalat milk processing facility turned himself in at police headquarters on Wednesday. So far, the Parmalat case has led to four arrests: a former military officer, a former sergeant and two civilians. The new detainee is Isidro Valdez Pascual, who was accompanied by his mother and wife, Dona Maria Pascual and Micaela Andujar, and lawyer Leonardo Moreno Bazals. Until now, the investigation is being handled with just the nicknames of suspects in the crime.

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Writing in today’s Diario Libre, economist Alejandro Fernandez comments on the contradictions between what the government requires of the private sector and the leeway it allows itself. As example of how while the private sector has had to tighten its belt in contrast with the public sector, he points out that as of October 2008, the government spent 30% more on payroll than it did in October 2007. He also says that December 2008 was a record month for the government to contract public debt - almost RD$1 billion per day. He writes that this was the consequence of having to balance the accounts for the year, even if our children will be the ones who pay.
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He also makes the point that while the Department of Taxes (DGII) levies heavy penalties on taxpayers who are behind with their payments, the government is already 120 days late in publishing [...]

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Several leading business organizations are urging the Puerto Plata municipality to give priority to supporting the development of a modern port for the city. The Puerto Plata Tourism Cultural Cluster says that the city of Puerto Plata has repeatedly asked for the land to be used to build a Tourist and Cargo Port, which they consider the number one priority for the definite development of the region. The Cluster raises a red alert that the municipality should not negotiate the purchase of any coastal lands with a third party, especially in the center of the Bay of Puerto Plata, because this would limit the development of the proposed port.
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A Puerto Plata legislator has warned that negotiations are under way for the municipality to sell to the operators of the power plant where Smith-Enron originally built the plant that has been very detrimental to tourism and residential interests [...]

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A report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reveals that 62,000 AIDS cases were registered in the Dominican Republic at the end of 2007. Moreover, their State of the World’s Children 2009 report indicates that more men are having protected sex. The study found that 44% of Dominican women protect themselves during sex with an extramarital or unknown partner, while 70% of men use some sort of protection. At the same time, the investigation points out that nearly half of young people (44% of those between the ages of 15 and 24) are aware of measures they can take to protect themselves from the HIV virus, such as the use of a condom and a faithful partner and they know that a person who appears healthy can be infected with the disease.

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The president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman, said yesterday that the JCE seeks to reverse the court ruling requiring them to pay US$9 million to the Consorcio Soluciones Modernos (SOMO) for failure to honor a contract. According to the head of the JCE, payment to SOMO, which worked under contract to automate the electoral agency, is still up in the air. The JCE lost the case in a court of arbitration designated by the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce. Payments to SOMO were stopped when the electoral board members were changed and many complaints and questions were raised about the civil registry digitalization process. Castanos Guzman reported that the full board of the JCE is planning a meeting with SOMO executives.

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