For 2010, José Calderón Rijo, alias La Arañasanctioned by the United States for money laundering, drug trafficking Y corruptionwas linked to the show through the company Grari Productionswho represented various artists, such as El Jeffrey, Yoskar Sarante and Allendy.
In July of that year, the company announced that it would bring the Mexican artist Juan Gabriel to the country, in a concert in Altos de Chavón. The concert did not come true, due to an alleged scam, according to reports at the time.
Two years later, in December 2012, Calderón Rijo was arrested after an operation by the National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD) carried out in the Peravia province, where 10 kilos of cocaine were seized, along with three Colombians. They accused him of leading a criminal group in the Dominican Republic that trafficked cocaine through the southern and eastern coasts of the country.
“These are members of a structure of drug trafficking that imported cocaine from Colombia,” said the DNCD.
According to the data supplied by the DNCD On that date, the Colombians arrested were identified as José de Jesús Alfonso Morroi, Henry Hernández Villada and Juan Carlos Vargas Gómez.
By August 2013, it was reported the seizure of $1,124,064 in an apartment in the Serrallés sector of the National District, as well as two vehicles and 15,000 pesos in cash. The Specialized Anti-Money Laundering Prosecutor indicated these assets as properties of this criminal network.
Released in 2015
A In mid-2015, José Calderón Rijo was released by the Collegiate Court of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the Judicial District of Peravia, after accepting an agreement that he made with the Specialized Anti-Money Laundering Attorney.
Through the agreement the defendants voluntarily delivered more than 200 million pesos in movable and immovable propertywhich included -according to the judicial reviews of the time- apartments, condominiums, shopping malls, vehicles and landlocated in the Santo Domingo province, the National District and other places.
The deportation of Colombians to their country was also ordered. José de Jesús Alfonso Morroi, Henry Hernández Villada and Juan Carlos Vargas Gómez.
In September 2019, Henry Hernández Villada was arrested in the Dominican Republic, with the support of US federal agents, and extradited to the United States, following a request made by the US nation after his release.
Companies and sanctions
According to the OpenCorporates website, a site that shares data about corporations under an Open Database License, the owner Jose Calderon Rijo has registered four companies in the country.
These companies are Lumaka Investmentsregistered in 2018; Hacienda Hotel Dona Graciela, registered in May 2020; Villa Hotel Dona Graciela, with a registration date of November 2020; Y Just KGKregistered in May 2015 and dedicated to the export and import of food supplements.
East Wednesday The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Calderón Rijo, whom accused of being the leader of one of the most important criminal organizations in the Dominican Republic.
As a consequence of these sanctions, all the properties and assets that “La Araña” may have in the US are blocked and Americans are prohibited from carrying out transactions with it.
