In August 2020, the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, promised “the incessant fight against corruption and impunity” and the warning to his fellow governments “that he has no friends in the State.”
His message took shape a few months into his administration, when the “independent” Public Ministry dusted off the file from the bottom of the sea, and began to cook the cases of corruption of the PLD administration, where from security to the younger brother of the former president, Danilo Medina, were arrested.
Likewise, the officials who generated noise and scandals were removed from their positions, including the Minister of Youth, Kimberly Taveras, Misichael Discentand the Minister of the Presidency himself at the time, Lisandro Macarrulla.
Four years later, and in his second administration, the promise continues to be fulfilled.
This 2024, some officials were left out of the management of the “change “and they fell into the hands of justice, national and international.
What Citizen Participation said
In this regard, the lawyer and representative of Citizen ParticipationFrancisco Álvarez, understands that although at a “slow pace” progress has been made in the country in terms of the fight against corruption and impunity and democratic solidity.
“I would say that we advanced, we advanced as much as we should advance, no, democracy is an endurance race”.
He told the newspaper Hoy that the difference between the management of President Luis Abinader, and the previous ones is that the “scandals did not come to light, and now they are being pursued”.
Cases
April 2023 – Miguel Gutiérrez
The former deputy of the Modern Revolutionary Party, from Santiago de los Caballeros, Miguel Gutiérrez Díaz, was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering.
October 2024 (Chameleon Case)
At the end of the month of September and into October of the current year, the collapse in the traffic light network of Greater Santo Domingo, uncovered a pot of crickets that left naked the administration of the Institute of Traffic and Land Transportation, on that occasion directed by Hugo Beras, by hiring the company Transcore Latam, owned by businessman Jochy Gómez, for more than 1.3 billion pesos.
The allegedly irregular process, denounced by Purchasing and Contracting and other State entities, concluded with the arrest of these and other defendants, who later obtained conditional release, meanwhile the Public Ministry completes the investigations.
Pandora (November 2024)
In November of the current year, the law enforcement agencies were not exempt from corruption scandals; through the Pandora case, the accusing body revealed an alleged criminal network made up of 10 officers, including the Superintendent of Weapons of the National Police, who supposedly stole at least 908 thousand ammunition from the institution to sell them even to the neighboring country, Haiti, according to the accusation.
Of the 11 involved, 3, including a civilian, negotiated with prosecutors and were granted house arrest and financial guarantee, the others await preventive detention in Special Operations.
Dominican Pentathlon Federation
According to the Public Ministry, between 2011 and 2023, the Dominican Federation of Modern Pentathlon irregularly managed close to RD$60 million, which was delivered by the Ministry of Sports, an amount that is under investigation.
Due to the fact, the Permanent Attention Office of the National District imposed a financial guarantee, periodic presentation and exit impediment against Freddy Núñez and Evaristo Ozoria Rodríguez, president and treasurer of the institution.
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