Archive for March, 2021
Will the new crime strategy make a difference?
President Luis Abinader announced last week the first phase of his “Comprehensive Strategy for Citizen Safety” plan that calls for the disarming of people. It establishes that by June, all motorcycle drivers need to wear a vest with an ID number.
Most attempts by different administrations to stem the flow of criminal activity have pretty much withered on the vine, and, as a sample, just last August, as the new Abinader administration was coming into power, there were 103 homicides by guns or knives, mostly in Greater Santo Domingo Santiago and the National District.
Plans ranging from Hipolito Mejia’s “Citizen Safety”, to Leonel Fernandez’ Safe Barrio”, are but distant memories. During the Danilo Medina administrations, then Interior & Police Minister Jose Ramon Fadul pushed forward a program known as “Live in Tranquility.”
These flopped after spending over a billion pesos on CCTV cameras and other equipment and even with the introduction of the 911 emergency hotline in many parts of the country.
Source: DR1, ListinDiario
Mar 31, 2021
Over 400 beaches and swimming holes open for Holy Week, others are closed
The Civil Defense Office has produced a very long list of safe places to go and swim, picnic, and relax over the Easter holidays, the peak time of the year for domestic travel. The list to go includes rivers, canals, and many, many beaches.
The announcement of the go-to places comes after the authorities shared a list of 237 places that are off-limits for Easter Week.
Just click on the Diario Libre link to see the list.
Defensa Civil list of closed beaches
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Mar 31, 2021
Barceló and Iberostar announce their airlines: Iberojet and World2fly
Things seem to be getting better and better for the Dominican tourist industry. Barceló Group and their partners Avoris Corporation Empresarial have just announced the start of operations of their new airline, Iberojet. Iberojet will have a hub in the Dominican Republic.
The plan is for Iberojet to begin operations in May of this year. The airline will fly to destinations in Latin America, the United States, and Canada. Iberojet also operates in Europe.
But that is not all. World2fly, created by Iberostar, another leading Spanish hotel company with a large operation in the Dominican Republic, will be flying to Punta Cana as of this June 2021.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Mar 31, 2021
Tourism and Defense impose tight controls on hotels this week
Tourism Minister David Collado and Defense Minister Major General Carlos Luciano Diaz Morfa have announced a series of measures that will impact the nation’s resorts and restaurants this week. According to their joint statement, released on Friday, 27 March 2021, there will be no parties, concerts, or other events that bring together a lot of people. There will be no hookahs allowed in any hotel or at any gathering for that matter. President Luis Abinader recently issued an executive order that prohibits the sale of any alcoholic beverages on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (2, 3, and 4 April 2021).
Source: DR1, ListinDiario
Mar 31, 2021
Vin Diesel announces film studio for Puerto Plata
President Luis Abinader and Mariana Vargas, director of the Films Agency (DGCine) were in Puerto Plata for the announcement of a new state-of-the-art film studio championed by Vin Diesel, one of the world’s most recognizable celebrities, Vin Diesel. Diesel is also regarded as a social media megastar.
Now, he is behind the project to turn Bergantín Beach, near Playa Dorada in Puerto Plata, into the site of a facility to produce films and artistic events of diverse varieties.
Vin Diesel’s company, One Race Films (One Race Productions) will develop the ambitious project. The company that is based in Studio City, California was founded in 1995 and has released 15 feature films starring Vin Diesel. Through its subsidiaries Tigon Studios and Racetrack Records, the company also produces video games and houses a record label, as reported in Wikipedia.
The agreement was signed right next to Bergantín beach, where President Abinader and the actor pledged to deploy all efforts and measures to ensure the successful completion of this project. President Abinader was accompanied by First Lady Raquel Arbaje.
Abinader highlighted that cinema has become a magnificent strategy for the promotion of tourism. Just recently, Dominican beach locations were chosen for the production of the soon-to-be-released films, Shotgun Wedding with Jennifer Lopez and Arthur the King, starring Mark Wahlberg.
“Today we are interested in going further to take advantage of the benefits of this industry and enhance its economic contribution by linking it with other sectors, mainly tourism,” said the President.
He added that “we want Bergantín to go down in history as a complete, innovative and sustainable destination, and what better way to integrate the film industry into this new proposal than hand in hand with the biggest,” said the President, referring to Diesel.
He considered that, with the development of this project, Puerto Plata would become a reference in the region and in the world, attracting talent, investments, and new tourists.
“That is why today we are initiating the first steps with the best advisors. Vin Diesel and One Race Films has everything we look for in a good partnership: experience, vision, but, above all, love for the country. Vin is a fan of our country and its people,” said the President.
For his part, Vin Diesel said he was proud to be part of efforts to benefit the Dominican people and his friendship with the President of the Republic.
Also present were Puerto Plata senator Ginnette Bournigal, Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza (who is the former Puerto Plata senator), and Tourism Minister David Collado and Puerto Plata governor, Claritza Rochtte Peralta.
Source: DR1, ListinDiario
Mar 31, 2021
Italian fugitive mafioso deported; identified after posting a cooking video on YouTube
53-year old Marc Feren Claude Biart was deported to Italy where he arrived on 29 March 2021. He had been living quietly in Boca Chica, where there is a large Italian community. He had been on the run from the Italian authorities since 2014. The Italian Police describe him as a fugitive mafioso of the ‘Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, the most powerful in Italy today.
The Italian police explained that the arrest is the result of the Dominican Interpol participation as part of the so-called Project “I CAN” (Interpol Cooperation against the ‘Ndrangheta), with the backing of the Italian Central Criminal Police Agency. The I-CAN project involves Italian police forces and those of ten other countries (Germany, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, United States, France, Switzerland, and Uruguay) that are fighting against this Calabrian mafia, one of the most powerful in Europe.
Biart was the subject of a 2014 arrest warrant issued by an Italian court in the southern Italian province of Reggio Calabria, as part of Operation “Mauser” for a drug trafficking ring targeting an organized crime clan in the municipality of Rosarno.
Biart was arrested on 24 March 2021 in Boca Chica, in the south of the Dominican Republic.
Calabria News reported that in the Dominican Republic he was known only as Marc. His love for cooking got him arrested. He had created a video channel on YouTube with his wife where they shared how to make Italian dishes. While appearing on the cooking channel, Biart did not show his face, yet he was reportedly identified by the tattoos on his body.
In its first seven months in government, the Abinader administration has reported extraditing 13 Dominicans accused of various crimes in Spain, the United States and Belgium. These are: Isidro Puntiel Soriano, José Antonio Polanco Paz (Tony), Alexander Reyes Johnny, Onéximo Méndez Félix, Anyerson de la Cruz Rosario (Angelo), Luis Manuel Genao Rivera (Genao), Luis Felipe Carmona, Francisco Javier Lora Brito, Moisés Polanco González (Tito Campeche) and Yamil Abreu Navarro. The Dominican government did not report the extraditing of the Italian fugitive.
Source: DR1, NY Post
Mar 31, 2021
Dominican birth certificate legalization procedure to be replaced by QR code
The new presiding members of the Central Electoral Board are delivering on their promise to do away with the required legalization procedure for birth certificates in the Dominican Republic. Nobody ever could understand how birth certificates issued here had an expiration date of 30 days and required the extra step of being “legalized” to be accepted by government institutions.
Now, the Central Electoral Board (JCE), announces that as of Monday, 5 April, the legalization of the document issued by the selection of civil registry offices will no longer be necessary. New QR technology is being incorporated into the birth certificates.
The president of the JCE, Román Jáquez Liranzo explained the implementation of the elimination of the legalization procedure will be gradual. The “Elimination of the Legalization of Civil Status Records,” project begins with a pilot plan in limited civil registry offices in the National District, Santo Domingo North, Santiago, and San Francisco de Macorís.
The new service will be available at the service centers in the National District and San Francisco de Macorís in Duarte province. Also at the offices of the first and 10th districts of the National District. And the 1st and 2nd circumscription of San Francisco de Macoris. Likewise, at the 7th District of Santo Domingo North and the 3rd District in Santiago de los Caballeros.
The JCE plenary emphasized, nevertheless, that the birth certificates issued by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) do not expire. Unless there has been a modification in their content, the birth certificates are valid.
Source: DR1, N Digital, JCE
Mar 31, 2021
How many public schools will reopen on 6 April for in-person learning?
Diario Libre coverage on the return to in-person learning at public schools puts in doubt the government will deliver on its announcement. The government has said in-person learning could begin in schools that are ready in 48 municipalities where the Covid-19 positivity rate is under 5%.
A report in the newspaper quotes professor Eduardo Hidalgo saying that the ministry has not conditioned the schools in areas that are cleared to re-open under a new protocol. Hidalgo said that the Ministry of Education has campaigned in social media to give the impression that all is normal when the Ministry of Education has not provided the conditions the public school teachers union is demanding for reopening schools. He told Diario Libre that the Ministry has had little contact with the 48 municipalities that are cleared to begin the restart. He said an assessment is in the works, but there is no date known for when the needed repairs at the schools would be completed. For schools to restart, the protocol establishes that a team of inspectors from the Ministry of Education needs to authorize the reopening.
Meanwhile, it is obvious that several private schools have resumed classes, especially at the pre-school level, even when they only have the authorization of the parents to do so and are not cleared by the Ministry.
The Ministry of Education under Education Minister Roberto Furcal has spent billions in distance learning programs and for the purchase of electronic devices for the students. Under pressure from parents’ organizations, Furcal announced that classes would resume in municipalities where the 4-week positivity rate was under 5% as of 6 April 2021.
Of the 32 provinces in the country, only in four are all the municipalities are included. These are Monte Plata, Samana, Pedernales and San José de Ocoa. In the province of Santo Domingo, San Antonio de Guerra and Pedro Brand are the only two municipalities where classes could be authorized to reopen.
The Ministry of Education has announced in-person learning would resume with early childhood and pre-school levels (children three months to five years old). Likewise, classes are authorized to resume for elementary school, with children up to eight years old. Also, graduate classes in technical and arts high schools will be allowed to resume in-person learning.
Parents of private schools are taking the Ministry of Education to court for delays in authorizing the reopening of in-person learning.
The PUCMM University, the largest private university in the Dominican Republic, says it will gradually resume in-person learning, starting 6 April.
Source: DR1, DiarioLobre
Mar 31, 2021
Last updated January 23, 2026 at 4:16 pm