Archive for May, 2023
In Cabarete, the sale of land within 60 meters of high tide is openly promoted
Law 305-68 indicates that the 60 meters from the high tide are in the public domain and that any construction is prohibited. But in Cabarete, as it is known that permits are obtained by negotiating with the environment, the sale of land directly on the beach and consequently within 60 meters of high tide is promoted on the networks. Land cannot be sold within 60 meters of high tide because it is in the public domain. It is a total fraud because the sellers are selling land that belongs to the state. Real estate agencies (real estate) are complicit in this fraud because no one can ignore the law. The price can go up to USD 1,000 per square meter. Numerous are constructions in Cabarete within 60 meters of the high tide and this trend continues due to the lack of ethics of the provincial environmental department of Puerto Plata. Everything indicates that they are granting illegal permits within 60 meters of the high tide. Three cases have been found on the networks and surely more will be found.
Source: Cabarete Noticias
May 2, 2023
Get your pre-paid toll road or prepare for long lines at tolls
Anyone commuting on Dominican highways should delay no more in getting the Paso Rapido automated toll pass system. The prepaid tolls system enables commuters to use the lines that are exclusive to Paso Rapido affiliates. The authorities are reducing the booths where cash is paid for the toll to motivate commuters to purchase the Paso Rapido kit. The reduction in cash lines caused major lines mainly at the Las Americas toll booth over the weekend.
The Paso Rapido kit is sold at Paso Rapido stations and is also available nationwide at the Carol Pharmacy or Total gas stations.
The sticker should be immediately installed. It requires the entering of data online for recharge purposes. Recharging is then possible using a credit card. The kit is available for RD$250 which includes RD$200 in tolls.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
May 2, 2023
US$1 million for research to mitigate impact of sargassum
The Abinader administration is making available US$1 million to universities for research to mitigate the impact of sargassum on Dominican beaches, the Ministry of Tourism announced in a press release on 25 April 2023.
The announcement precedes the opening of the Dominican Annual Travel Exchange (DATE) in Punta Cana. The event is the leading travel booking event for the Dominican Republic.
President Abinader, who presides over the Tourism Cabinet, participated on Tuesday, 25 April 2023 in Santo Domingo in an international workshop “Challenges and Opportunities of Sargassum Management for Tourism in the Dominican Republic,” organized by the Ministry of Tourism in Santo Domingo.
President Abinader called on the authorities of the Caribbean countries to work in a unified manner to deal with the issue.
Meanwhile, it is reported that the Ministry of Environment is creating a multi-sectoral roundtable to deal with the complexity of the sargassum problem and identify and organize actions.
The President said that for more than a year he has been working with the Ministry of Tourism to find a solution to the sargassum problems affecting the Greater Caribbean coastal area.
Source: DR1, Presidency
May 2, 2023
Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez We are witnessing the dissolution of the Haitian state
Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez once more appealed to the United Nations Security Council to take decisive actions in Haiti. So far, the only international actions have been sanctions by the governments of Canada and the United States on leading business people in Haiti that are said to be backing the gangs.
Speaking at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, 26 April 2023, Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez warned that the world is witnessing the dissolution of the Haitian state due to the serious insecurity and social problems affecting that country.
“We have said this in the past in this Security Council and we reiterate it today. The situation in Port-au-Prince is comparable to that of an internal armed conflict, saving the difference in this case on the qualification of belligerent. In fact, we are witnessing today, the dissolution of the Haitian state,” said the Dominican Foreign Minister as he finished his turn at the quarterly meeting of the UN body to deal with the situation in Haiti.
The minister added that any decision that evades urgent effective assistance for Haiti could be considered an abdication of its responsibility mandated by the charter of the UN Security Council and international law.
“We do not understand why it has taken so long for this vital body to do what is necessary to comply with the aid requested by Haiti (…). Being honest, we are inclined to think of the possibility that, as some say: countries receive attention according to a differentiating stratification,” said the Dominican foreign minister, observing that there are examples of other initiatives to support countries in crisis, for which international assistance has not met with such reticence.
Álvarez explained that the sovereignty of the state entails the obligation to protect its own people, but that when a state is unable to do so fully, this responsibility corresponds to the international community, for which diplomatic, humanitarian, and any other means within its competence must be employed.
Alvarez did recognize the work of the Sanctions Committee and its Panel of Experts, which have made efforts to identify the sectors within Haiti that promote criminal activities and contribute to insecurity, reiterating the urgent need to send an international force to support the Haitian National Police, as requested by the Haitian authorities themselves.
In this regard, he informed that the Dominican government has imposed entry bans on a number of Haitian citizens in order to safeguard the security and integrity of Dominican territory and as a way of supporting the efforts of the Security Council.
The position of President Luis Abinader is that the Dominican Republic needs to concentrate now on defending the security of the country. Abinader says that the Dominican Republic can do no more for Haiti. The Dominican Republic is impacted by the large number of undocumented Haitians that migrate to the country seeking work and basic social services, such as identification, health, and schooling, not available in Haiti.
Source: DR1, El Caribe
May 2, 2023
Last updated January 23, 2026 at 4:16 pm