In a public announcement shared via social media on Tuesday, Gonzalo Castillo, a one-time presidential contender from the Dominican Liberation Party, revealed that U.S. authorities have restored his 10-year non-immigrant visa, a move he has openly praised.
Castillo took to the platform X, formerly Twitter, to extend his gratitude to the U.S. government, current U.S. President Donald Trump, and Leah Francis Campos, the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, for facilitating the decision. According to Castillo, the reinstatement of his travel document embodies the core principles of freedom, due process, and respect for fundamental rights that the United States is globally recognized for upholding. He particularly noted the significance of this ruling coming as the U.S. marks the 250th anniversary of its founding.
The visa had been revoked by U.S. authorities years earlier, following the launch of Operation Calamar, a high-profile Dominican corruption investigation. In this sprawling case, Dominican public prosecutors have leveled allegations against a group of former government officials, claiming they diverted billions of Dominican pesos through fraudulent and irregular payments for land expropriation projects. Prosecutors also allege that illegal bribes from the scheme were used to improperly fund political campaigns during the 2020 Dominican presidential election, in which Castillo ran as the Dominican Liberation Party’s candidate.