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National power demand hits record 4,203 MW in Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo – The Dominican Republic’s national power grid has achieved an unprecedented milestone, as the country’s National Interconnected Electric System (SENI) hit a new record-high instantaneous electricity demand on Monday evening. Energy and Mines Minister Joel Santos confirmed that at 8:56 p.m. local time, the system successfully delivered 4,203 megawatts (MW) to meet consumer and commercial needs across the nation.
This latest record caps a four-year streak of rising July electricity consumption peaks for the Caribbean nation, with the system reliably accommodating growing demand year after year. The previous all-time high was set just weeks earlier on July 23, when demand hit 4,195.26 MW. Even before that, early July saw two successive incremental records: 4,166.52 MW and 4,185.11 MW, signaling a steady upward trend in energy use through the heart of the summer.
Santos projected that additional demand peaks are on the horizon in the coming months, stretching through the remainder of July and into August and September. He attributed the sustained rise in electricity consumption to three key drivers: persistent above-average seasonal temperatures, heightened use of air conditioning to cool homes and businesses, and ongoing expansion of the country’s economic activity, which requires increased energy input across all sectors.
Minister Santos emphasized that the system’s ability to handle the new record peak is no accident. He credited the consistent reliable performance to years of targeted strategic investments that have both expanded the Dominican Republic’s total electricity generation capacity and diversified the mix of power sources in the country’s national energy matrix. These upgrades have dramatically strengthened the overall resilience of the grid, allowing it to absorb unplanned spikes in demand without service disruptions.
As summer heat continues to build across the Caribbean, energy officials stand ready to meet the expected higher demand, with the upgraded grid already proving its ability to handle new record levels of energy consumption.
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Amber Highway to reduce Santiago–Puerto Plata travel time to 30 minutes
In the Dominican Republic, a transformative new infrastructure project, the Amber Highway, is poised to reshape transportation and economic activity across the country’s northern region, according to Teodoro Tejada, former president of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA).
Currently, the journey between the major cities of Santiago and Puerto Plata stretches approximately 90 minutes, and the existing route has gained an unfortunate reputation for a disproportionately high rate of deadly traffic collisions. Once the Amber Highway is fully completed and open to traffic, that travel time is projected to shrink to just 30 minutes, a dramatic reduction that will reshape how people and goods move between the two urban centers.
With a total investment of 28.8 billion Dominican pesos, the 32.7-kilometer four-lane project will link Santiago’s North Ring Road directly to Gran Parada in Puerto Plata. Engineered to accommodate travel speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour, the highway incorporates thoughtful environmental planning: it will run through two purpose-built tunnels carved into the Northern Mountain Range, minimizing disruption to the fragile surrounding ecosystems that define the region’s natural landscape.
Beyond cutting travel times, the project’s design includes grade-separated interchanges that will eliminate dangerous at-grade crossings, smoothing traffic flow, cutting down on chronic congestion, and drastically improving overall road safety. Tejada emphasizes that these infrastructure improvements will not only make travel easier for local residents but also strengthen regional connectivity, attract more tourists to the popular northern coast, and lift the overall economic competitiveness of the entire northern Dominican Republic.
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David Collado oversees El Faro Beach redevelopment in San Pedro de Macorís
In the eastern Dominican city of San Pedro de Macorís, a major public coastal revitalization initiative is reaching its final milestone: Tourism Minister David Collado has confirmed that the full-scale redevelopment of El Faro Beach is complete, with an official inauguration ceremony set for Friday, headlined by President Luis Abinader.
Carried out with a total investment of RD$67 million, the project transformed a 570-meter, 12,000-plus square meter stretch of underdeveloped beachfront into a multi-use public space aligned with the national government’s broader goals: upgrading accessible coastal areas for both local communities and visitors, and driving long-term tourism growth across the country’s less-promoted coastal regions.
The scope of the renovation extends far beyond basic landscaping. To meet the needs of all stakeholders, the project integrated dedicated infrastructure for local artisanal fishermen, along with expanded public parking lots and upgraded road access to reduce congestion and improve visitor flow. For recreational users, the site now includes a new children’s playground, a regulation-sized volleyball court, enhanced native vegetation landscaping, full LED lighting for after-hours use, and modern public restrooms.
Critical civic upgrades were also a core focus of the work. A new stormwater drainage system was installed to reduce chronic flooding in low-lying areas of the beachfront, alongside full reconstruction of sidewalks, curbs, and adjacent local streets that improves overall accessibility for pedestrians with mobility devices and cuts flood risk for nearby neighborhoods. The project also added a permanent security post managed by POLITUR, the Dominican Republic’s national tourism police, to ensure public safety for all visitors.
Minister Collado emphasized that the El Faro Beach project builds on the government’s earlier RD$267 million investment to restore the broader San Pedro de Macorís waterfront. For local residents who have pushed for upgrades to the popular public beach for decades, Collado described the finished redevelopment as a long-overdue transformation that will deliver lasting benefits to both the local community and the regional tourism economy.
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Antigua and Barbuda Authorities Identify Cyberfraud Suspects as Prosecutions Near
At a recent National Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention Forum, senior law enforcement and financial intelligence officials from Antigua and Barbuda have announced that formal prosecutions are即将到来 in multiple ongoing cyber-enabled fraud investigations, after authorities successfully identified all key suspects and compiled case files ready for court submission.
Addressing growing public concern over the lack of publicly announced arrests in these high-stakes cases, Assistant Superintendent of Police Kelvin Thompson and Lt. Col. Edward Croft — director of the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP) — outlined the step-by-step process that has shaped the investigation to date.
Thompson explained that when fraud reports first began rolling in, investigative teams failed to immediately grasp the full scale of the coordinated criminal operation. It was only after analyzing accumulated reports that a clear pattern of illicit activity emerged, prompting authorities to assemble a cross-agency joint task force to tackle the complex scheme.
“Once we identified the pattern, a joint investigative team has been put together,” Thompson stated, noting that cyber fraud investigations are inherently complex, requiring months of rigorous behind-the-scenes work to build a solid, sustainable case.
To date, the investigation has linked the fraudulent schemes to more than 20 confirmed victims, multiple local financial institutions, and nearly 100 individuals who are alleged to have either received illicit funds or benefited directly from fraudulent transactions. The joint task force brings together specialized investigators from the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, the ONDCP, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, uniting diverse expertise to dismantle the criminal network.
Thompson emphasized that investigators are prioritizing thoroughness over speed, choosing to complete all evidence gathering before filing formal charges to avoid repeated requests for court adjournments that would delay the judicial process. “We want to make sure that we have the case together and then we file charges,” he said. While Thompson confirmed that charges are certainly on the horizon, he declined to share a specific public timeline for when they will be filed.
Croft backed up Thompson’s announcement, confirming that all suspected participants in the coordinated fraud schemes have already been positively identified by investigators. “We know who they are,” Croft said in a direct warning to suspects. “We are going to come get you. So just be patient with us. We are working.”
Crucially, Croft clarified that the ONDCP’s investigation extends far beyond the masterminds who organized the fraud schemes. Anyone who knowingly receives, transfers, withdraws, or spends stolen funds derived from cyber fraud will also face legal consequences, he warned, noting that handling fraudulently obtained funds carries the same criminal penalties as orchestrating the original offense.
Authorities have confirmed that a large portion of the cyber-enabled fraud impacting Antigua and Barbuda is linked to transnational organized criminal networks. Rather than focusing exclusively on low-level participants commonly referred to as money mules, Croft said investigators are prioritizing identifying and apprehending the senior leaders who direct and profit from these schemes. “What we are seeing from a strategic point of view, it’s a mechanism, an organised crime group,” Croft explained, adding that dismantling these well-structured networks requires targeted intelligence analysis, close inter-agency cooperation, and careful pre-arrest planning.
In an appeal to local residents, Thompson urged any victim of cyber fraud in Antigua and Barbuda to report incidents to authorities immediately and disclose full details of their experience, rather than holding back information out of embarrassment. “Some people are embarrassed because of the experience and they try to give us limited information,” he said. “Don’t give us half information. Tell us everything.”
Thompson added that victims do not need to collect all supporting evidence before coming forward; basic identifying details such as full name, residential address, and affected bank account number can be submitted initially, with supporting materials such as transaction screenshots, phone numbers linked to the scam, and other evidence provided at a later date. He stressed that prompt reporting is critical to preventing additional losses, citing a recent case in which a second unauthorized withdrawal was processed while the victim was still at their bank reporting the initial fraudulent transaction.
Because the majority of cyber fraud schemes impacting the island nation originate outside Antigua and Barbuda, Croft said the ONDCP maintains active intelligence sharing partnerships with both local financial regulators and international law enforcement counterparts. He cited global data from the Financial Action Task Force showing that 90% of the 156 countries in the organization’s global network have identified cyber-enabled crime as their most common emerging criminal threat, with the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security reporting matching elevated concerns across the Caribbean region.
Alongside pursuing criminal prosecutions, authorities also made clear that recovering stolen funds to compensate affected victims is a core priority of the investigation. “As best as practically possible, we want to ensure that the victims are compensated for the type of losses that they would have incurred,” Croft said.
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Exchange and Engage with Rootz Herbal
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News : Zapping…
July 25, 2026 – A week of mixed developments across Haiti spans youth football, local government transitions, rural infrastructure investment, and a decades-long call for accountability, with updates from every region of the country.
The biggest sporting spotlight this weekend falls on the 2026 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, hosted in Puebla, Mexico, where Haiti’s U-20 national side, the Grenadiers, will take on the United States U-20 team on Saturday evening, 10 PM local Haitian time, at the Estadio Universitario BUAP. This matchup marks the fifth encounter between the two nations in the history of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, with the United States holding an undefeated streak of four wins against Haiti in prior tournament meetings. Haiti earned its spot in this year’s championship after a dominant run through Group D qualifiers, finishing with a clean 4-win record without a single draw or loss. This marks the 12th time Haiti has competed in the continental youth tournament.
In local governance news, Jacmel swore in its new municipal commission on Friday, July 24. Following an official swearing-in ceremony overseen by Justice of the Peace Keder Adescar, departmental delegate Pierre Michel Lafontant formally installed the new leadership team. Marceau Joseph will lead the commission as acting Mayor, supported by two deputy mayors Stéphanie Edouard Lafontant and Julie Leclerc, both of whom have pledged to prioritize local community progress during their term.
Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) launched a key rural infrastructure project this week in Rendel, a community within the commune of Chardonnières. Agriculture Minister Marcelin Aubourg presided over the launch ceremony on July 24, confirming the project is funded through the national Resilient Agriculture for Food Security Project (PARSA). Once completed, the new rural access road will connect isolated farming communities to regional markets, cut transportation costs for agricultural producers, and strengthen national food security by removing barriers to getting local crops to consumers.
For Haiti’s senior men’s national football team, CONCACAF has officially released the full group stage schedule for the 2026-2027 Nations League, where Haiti competes in Group A of League A. All four of Haiti’s group stage matches will be held during the September-October 2026 FIFA international window, with the side currently awaiting the appointment of a new head coach. Haiti will open its campaign against Trinidad and Tobago on September 24, host Costa Rica four days later on September 28, travel to face the Dominican Republic on October 2, and wrap up group play against Costa Rica away on October 6.
Thirty-nine years after the 1987 Jean-Rabel massacre that left 139 peasant activists dead and more than 200 injured, Haitian peasant organization Tèt Kole Ti Peyizan Ayisyen continues to push for accountability. The massacre occurred on July 23, 1987, and nearly four decades later, the group says the core demands that led peasants to mobilize for land rights in 1987 remain unmet. The organization is calling for formal justice for victims, reparations for surviving families and affected communities, and the implementation of long-promised comprehensive agrarian reform across Haiti.
In Cap-Haïtien, the city’s municipal administration has begun distributing free paint to homeowners in the city center, as part of a broader urban beautification initiative launched this week. The distribution is limited to areas where the city has already completed street and sidewalk clearing work, and homeowners are required to paint the facade of their properties by the July 31 deadline set by municipal officials.
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UWI Press publication honoring Caribbean historian wins international book award
An edited academic volume honoring the life and groundbreaking career of one of the Caribbean’s most acclaimed historians, Bridget Brereton, has earned international acclaim, taking home a Silver Award in the Adult Nonfiction History category at the 28th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.
Published by The University of the West Indies (UWI) Press, the winning work, *History Matters: Reassembling the Fragments of a Contested Past – In Honour of Bridget Brereton*, was recognized by award judges for its exceptional contribution to global historical scholarship. The collection is curated by three UWI-based academics: Dr. Heather Cateau, Dr. Rita Pemberton, and Dr. Ronald Noel, who brought together leading voices in Caribbean studies to craft the tribute.
As outlined by UWI, the volume is structured both to celebrate Brereton’s decades-long transformative impact on Caribbean historical research and to advance the field she helped build. It features a curated selection of peer-reviewed essays that probe multilayered dimensions of regional development, spanning economic systems, social movements, political evolution, and cultural identity formation across the Caribbean. UWI Press notes that the volume mirrors Brereton’s own core scholarly commitment: delivering nuanced, balanced narratives of the past that do not shy away from acknowledging historical complexity and contested memory.
The 2025 Foreword INDIES award winners were unveiled earlier this month by Foreword Reviews, an industry-leading publication focused exclusively on reviewing books from independent publishing houses. The annual INDIES awards were created to spotlight exceptional works released each year by small independent presses, university publishers, and niche independent authors, filling a gap in recognition for non-mainstream literary and academic work.
In responding to the award announcement, Christine Randle, Managing Director of UWI Press, emphasized that the honor carries unique weight because of its connection to Brereton’s legacy. “This honour carries special significance, as *History Matters* pays tribute to the remarkable life and legacy of Bridget Brereton, one of the Caribbean’s most distinguished historians,” Randle said. “We are delighted that the book has received international recognition from Foreword Reviews and extend heartfelt congratulations to the editors and contributors. This achievement highlights the global importance of Caribbean scholarship and reinforces the value of safeguarding and exploring our collective past.”
Michelle Schingler, Editor-in-Chief of Foreword Reviews, noted that the 2025 judging process was one of the most challenging in the award’s history, as growth in independent publishing has led to a steady increase in both the number and thematic diversity of submissions. “Each year, as our number of entrants increases and diversifies, the task of narrowing each genre category to a select few finalists gets harder. But that also makes the judges’ ultimate selections all the more exciting. We so look forward to their final choices, and we are proud to celebrate this year’s exemplary slate of winners,” Schingler said.
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UWP ELECTION PAGE: LIVE NOW: UWP Press Conference
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Rebate push to help poultry farmers tackle rising heat stress
A deadly recent heatwave in Jamaica that killed hundreds of laying hens has sent a stark warning across the Caribbean, prompting agricultural authorities to urge poultry producers to implement urgent heat mitigation measures before the peak mid-year summer heat arrives. The event has laid bare the growing vulnerability of regional poultry production to rising global temperatures, bringing new urgency to preparedness efforts across neighboring island nations.
Mark Campbell, president of the Jamaica Egg Farmers Association (JEFA), confirmed that the island’s egg sector, particularly operations along Jamaica’s southern coast, has already sustained devastating losses. Some small-scale and commercial farmers have lost as many as 700 birds to the extreme sweltering conditions recorded in the recent heat event.
In response to the Jamaican outbreak of heat-related poultry mortality, James Paul, chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), has issued a direct public warning to Barbados’ livestock producers. Paul emphasized that proactive, pre-emptive farm management is non-negotiable to prevent heat stress from wiping out poultry yields as seasonal temperatures climb toward their annual peak. Speaking to local outlet Barbados TODAY, Paul noted that while the full details of Jamaica’s losses are still being assessed, the event is clearly linked to extreme heat conditions, and changing climatic conditions mean Caribbean producers can no longer ignore the growing risk of temperature-related production shocks. “I don’t rejoice on what’s happened in Jamaica,” Paul stated. “I think that it is probably related to the heat conditions there. Environment changes and temperature changes have an impact. While I am not fully aware as to what the issues are, that’s something we have to follow up. But again, I just want to sound the warning to our local producers.”
As of the warning, Barbados has not yet recorded extreme temperature spikes this season, but Paul cautioned that the most high-risk period for heat stress is just around the corner. Poultry physiology makes the species particularly vulnerable to high ambient temperatures: unmanaged heat exposure triggers heat stress, which reduces birds’ feed conversion efficiency, slows growth rates, and leads to widespread mortality if producers do not intervene quickly. Historical data from the region confirms this pattern, and Paul says there is no reason to expect this summer to be an exception. “We have not really seen high temperatures as yet, but as we get closer and closer into the summer months, there will be high temperatures,” Paul explained. “The whole question of heat stress is something that has had a negative impact on birds in the past, and we don’t anticipate anything different going into the summer.”
To reduce barriers for farmers looking to protect their flocks, the BAS is actively promoting a government-backed rebate program specifically designed to cut internal temperatures inside poultry coops. Under the initiative, individual producers can claim rebates of up to 15,000 Barbados dollars to purchase specialized heat-reflective roof paint, a low-cost intervention that drastically reduces the amount of heat absorbed into coop structures, keeping internal temperatures significantly cooler during heatwaves. Paul stressed that the program is especially critical for small-scale producers, who often lack the capital to invest in more expensive cooling infrastructure. The BAS is standing by to assist producers with every step of the application process, directing interested farmers to relevant officials at the Ministry of Agriculture to access the rebate.
Paul urged producers to adopt a proactive “boy scout” mindset, preparing their facilities well before heat stress sets in. He noted that once losses occur, post-event complaints are futile when clear early warnings have already been issued to the sector.
Andrew Lewis, general manager of Barbados’ major chick supplier Gale’s Agro Products Limited, corroborated the warning, confirming that while his firm’s primary hatchery has not recorded abnormal heat-related mortality so far this year, high mid-year temperatures are a persistent, recurring hazard for poultry producers across the island. “We are not experiencing anything like what you would have described in Jamaica at present,” Lewis said. “But certainly in the last few years, in the hotter summer months, the incidences of mortality and lower growth among our customers is a feature.”
As a leading hatchery that supplies day-old chicks to farmers across the country, Gale’s Agro Products has already implemented extensive in-transit cooling precautions to ensure flock survival before delivery. However, Lewis emphasized that long-term flock resilience ultimately rests on individual farm management practices once chicks arrive at their destination. “We are primarily a hatchery, so we are sending out day-old chicks to farmers. Obviously, we send them out in as best ventilated or cool conditions as we can. However, once they arrive at the farmer, of course, then it really lies with the farmer,” he explained.
Lewis added that the most challenging heat conditions typically arrive later in the seasonal cycle, with late August, September, and October historically bringing the most dangerous heat pressure for Caribbean poultry flocks. In line with official guidance, he is urging all poultry managers to inspect and test ventilation systems in advance, activate cooling measures ahead of temperature spikes, and ensure all heat mitigation infrastructure is secured to help flocks withstand the coming heat.