分类： politics

Dominican Republic seeks Senate approval for amended 2026 budget

Santo Domingo – Facing shifting global and domestic economic conditions, the Dominican government has officially delivered an amended 2026 General State Budget bill to the national Senate, crafting adjustments to lift public investment, sustain core public services, and shield economically vulnerable groups from ongoing market pressures.

The revised proposal does not emerge in a vacuum; it is shaped by three major overlapping factors that have altered the country’s fiscal landscape in recent months: persistent volatility in international commodity and financial markets, widespread global trade disruptions that have impacted local supply chains and revenue streams, and the full rollout of Law 30-26, the government’s landmark tax reform legislation designed to strengthen national revenue collection through streamlined administrative processes and an expanded tax base.

According to the official breakdown of the plan, the Central Government projects total revenues will reach RD$1.383 trillion in 2026, while total public spending will rise to RD$1.785 trillion. This gap translates to a projected fiscal deficit of RD$280.6 billion, aligned with the government’s stated fiscal stability targets amid current economic challenges.

A core priority of the amendment is directing additional resources to high-impact government institutions. An extra RD$40.98 billion has been earmarked for key agencies, including the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Housing (Mivhed), Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MICM), and the Ministry of Finance and Economy, among other priority bodies.

Beyond new allocations, the proposal includes RD$17.7 billion in internal budget reallocations across existing government portfolios. Funding increases are planned for the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Interior and Police, the Office of the Presidency, and the Ministry of Defense. By contrast, appropriations for the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Energy and Mines, and the public debt service budget are set for reduction. Notably, the Ministry of Education will only reclassify RD$2 billion within its current approved budget, with no cut to its overall total allocation.

To build fiscal resilience against unexpected shocks, the administration is also planning to carry forward a RD$21.1 billion cash reserve from the 2025 fiscal year, earmarked specifically for emergency response and unforeseen events that may arise over the 2026 budget cycle.

Finally, the amendment updates existing budget legislation to add 23 new public investment projects focused on critical infrastructure. These projects span drinking water access, urban sanitation systems, mass transit networks, and sustainable energy infrastructure. All new projects will be financed by multilateral development partners, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the French Development Agency (AFD), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

20 7 月, 2026
Government launches territorial planning strategy for Verón-Punta Cana

PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The Dominican national administration has launched a landmark long-term development framework, the Municipal Territorial Planning Plan (PMOT), tailored to guide the growth of Verón-Punta Cana, the nation’s highest-earning and most visited tourism hotspot. The multi-faceted strategy prioritizes three core goals: structured urban expansion, conservation of the region’s sensitive natural ecosystems, and inclusive, long-lasting economic development that benefits both local communities and the global tourism industry.

20 7 月, 2026
Crime consultant says “somebody dropped the ball” in witness murder

A high-profile murder case in the Bahamas has sparked urgent demands for systemic oversight and institutional accountability after a man accused of killing a prospective prosecution witness violated his bail conditions 81 times over six months without consequence. The killing, which occurred in mid-July on Carmichael Road, has left criminal justice experts questioning critical gaps in the country’s bail monitoring protocols.

The 39-year-old suspect was formally charged on Monday with the murder of James McPhee, a 39-year-old man who was set to testify against the same accused in an upcoming armed robbery trial. Prosecutors have documented that between January 3 and July 8 – just four days before McPhee was killed – the defendant failed to check in at his required local police station 81 separate times in violation of his court-ordered bail terms. When the case moved to address the bail breaches, the suspect attempted to plead guilty to the violations before reversing his position, prompting the court to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Carlos Reid, a prominent crime consultant who has long called for criminal justice reform in the country, has emerged as the most vocal critic of the systemic failure that preceded the killing. Reid told local outlet The Tribune that repeated, unaddressed bail breaches represent an unacceptable failure of oversight, arguing that “somebody dropped the ball” that allowed a dangerous defendant to remain free and target the witness. “I think somebody should be accountable. Somebody should be made to bear,” Reid stated. “No, we can’t wait until like somebody die before we sound that alarm.”

Reid noted that despite the repeated missed check-ins, the suspect remained active on the court-ordered electronic monitoring program, never cutting off his tracking device. That means law enforcement authorities could have located the defendant immediately at any point after he missed his first required check-in, he argued. “If the court sanctions that you sign it, then you sign in. If you miss signing in, then you’re in breach of a court order. You should be taken back to court and if there’s any time that they wanted to find that person, that person was being monitored. They could have found him in a heartbeat,” Reid said.

The crime consultant is calling for a full investigation into how the repeated violations went unnoticed or unaddressed for more than six months. He has also pushed for a review of official protocols to clarify what steps authorities must take when a defendant repeatedly violates bail reporting requirements, and has asked whether McPhee should have been warned about the defendant’s ongoing breaches. Reid added that he has already raised the issue with the Minister of National Security, who has committed to preventing similar failures in the future.

However, Attorney General Wayne Munroe has pushed back on criticisms of the current system, downplaying the public safety risk tied to the missed check-ins. Munroe argued that the primary purpose of required police station check-ins is not to monitor daily public safety risk, but to ensure defendants do not flee before their trial. “The more positive way that we have to protect the public with people on bail if they’re considered dangerous is to electronically monitor them,” he said. “That way you know where they are 24 hours a day, as opposed to the one moment you walk in a police station and sign a book or do the biometric thing so the condition of signing into a police station is about preventing from you absconding.”

Munroe also questioned the need for dual reporting and electronic monitoring requirements, noting that continuous location tracking eliminates any need for periodic in-person check-ins. “If he’s being electronically monitored, I don’t understand why somebody who’s being electronically monitored needs to sign in at a police station. You know where to find him 24 hours a day,” he said. The attorney general added that any individual who feels threatened by a defendant released on bail can contact police to request an investigation, and officers have the authority to relocate at-risk witnesses if deemed necessary.

20 7 月, 2026
FAO: Dominican Republic no longer classified among countries facing hunger

Santo Domingo — The Dominican Republic has reached a landmark milestone in global food security, earning full removal from the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) official hunger map after cutting its national undernourishment rate to less than 2.5% — the UN agency’s international threshold for defining endemic hunger. The milestone is formally recognized in the recently released 2026 *State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World* (SOFI) report.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu praised the Caribbean nation’s success, attributing the achievement to consistent, high-level political commitment and coordinated cross-sector action to eradicate hunger. He emphasized that the Dominican Republic serves as a powerful global model, proving that targeted, effective public policy can deliver transformative food security outcomes regardless of a country’s geographic or economic size.

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader framed the win as a collective accomplishment, crediting coordinated work across smallholder farmers, the domestic private sector, civil society organizations, national public institutions, and key international partners including the FAO, the World Food Programme, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Moving forward, Abinader outlined that the country will shift its focus to strengthening long-term food systems stability, with priorities including boosting sustainable agricultural production, supporting small-scale family farming, upgrading national water management, expanding social protection programs, and building greater resilience to climate shocks and global geopolitical disruptions that threaten food supplies.
Minister of the Presidency José Ignacio Paliza explained that the progress traces back to a comprehensive national food security strategy rolled out in 2020, built around five core pillars: improving food availability, expanding equitable access to nutritious food, boosting nutritional outcomes for vulnerable groups, increasing climate resilience for agricultural systems, and strengthening multi-stakeholder food security governance.

Paliza highlighted the suite of targeted initiatives that drove the strategy’s success. These include the national School Feeding Program, which now provides daily meals to 2.1 million students across the country; the Aliméntate food access program that currently reaches 1.49 million low-income households; the Gas Bonus energy subsidy that benefits 1.3 million households; and a dramatic expansion of subsidized Economic Dining Halls, which grew from just 35 locations to 134, distributing 180,000 free or low-cost meals to vulnerable communities every day.

He also shared new data showing that national agricultural output hit 347 million quintals in 2025, representing a 5.6% increase over 2024 production levels. This growth was supported by targeted government policies including zero-interest financing for smallholder producers, infrastructure investments to expand irrigation access, streamlined land titling processes to formalize small farms, and government public procurement commitments that prioritize purchasing from local agricultural producers.

20 7 月, 2026
What really happens after a suspicious transaction is reported?

A widespread misunderstanding about global anti-money laundering frameworks has distorted public understanding of how suspicious activity reporting works: many people assume that as soon as a suspicious transaction is logged with authorities, an immediate arrest will follow. Legal industry expert Kevon K K Charles, Managing Partner of Grenada-based KC Legal Consultancy, explains that this almost never reflects the actual process. In fact, a suspicious transaction report is rarely the end of a probe — it is almost always the very first step of a quiet, behind-the-scenes investigation that most members of the public will never observe.

At the center of this unseen work is the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a specialized government body whose core role is often misunderstood by the general public. To clear up common confusion, Charles emphasizes that an FIU is neither a law enforcement agency nor a judicial body. Instead, it acts as a dedicated hub for collecting, processing, and connecting data on potentially illicit financial activity. Its core function is to turn scattered raw information into actionable intelligence: by cross-referencing data from multiple sources, identifying hidden patterns of suspicious behavior, and sharing refined insights with law enforcement and other relevant regulatory bodies when wrongdoing is suspected.

This distinction between raw information and processed intelligence is critical to understanding why immediate arrests do not follow every suspicious transaction report. A single report, viewed in isolation, rarely provides enough context to justify enforcement action. Only when that report is combined with other intelligence data can a complete, accurate picture of potential criminal activity emerge. While FIUs across the globe share this core mission, their specific authority and operating structures are defined by individual national legislation. Caribbean jurisdictions have all built their own FIUs tailored to their domestic legal frameworks, all united by the overarching goal of shielding regional financial systems from criminal abuse.

Looking at two Caribbean examples illustrates this regional approach. In Trinidad and Tobago, the FIU operates under the dedicated *Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago Act*, with core responsibilities that include collecting suspicious transaction reports, analyzing financial data, and sharing intelligence with relevant authorities when criminal activity is suspected. Its mandate extends beyond combating money laundering to also address terrorist financing and the funding of weapons proliferation. Grenada follows a very similar model: its national FIU is authorized to collect and analyze financial intelligence, open inquiries into potential financial crimes, and share relevant findings with law enforcement when appropriate. Though almost all of its work occurs out of public view, the Grenada FIU plays an irreplaceable role in protecting the country’s financial system and advancing regional efforts to dismantle financial crime networks.

The work of FIUs also carries important implications for professionals across the legal and property sectors, including estate lawyers, real estate practitioners, and financial institution employees. Most of these reporting entities never see what happens to a suspicious transaction report after they submit it, but their input is critical to the entire system. A single report that seems insignificant on its own can be the missing puzzle piece that reveals a larger pattern of illicit activity when combined with data from other sources. For this reason, Charles argues that mandatory suspicious activity reporting should never be treated as a meaningless bureaucratic check box. It is a core component of a far larger national and regional intelligence network that depends entirely on accurate, timely, and thorough reporting from frontline professionals.

Beyond the common narrative that FIUs exist solely to catch criminals, the organization’s mandate is actually far broader. By aggregating and analyzing data from hundreds of reporting entities, FIUs can identify emerging systemic financial risks, strengthen national regulatory compliance frameworks, and protect the global reputation and integrity of a country’s financial sector. In short, FIUs act as the critical bridge between raw financial data and actionable criminal intelligence that enables effective law enforcement.

As Charles notes in closing reflections, most members of the public will never have direct interaction with an FIU, and that is by design. The unit’s work is intentionally invisible to most. But every time a legal professional asks a client for additional context, a bank requests further verification documentation, or a reporting entity completes required due diligence checks, that action feeds into the larger system that protects the integrity of the entire Caribbean financial ecosystem.

The next time someone claims that filing a suspicious transaction report leads straight to arrest, it is important to correct that misconception: the report is only the starting line. Analysis always precedes enforcement action, and actionable intelligence always comes before prosecution. Behind that quiet, unseen process stands an institution that few people will ever notice, but one that delivers widespread public benefits to everyone who participates in the regional financial system.

This piece is part of an ongoing series exploring the changing dynamics of wealth, property, and regulatory compliance across the Caribbean. NOW Grenada does not take responsibility for opinions or statements shared by contributing authors, and invites users to report abusive content through official platform channels.

20 7 月, 2026
Andy Burnham becomes UK’s new prime minister

LONDON — In a historic shift at the top of British politics, Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, officially took office as the United Kingdom’s new prime minister on Monday, carrying with him a bold agenda focused on repairing national stability, overhauling the country’s fractured political system, and eliminating rough sleeping across the nation.

The handover of power followed the formal resignation of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after which King Charles III invited Burnham to form a new government. This leadership change makes Burnham the UK’s seventh prime minister to hold the office over the past 10 years, marking a prolonged period of political turnover that the new premier has pledged to end.

Standing outside 10 Downing Street in his first public address as prime minister, Burnham laid out his core priorities for his premiership. He emphasized that his administration would rework how British politics operates to “work better” for ordinary citizens, and set a clear goal of helping the country “regain our stability” after years of economic and political volatility. He also reaffirmed the UK’s long-standing defense commitments to its global allies, reassuring international partners of the country’s continued commitment to collective security.

Downing Street officials have confirmed that Burnham will begin announcing his Cabinet appointments later the same day he took office. Because the ruling Labour Party holds a solid majority in the House of Commons, the party was able to replace its leader without triggering a snap general election. Under UK electoral law, the next national general election is not required to be held until 2029, and Burnham has so far given no indication that he intends to call an early vote to secure his own mandate.

Before submitting his formal resignation to King Charles III, Starmer delivered a heartfelt farewell address to the nation. He described holding the office of prime minister as the “privilege of my life” and extended his warmest wishes to his successor, saying he hoped Burnham would achieve every success in leading the country.

Global leaders were quick to react to the leadership change, with dozens of top international figures releasing statements of congratulations. Among them were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. All expressed congratulations to Burnham and shared a common interest in deepening and strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations with the United Kingdom under its new leadership.

Looking ahead to his first term, Burnham has already outlined key policy priorities he plans to advance in the coming months. He has promised concrete action to tackle the ongoing cost-of-living crisis that has squeezed household budgets across the UK, announced plans to expand the supply of public affordable housing, and confirmed that his administration will unveil a sweeping 10-year national strategic plan before the end of the year.

20 7 月, 2026
Support for IACHR SoE concerns

Against a backdrop of rising violent crime and sustained reliance on emergency governance across the Caribbean, a leading criminologist has echoed the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) warning that repeated use of states of emergency requires careful balancing of public safety imperatives and constitutionally enshrined civil liberties.

In an interview with the *Express* published Saturday, criminologist Akinee Harry broke down the core argument laid out in the IACHR’s 2025 annual report, which flags the growing use of prolonged states of emergency across three Caribbean nations — Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, and Jamaica — as a growing threat to fundamental human rights. The regional human rights body specifically raised alarms about eroded protections for freedom of expression, freedom of association, and personal liberty linked to the ongoing deployment of these extraordinary measures.

Harry emphasized that democratic governments carry two non-negotiable, complementary responsibilities, not competing priorities: shielding their populations from the harm of violent crime, and upholding the civil rights guaranteed to all citizens under national law. “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights raises an important principle,” Harry noted. “Every democratic state has both a duty to protect its citizens from violent crime and an equally important duty to safeguard constitutional rights. These responsibilities should not be viewed as competing objectives.”

He acknowledged the severe security pressures facing the three countries named in the report, noting all three grapple with well-entrenched transnational organized criminal networks, rampant illicit firearms trafficking, and persistently high homicide rates that threaten public stability. Under international and domestic law, Harry confirmed, governments are fully within their rights to declare a state of emergency when a clear, pressing threat meets the legal threshold for extraordinary action. But he aligned with the IACHR’s core position that emergency powers must remain just that — exceptional tools to address temporary crises, not routine fixtures of daily governance.

Crucially, Harry argued that small island developing states (SIDS) like those in the Caribbean cannot build long-term public safety on repeated cycles of emergency declaration. Lasting reductions in violent crime, he explained, require systemic upgrades across the entire criminal justice ecosystem: more robust community policing, enhanced intelligence gathering capabilities, streamlined and effective prosecution processes, and improved rates of conviction for violent offenders. Beyond institutional criminal justice reform, he called for targeted, sustained investment in evidence-based violence prevention programs that address the root social and economic conditions that push people toward criminal activity.

“Without broader institutional reforms, criminal organisations often adjust their methods once emergency measures come to an end,” Harry explained, noting that temporary crackdowns rarely produce lasting reductions in criminal activity if underlying systemic weaknesses remain unaddressed.

For Harry, the central policy debate is not whether states of emergency should ever be used, but how they are structured and overseen. Any deployment of extraordinary emergency powers, he stressed, must remain lawful, proportionate to the threat at hand, and fully transparent to the public. These measures must also be subject to robust checks and balances from both parliamentary oversight bodies and the judiciary, to prevent abuse of power.

He also urged governments to outline clear, measurable performance benchmarks when declaring a state of emergency, to rigorously assess whether the measures are actually delivering sustained improvements to public safety. Without these guardrails, emergency powers can slowly erode the democratic foundations that states are meant to protect, he argued.

Ultimately, Harry framed the IACHR’s intervention as a constructive call to action rather than an attack on Caribbean governments’ efforts to curb crime. The commission’s concerns, he said, should be seen as an invitation to strengthen democratic accountability, and to explore evidence-based alternative approaches to tackling violent crime that do not rely on repeated states of emergency.

20 7 月, 2026
We will watch over our children, even in the most difficult times

On Cuba’s annual Children’s Day, the island nation’s top leader has issued a warm public tribute to the country’s younger generation, framing children as the foundational guardians of Cuba’s future prosperity and sovereignty.

In a series of posts shared across his official social media channels on July 20, 2026, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez — who serves simultaneously as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba — opened with a heartfelt greeting: “Congratulations to the little giants, guardians of the future of the Homeland, on this special day.”

Beyond his initial congratulations, the Cuban president reinforced the government’s long-standing commitment to protecting the nation’s youth, emphasizing that this commitment holds firm even amid the complex economic and geopolitical challenges Cuba has faced in recent years. “We will always watch over our children, even in the most difficult times,” he affirmed.

Díaz-Canel also used the national observance to pay homage to Cuba’s revolutionary legacy tied to the celebration of children. He recalled that the very establishment of Children’s Day in Cuba traces back to one of the country’s most iconic revolutionary figures, whom he described as “a giant of a pioneer.” He shared a vivid memory of this leader: that the iconic figure repeatedly welcomed young pioneers to tie the signature pioneer neckerchief around his neck during casual conversations with the country’s youth groups.

The presidential press office shared accompanying photos from the presidency via the messaging platform WhatsApp to accompany Díaz-Canel’s Children’s Day message to the Cuban public.

20 7 月, 2026
Dominican Republic : Strengthening the operational capacities of the Dominican army

In a major step to upgrade its military capabilities and harden border security along its shared frontier with Haiti, the Dominican Republic has formally received a large shipment of new military hardware – much of it developed and built domestically – in a ceremony held on July 17, 2026. The delivery, coordinated by the country’s Ministry of Defense, includes a diverse array of cutting-edge equipment designed to enhance surveillance, rapid response, and multi-domain defense capabilities across the nation’s border regions and strategic installations.

Among the new assets delivered are five unmanned vertical takeoff and landing drones, a mobile unmanned surveillance unit mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, 10 indigenously developed Centauro tactical vehicles, and 179 additional ground vehicles of varying types. The acquisition package also includes a full structural renovation and re-equipping of seven key facilities at San Isidro Air Base, a major operational hub for the Dominican armed forces.

The highlight of the ceremony was the public unveiling of the FURIA VBD-2, the latest armored fighting vehicle fully developed and assembled by the Dominican Republic’s domestic military industrial sector. Boasting military-grade ballistic protection, a full 360-degree rotating turret, and advanced battlefield operational capabilities, the first completed FURIA VBD-2 is the inaugural unit of a planned 18-vehicle production run. Once completed, these armored vehicles will be deployed to reinforce second-line defense brigades stationed along the country’s shared land border with Haiti, where security concerns have grown in recent years.

Breaking down the full roster of new ground vehicles, Defense Minister Carlos Fernández Onofre outlined that the shipment includes 76 purpose-built patrol trucks, 25 heavy trucks for troop and supply transport, seven minibuses designed for secure personnel movement, four minivans, and 67 motorcycles for rapid patrol operations in diverse terrain.

President Luis Abinader, who attended the official handover ceremony, used the occasion to frame the new equipment delivery as a landmark milestone for the country’s growing military industry. He emphasized that domestically developed hardware like the FURIA VBD-2 and Centauro tactical vehicles serves as tangible proof that the Dominican Republic now boasts a leading military industrial sector across Central America and the Caribbean. “Today, we have an exemplary military industry in Central America and the Caribbean, and we are at the forefront. It rivals the most advanced countries. We are on track to reach the level of the highest-performing Latin American countries,” Abinader told attendees.

Minister Onofre echoed the president’s remarks, noting that the acquisition and domestic production of this new generation of equipment marks significant progress in the armed forces’ push for technological modernization. He added that the shift toward domestic assembly and production of key military assets – including upcoming drone production that is set to begin in the near future – will generate substantial long-term savings for the national government budget.

“ The Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic continue to move resolutely toward technological advancement, consolidating a permanent surveillance capability, increased responsiveness, and multi-domain defense, in line with the challenges of the 21st century, all in service of the security, sovereignty, and defense of the Nation,” Onofre said.

The upgrade comes amid ongoing regional security focus on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border, where the Dominican government has stepped up efforts to control irregular migration, counter smuggling, and protect territorial sovereignty in recent years.

20 7 月, 2026
Fenatrano’s Juan Hubieres accuses Senator Antonio Marte of targeting union routes

escalating tensions between rival transport groups in the Dominican Republic have thrown the country’s public transportation system into a fresh round of conflict, with the head of one major union leveling serious accusations against a sitting senator who leads a competing organization.

Juan Hubieres, president of the National Federation of Public Transportation Workers (Fenatrano), has publicly charged Senator Antonio Marte, who also leads the National Confederation of Transportation (Conatra), with orchestrating a power grab to seize control of key public transit corridors that are currently operated by Fenatrano-affiliated route holders. At the core of the dispute is a fight over government-authorized route permissions, which are critical for operators to run legal and profitable bus services across the country.

According to Hubieres, Marte has been applying heavy pressure on national transportation authorities to revoke the legally granted operating rights of Fenatrano’s affiliated transport providers. The end goal of this pressure campaign, Hubieres claims, is to clear the way for Conatra to take over additional government-approved transit corridors, expanding Marte’s influence and control over the sector. Beyond the route grab, the Fenatrano leader has also alleged that the senator has received improper benefits through favorable government transportation contracts and access to heavily subsidized fuel. To address these claims, Hubieres is calling for a full, independent investigation into Marte’s business arrangements within the public transportation system.

Hubieres also turned his criticism to the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant), the country’s top regulatory body for land transport. He specifically called out the recent detention of Fenatrano vehicles operating along the heavily trafficked Mella corridor, arguing that the move directly violates the legally recognized operating rights held by his organization’s members. In an effort to push the regulator back to neutrality, Hubieres has urged Intrant Director Milton Morrison to refrain from aligning with either side in the ongoing conflict and to uphold the rule of law for all transport operators.

In sharp warnings against what he frames as a monopolistic power play, Hubieres stated that Marte is actively working to consolidate full control of the country’s major transit corridors. He made clear that Fenatrano will mount robust opposition to any attempt to displace its affiliated operators and revoke their legally held route rights. Hubieres also pointed to a history of violent conflict within the Dominican transport sector, emphasizing that the aggressive, intimidation-based tactics that marred past disputes must not be allowed to resurface in the current standoff.

The latest public accusations are just the most recent development in a long-running, high-stakes conflict over how public transportation corridors are allocated and managed across the Dominican Republic, with control of these routes translating directly to significant economic and political influence for the groups that hold them.

19 7 月, 2026