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On a recent Saturday, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader undertook a full day of project inaugurations spanning multiple municipalities in Santo Domingo province, unveiling six government-led public initiatives targeted at advancing education, environmental infrastructure, community sports, and accessible housing for thousands of local families.

The first stop on the president’s itinerary was Los Alcarrizos, where he opened the municipality’s new solid waste transfer station. Built with a total investment of 49 million Dominican pesos, the facility forms a key part of the national Zero Waste Program, designed to streamline the region’s waste collection and disposal processes. Los Alcarrizos Mayor Junior Santos noted that the new infrastructure will triple the operational output of local garbage collection fleets, cutting down on route times and lowering long-term service costs for the municipality. Santos also highlighted that the current Abinader administration has delivered a wave of transformative public projects to the area, including the new cable car system, an extension of Santo Domingo Metro Line 2C, new educational facilities, affordable housing developments, formal property titling programs, and the renovation of Vinicio Calventi Hospital.

Still in Los Alcarrizos’ Hato Nuevo district, Abinader officially opened the first phase of construction for the Ercilia Pepín High School. The expansion adds 26 fully equipped new classrooms to the campus, boosting the school’s capacity to serve 960 additional students. The updated campus includes modern administrative offices, dedicated science and computer laboratories, an on-site nurse’s station, a commercial kitchen, and a public civic plaza, among other amenities. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Dominican Minister of Education Luis Miguel De Camps framed each new classroom as an investment in the country’s long-term future, reaffirming the national government’s ongoing commitment to expanding access to high-quality public education across the country.

Abinader also marked the completion of two additional education-focused projects in Los Alcarrizos: a covered sports facility and new early education classrooms at Félix Lope de Vega Primary School. The upgrades expand both instructional and athletic space, supporting the holistic development of the school’s student body. The centerpiece of the project is a new multipurpose hall that will provide a weather-protected, safe space for sports, cultural events, and community recreational activities. The Ministry of Education confirmed that all ongoing school upgrade projects are on track to be completed ahead of the new academic year, which is scheduled to begin on August 24.

Continuing his focus on community public infrastructure, the president inaugurated the fully renovated Dante Lemoniel Sports Club, also in Los Alcarrizos. The rehabilitation project included resurfacing the main playing field, repairing spectator stands, and upgrading the facility’s multipurpose community space. Minister of Sports Kelvin Cruz stated that infrastructure investments like this one will mark a turning point for national public sports infrastructure across the Dominican Republic. Local community leaders added that the updated space will not only expand access to recreational activities for residents but also support local crime prevention efforts by providing a positive gathering space that encourages peaceful community coexistence.

Moving to Boca Chica municipality, Abinader presided over the official handover of the Nuevas Esperanzas (New Hopes) Residential Complex, an affordable housing development that delivers 112 new apartments to low-income local families. Minister of Housing and Construction Víctor “Ito” Bisonó reported that this delivery brings the total number of government-funded affordable apartments completed under the current administration to 890, which has already benefited more than 2,600 Dominican residents. Bisonó reiterated the government’s target to deliver 4,000 new affordable housing units before the end of the calendar year, noting that more than 58% of the completed units are registered to women homeowners.

The day of inaugurations concluded in Sabana Perdida’s Los Cerros sector, with the opening of the new Minerva Mirabal Elementary School. The purpose-built facility will serve more than 900 K-12 students with modern instructional space. The campus features 27 classrooms, a full public library, a student cafeteria, commercial kitchen, on-site nurse’s office, outdoor sports field, dedicated recreational areas, and administrative offices. Minister of Education De Camps emphasized that the new school is part of the government’s broader push to ensure all educational facilities meet modern safety and accessibility standards ahead of the August 24 start of the academic year, giving all Dominican children and teenagers a suitable environment to pursue their education.

Taken together, the six projects mark a significant expansion of public services and infrastructure across Santo Domingo province, with the government projecting that thousands of local families will see direct improvements to their daily quality of life as a result of the investments.

A tragic violent incident in the Dominican Republic has left a 10-year-old girl dead and her mother, a disqualified member of the country’s National Police, in custody following the attack, law enforcement authorities confirmed this week. The incident unfolded in the Batey Bienvenido sector of Manoguayabo’s municipal district, where the woman is alleged to have violently injured her own minor daughter.

Immediately after the attack, emergency medical teams responded to the scene to provide urgent care to the 10-year-old, who had suffered a deep laceration to her neck. Despite rapid intervention and ongoing medical treatment, the young girl ultimately succumbed to her injuries while under hospital care.

Preliminary investigations into the case have uncovered key background details about the accused: the detained woman has a documented history of receiving ongoing treatment for a diagnosed mental health condition, and has been on official medical leave from her role with the National Police since 2023. The National Police statement also clarified that the accused’s status as a disqualified officer will be formally integrated into the investigative process, with all proceedings moving forward in full compliance with national law and formal due process requirements.

At present, the National Police is leading the investigation in close coordination with the Dominican Public Prosecutor’s Office. The joint investigation team is working to piece together a full, accurate account of the circumstances leading up to the incident, in order to clarify exactly what occurred and assign legal responsibility in line with findings.

After a 10-day planned system-wide closure for mandatory annual upkeep, Los Alcarrizos Cable Car Line 2 in Santo Domingo will welcome passengers again starting this Monday, July 20. The temporary shutdown, which ran from July 10 through 19, was implemented by the Metropolitan Transport Company (MT) to complete required maintenance work that aligns with global safety standards for urban cable transport systems.

In an official press statement, MT representatives emphasized that this extensive maintenance procedure is a required annual practice to preserve infrastructure safety and operational reliability. Unlike minor repairs that can be completed outside of operating hours, this full system overhaul demands a complete suspension of service to allow technicians to inspect and service every component of the cable network without risking public safety.

To minimize travel disruptions for regular commuters, the Metropolitan Office of Bus Services (OMSA) has been operating complimentary alternative bus services throughout the maintenance period. These shuttle services have followed the exact same operating schedule as the cable car, with designated stops at four key locations: Los Americanos, Puente Blanco, Bomba Total on Duarte Street, and the main Los Alcarrizos station. The service runs from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sundays, matching the cable car’s regular operating hours.

For residents relying on other mass transit options in the city, officials confirmed that Santo Domingo Metro Line 2C has remained fully operational throughout the cable car closure, with no significant delays or disruptions recorded in its passenger service. Transit authorities have thanked the public for their patience during the maintenance work and confirmed that all safety checks have been completed successfully ahead of the scheduled reopening. This routine upkeep is designed to extend the service life of the cable car infrastructure and prevent unplanned outages in the coming year, supporting reliable urban mobility for thousands of daily commuters in the region.

A 44-year-old Dominican man who died less than 24 hours after being released from police custody amid an ongoing investigation has been confirmed to have died from complications of leptospirosis, according to preliminary autopsy results released by the San Cristóbal Prosecutor’s Office.

Miguel Antonio Valenzuela first entered police custody on the afternoon of July 8, when National Police officers apprehended him for running unregulated clandestine raffles using a Verifone payment terminal. Following his arrest, Valenzuela was transferred to the 17th Company Detachment holding facility in San Cristóbal, where he remained in custody for five days. His family was permitted to visit him at the detention center on July 10, and three days later, he was moved to the San Cristóbal Palace of Justice for processing ahead of his court-ordered release.

Immediately after exiting the courthouse following his release, Valenzuela told family members he was experiencing severe weakness. Concerned for his health, his relatives rushed him to the Juan Pablo Pina Regional Teaching Hospital, the main public medical facility in San Cristóbal province. Once admitted, clinical staff documented that Valenzuela developed dyspnea (difficulty breathing), a widespread body rash, petechiae (small pinpoint hemorrhages under the skin), and conjunctival hemorrhage. These severe symptoms prompted an emergency transfer to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, but Valenzuela suffered an irreversible cardiorespiratory arrest at 11:20 p.m. that same day and was pronounced dead.

The National Institute of Forensic Pathology, which was tasked with conducting an official autopsy as part of the Prosecutor’s Office mandatory investigation into the death, completed initial testing that revealed the root cause of Valenzuela’s fatal illness. Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection most commonly spread to humans through direct contact with urine from infected animals—including rodents, dogs, and livestock—or exposure to water or soil contaminated with the bacteria, was confirmed via polymerase chain reaction testing processed through the ELISA method. The test returned a positive result for the leptospirosis pathogen, which the autopsy report confirmed triggered widespread inflammation and subsequent thrombocytopenia, a dangerous drop in platelet count that contributed to his fatal organ dysfunction.

“During the autopsy exam, pathologists noted organic alterations consistent with an inflammatory pathological process linked directly to the bacterial infection,” the forensic institute’s report stated. The Ministry of Public Health also concurred with the finding, formally listing the infectious bacterial process detected via laboratory testing as the basic cause of death. The San Cristóbal Prosecutor’s Office will continue formal proceedings to review all circumstances surrounding Valenzuela’s illness and death to confirm no additional contributing factors occurred during his time in custody.