标签： Dominican Republic

On a recent official event held in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIREX) unveiled a new authoritative publication that chronicles the nation’s targeted diplomatic push to rally global backing for Haiti amid its spiraling political, security, and humanitarian collapse. Titled *Dominican Diplomacy in the Face of the Haitian Crisis 2024-2026: More Speeches and Key Writings*, this volume marks the second installment in an ongoing series tracking the Dominican government’s response to the instability spilling across its shared border with Haiti. The launch ceremony was opened by Vice President Raquel Peña, and followed by a substantive panel discussion featuring leading legal scholars and veteran diplomatic practitioners.

Co-edited by three top Dominican diplomatic figures — Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez, Deputy Foreign Minister Rubén Silié, and career diplomat Anselmo Muñiz — the compilation brings together a full range of primary materials from the 2024-2026 period. These include official speeches, formal diplomatic correspondence, multilateral resolutions, and records of on-the-ground diplomatic initiatives that the Dominican Republic has pursued to shine a sustained international spotlight on Haiti’s crisis and secure tangible support for security and stabilization efforts.

Speaking at the book’s launch, Foreign Minister Álvarez outlined that the nation’s approach to the Haitian crisis has been rooted in the good-neighbor policy articulated by President Luis Abinader. He emphasized that Dominican leadership began sounding alarm bells about the growing risks in Haiti long before the full scale of the collapse gained widespread recognition from the global community. For most major world powers, Haiti’s crisis ranks as just one of many pressing global challenges, Álvarez noted, but for the Dominican Republic, it is an issue of existential national security that stands as the country’s top foreign policy priority.

A key throughline highlighted in the publication is the unprecedented cross-partisan national consensus that has shaped Dominican policy toward Haiti. The book documents how three former Dominican presidents — Leonel Fernández, Hipólito Mejía, and Danilo Medina — have joined the current administration in coordinated international advocacy on the issue. It also lays out the tangible contributions the Dominican Republic has already made to multinational security missions operating in Haiti, ranging from logistical backing and financial assistance to medical support. Beyond direct contributions, the text details the consistent work Dominican diplomats have done to ensure the Haitian crisis remains a core item on the agendas of major multilateral bodies and key global partner nations.

In a high-profile ruling that underscores growing enforcement of digital defamation laws in the Dominican Republic, well-known communicator Claudia Pérez — widely recognized by her public name “La Tora” — has been convicted and sentenced to 12 months of incarceration for defaming ruling party deputy Sergio Moya via digital channels.

The judgment was delivered this week by Magistrate Octavia Carolina Fernández Curi, presiding over the Eighth Criminal Chamber of the National District based in the capital, Santo Domingo. Beyond the custodial sentence, the court ordered Pérez to pay 5 million Dominican pesos in moral damages compensation to Moya, who is commonly known by his nickname “Gory,” and instructed the convicted communicator to cover all associated court costs for the proceedings.

Court documents confirm that Pérez made use of social media platforms and other digital telecommunications channels to distribute statements that the justice system ruled had severely harmed the sitting deputy’s public honor and professional reputation. The legal action stemmed directly from Moya’s private criminal complaint, in which he alleged Pérez had falsely tied him to organized criminal activity in her public postings.

In her ruling, Magistrate Fernández Curi confirmed that Pérez’s actions ran afoul of Articles 21 and 22 of the Dominican Republic’s Law 53-07, landmark legislation focused on high-technology crimes that explicitly penalizes defamation and slander committed through electronic mediums. Pérez is scheduled to begin serving her sentence at the Najayo Women’s Correction and Rehabilitation Center, a women’s prison facility outside the capital.

Under the Dominican Republic’s existing criminal procedure regulations, Pérez retains the right to file an appeal of the ruling with a higher appellate court. If she chooses to move forward with an appeal, legal experts note she is also eligible to request a suspension of her sentence’s execution while the higher court conducts its full review of the conviction and sentencing.

The court’s ruling also fully upheld the civil damages claim brought forward by Moya’s legal team. This case marks one of the most visible recent applications of Law 53-07 to digital speech disputes in the country, shedding light on how Dominican courts are addressing conflicts that arise from content posted to social media and other online platforms, an increasingly common source of legal tension in the digital age.

MADRID — Speaking to a crowd of gathered supporters at Madrid’s Eventize Space, former Dominican president and current leader of the opposition People’s Force party Leonel Fernández has issued a sharp rejection of the tax policy agenda put forward by the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), warning that new fiscal burdens would be untenable for Dominican households already grappling with soaring living costs and persistent inflation.

Fernández’s public criticism came during an event that also marked the swearing-in of new People’s Force members from multiple political backgrounds. The new recruits include defectors from the ruling PRM, the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), and the Democratic Hope Party (PED), alongside Dominican professionals, entrepreneurs, healthcare workers and community leaders based across Spain and other European nations.

At the gathering, the opposition leader argued that the current PRM administration is pursuing policies that function as a full tax reform, only rebranded under an alternative name to avoid public backlash. He stressed that the strained economic environment facing ordinary Dominicans makes any new tax-based policy completely inappropriate, noting that the government has yet to deliver solutions for the country’s most pressing public challenges despite its pursuit of additional public revenue.

Fernández made clear that the People’s Force will stand firm against any legislative or executive initiative that raises taxes or pushes greater financial strain onto working families. He emphasized that widespread public anxiety over rising inflation and the escalating cost of essential goods has not eased, and reaffirmed his party’s commitment to advocating for the interests of workers, students, women, youth and all marginalized social sectors across the Dominican Republic.

Looking ahead to the 2028 national elections, Fernández framed the strong turnout and growing cross-border support from the Dominican diaspora in Europe as a major vote of confidence in the opposition bloc. He noted that the influx of new members from across the political spectrum and the expanding base among Dominicans living abroad reflects the party’s successful, ongoing push to build its presence within the country’s global diaspora community.