标签： Dominican Republic

In the coastal town of Cabarete, located in Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic, a long-running legal conflict over land rights and public beach access has entered a new phase: private investment firm Inversiones Calpe, S.R.L. has begun installing concrete bollards along the boundaries of what it confirms is its privately held parcel at the popular surf destination Playa Encuentro.

Led by U.S. investor Lance B. Lundberg, the company has emphasized that all construction work is taking place strictly within its registered property lines. The bollards, company representatives explain, are only intended to block unauthorized vehicle and foot traffic that has historically cut across the private land to reach the beach. Far from cutting off public access to the shoreline, Calpe notes that the project leaves intact the court-recognized public access route that all visitors can use to reach the beach. To accommodate beachgoers, the firm has even set aside part of its land for public parking, added public restrooms, outdoor showers, and on-site security for visitor convenience.

Beyond property protection, Calpe frames the boundary installation as an environmental conservation measure. By redirecting all public traffic to the designated public route, the work will cut down on unregulated vehicle passage through ecologically fragile coastal habitats, helping to preserve the area’s sensitive natural ecosystem, the company says.

All of the current work aligns with a series of binding Dominican court rulings dating back to late 2024. In a decision issued April 30, 2025, the Fifth Chamber of the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) ordered that Calpe be allowed to fence and mark the boundaries of Parcel 1-Ref-13, Cadastral District No. 2 of Puerto Plata, without interference from any government bodies. The ruling also required state institutions to remove misleading signs placed on the private property that incorrectly directed beach traffic across the land, and correct incorrect directional signage in surrounding areas. The court explicitly stated that public access to the beach’s public-domain section should not use Calpe’s private land, as a formal public right-of-way already exists for that purpose.

The legal dispute originated with an earlier TSA ruling issued November 13, 2024, which first ordered state agencies to end interference with Calpe’s property rights and correct misleading access signage. When compliance stalled, the court issued a follow-up ruling on April 10, 2026, finding that two key agencies—the Ministry of Tourism and the Dominican Navy—had failed to comply with the 2025 order for 213 days, between June 24, 2025 and January 22, 2026. The court imposed cumulative daily penalties (called astreinte) totaling RD$213,000 to be paid jointly by the two agencies, gave them 30 days to achieve full compliance, and increased the daily fine for future noncompliance to RD$1,500. This 2026 ruling also explicitly banned the Ministry of Tourism and Dominican Navy from entering the private property without explicit permission from Calpe.

Calpe further confirmed that the Third Chamber of the Dominican Supreme Court of Justice rejected appeals filed by the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources challenging the 2025 TSA ruling, in a decision dated December 18, 2025, numbered SCJ-TS-25-4322.

According to Calpe, the current bollard and fencing project simply fulfills the rights granted to the company by these binding court decisions. The work’s core goals are to clearly mark the private parcel’s boundaries, deter unauthorized trespassing, and direct all beach visitors to the court-authorized public access route. The company has issued a public call for both government authorities and beach visitors to respect two equally important principles: the public status of the majority of Playa Encuentro, and the private property rights that have been repeatedly upheld by Dominican courts.

A broad group of Dominican government institutions have been involved in the dispute, including the Ministry of Tourism, the Committee for the Execution of Tourism Zone Infrastructure (CEIZTUR), the Dominican Navy, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and the National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA).

Santo Domingo — Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has doubled down on his administration’s pledge to inject greater competition into the country’s telecommunications sector, arguing that new market entrants will drive up service standards and cut consumer costs amid a decades-old concentrated market structure.

In remarks delivered during a public press briefing, Abinader specifically addressed the upcoming entry of a new Vietnamese-owned telecommunications provider, framing the move as a core part of his government’s broader economic agenda. That agenda centers on dismantling entrenched oligopolistic and monopolistic control across key domestic industries by opening closed markets to new domestic and international competitors, the president explained.

Current market dynamics leave the Dominican telecommunications sector heavily concentrated, Abinader revealed: roughly 95% of the entire market is controlled by just two dominant incumbent operators. As a direct result of this limited competition, local consumer telecommunications rates sit roughly 22% above the regional average for Latin America, he added. The president contended that expanded competition will force existing and new operators alike to ramp up investment in modern network technology, upgrade customer service offerings, and align pricing with more competitive regional benchmarks.

While the administration prioritizes supporting domestic Dominican investment, Abinader clarified that the country actively welcomes responsible investment from foreign firms based in allied nations, so long as those entities do not pose any identifiable threat to Dominican national security.

Speaking specifically to the incoming Vietnamese investment, Abinader noted that Vietnam maintains a strategic alliance with the United States, and emphasized that any telecommunications firm seeking to operate in the Dominican Republic is required to adhere strictly to international information security standards and regulatory safeguards. The president closed by reaffirming that the administration’s overarching goals are to foster fair, open competition across the sector, upgrade the quality of telecommunications services available to the public, and deliver tangible, long-term price reductions for all Dominican consumers.

In a ceremonial gathering held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIREX) Convention Center in Santo Domingo, newly appointed Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Víctor “Ito” Bisonó accepted formal congratulations from the full body of accredited diplomatic, consular and international organization representatives based in the country.

The introductory meeting marked Bisonó’s first public appearance as the nation’s top diplomatic official, where he laid out his core governing priorities and committed to building close, collaborative working relationships with all foreign envoys and institutional representatives operating within Dominican territory.

Bisonó made clear that his tenure will maintain continuity with the foreign policy trajectory set by sitting President Luis Abinader. The overarching goals of this direction remain centered on advancing and protecting the Dominican Republic’s core national interests, projecting the country’s core cultural and societal values to the global community, and expanding access to new development opportunities that directly benefit all Dominican citizens.

A key internal priority highlighted by the new minister is continued institutional strengthening and professionalization of the Dominican foreign service. He stressed the need to transform MIREX into a more modern, publicly accessible and outcome-driven institution that can effectively adapt to and address the growing complexity of 21st-century international affairs.

Bisonó structured his foreign policy vision around three clear, foundational pillars. The first focuses on protecting the rights and advancing the social integration of Dominican citizens living and working outside the country’s borders. The second pillar centers on expanding national exports, attracting increased foreign direct investment, and unlocking new economic opportunities that drive domestic growth. The third and final pillar is dedicated to upholding global democratic standards, protecting universal human rights, and defending the foundational principles of peaceful international coexistence.

Beyond the core pillars, Bisonó emphasized that deepening bilateral ties will be a key operational priority. He called for strengthening existing partnerships with partner nations while actively pursuing new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation with governments across the globe.

On the multilateral stage, the new foreign minister reaffirmed the Dominican Republic’s longstanding commitment to inclusive multilateral cooperation, binding international law, and the peaceful settlement of cross-border disputes. He also underscored the country’s support for expanded collective international action to tackle transboundary challenges that no single nation can address effectively on its own.

In a high-level working meeting held at the National District City Hall in Santo Domingo, the top leadership of the Dominican National Police and the municipal government of the National District have finalized a series of new cooperative agreements aimed at boosting public safety across the capital, rolling out an upgraded policing model, and ensuring the smooth hosting of an upcoming international sporting event for law enforcement.

During a courtesy visit from National Police Director General Major General Ernesto Rodríguez García to National District Mayor Carolina Mejía, the two senior officials conducted a comprehensive review of ongoing joint projects designed to enhance crime prevention and security infrastructure across all neighborhoods of the National District. Both sides emphasized that coordinated action between national law enforcement and local municipal authorities is a core pillar of creating a safer urban environment for residents and visitors alike.

A central focal point of the discussions was the phased rollout of a new community-oriented police patrol framework. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to close inter-agency coordination, aligning municipal resource allocation with national police operational planning to expand patrol coverage, cut response times to security incidents, and strengthen trust between law enforcement and local communities.

Preparations for the IV USIP World Games also emerged as a key priority on the meeting’s agenda. The quadrennial event, which gathers law enforcement delegations from police agencies across dozens of countries, is scheduled to take place in the Dominican Republic, drawing hundreds of international participants. The two sides aligned on coordinated security and logistical support to ensure the event runs safely and successfully, highlighting the opportunity the games present to showcase the Dominican Republic’s capacity to host major international gatherings.