HomeNewsBriefDominican Republic Drags Feet on Investigating Narco's Claims
BRIEF

Dominican Republic Drags Feet on Investigating Narco's Claims

CARIBBEAN / 19 FEB 2015 BY MICHAEL LOHMULLER EN

The Dominican Republic Attorney General's Office said there are no plans to investigate allegations that a convicted drug trafficker financed the campaign of a former president, the latest chapter in a long-running saga that has been illustrative of the depth of corruption in the country. 

Last week, Quirino Paulino Castillo -- one of the Dominican Republic's most notorious drug traffickers -- said that he lent former President Leonel Fernandez around $4.5 million. He also said that he wrote Fernandez a letter demanding repayment of a $222,000 loan.

Fernandez, who served as the Dominican Republic's president twice, has denied the claims. The country's attorney general has now said that he "cannot tell at this point if we will start an investigation," according to Diario Libre. He added that Dominican authorities would not look into Paulino's claims unless they received supporting evidence from US counterparts suggesting that such a tie between Paulino and the ex-president exists. 

Paulino was extradited to the United States in 2005 after being arrested with 1.3 tons of cocaine that was en route to the US. He was released from prison last year, but still resides in the United States.

InSight Crime Analysis

Why Paulino is coming forward now and making claims of corruption against Fernandez nearly 10 years after his arrest and extradition to the US is somewhat of a mystery.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of the Dominican Republic

Some have said Paulino is simply trying to smear those who were responsible for dismantling his criminal organization and confronting Dominican organized crime. Paulino, on the other hand, claims that the economic situation of his family is desperate, and that he needs back the money he allegedly lent to Fernandez. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic attorney general's office has made it clear that for now, they don't intend to probe too deeply into his allegations. 

While the claims of a convicted drug trafficker against those responsible for his downfall understandably lack standing, they are not beyond the realm of belief. Paulino previously served as an army captain, and made donations to several political campaigns and causes in the Dominican Republic before his arrest in 2004.  

The Dominican Republic has long struggled with corruption, and the country's illegal transnational drug trade has badly corroded public institutions. Indeed, it may be that the final chapter of the Paulino saga has yet to be written, and his allegations against Fernandez may yet prove to hold weight.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 24 JAN 2023

As American-made guns continue to flood the Caribbean, heads of state are demanding that the US do more to stem the…

CARIBBEAN / 3 JUN 2022

Gangs in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince are rounding up homeless and at-risk teens, who are increasingly being used as…

CARIBBEAN / 31 AUG 2021

More than two weeks after an earthquake devastated Haiti and killed at least 2,200 people, criminal gangs are still shaking…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…