Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainannie
As you may have been reading, the entire police force in Puerto Plata has been sacked for corruption and replaced so they are just doing a sweep up operation to pick up the trash. Should be a much safer place after they finish. Not to worry.
|
Ha! Seriously, the entire police force of PP hasn't been fired. Some have, some PN including the local police chief General Calderon Efres who has been replaced by General Then (who we had before & who then went to Santiago. Now he's back.) General Then is known for 'mano duro' & last time he was the boss there were lots of barrio sweeps rounding up anyone & everyone. Generally he is supported by local business people who protested when he was moved after his term here, so they'll be happy that he is back. As well as some PN being arrested for extracting protection money from drug dealers (approx RD$15,000-RD$20,000 a month (some say each week!) from each dealer & I believe they were collecting from approx 300 dealers), some DNCD have been arrested including I believe the DNCD commandante from Sosua. Allegedly some Fiscals are also being investigated but no-one is naming names. On Thursday they dismantled PP's SWAT team & its director is under investigation. They are also investigating the staff at Fortaleza prison.
So, having arrested a lot of foot soldiers, maybe one day they'll get the 'godfathers'???? Yeah, right.
At the time when the beach fight was going on in Cabarete on the beach at Bambu last weekend, the police took those who didn't need the hospital to the Cabarete jail. Then I'm told a mob appeared to storm the jail to get their buddies out, so Cabarete police called for backup from Sosua & PP. Unfortunately PP police were unable to assist because at that time the 'investigation team' into police corruption had arrived in PP from SD and locked the police in the police station (police were pretty disgruntled about this!)
Puerto Plata Digital
You really couldn't make this stuff up. Anyway what has all this to do with Fishguy's post? I didn't see the events he witnessed (safely at home at the time) but I would agree as to muscle flexing. My hunch is that this isn't much to do with plastic chairs although that would be the nominated 'cause' for the action. What I suspect we're seeing is muscle flexing between SD & PP respective authorities. A sort of police turf war maybe? Either that or
mucha espuma y poco chocolate. It eerily reminds me of the time when a team came up from SD and Fiscal Ceballos got killed in Sosua (November 2006). I wish Rocky was still posting because it'd be interesting to see if the same thought had occurred to him. Remember also that as a backdrop there is the Ministerial Conference on Illegal Drug Trafficking currently going on so the Government needs to be seen as making efforts against the drug industry.
Caribbean asks for more help with drugs - DiarioLibre.com
My guess would be that in the short term certainly in PP itself & possibly over the whole province we can expect a fair number of barrio late night roundups. This would be what General Then did before and he achieved some considerable success with lowering crime levels when he was appointed the first time.
If anyone is asking my advice and doesn't consider it too cynical or over protective
it would be to ensure you are not in the wrong place at the wrong time. Late night visits to PP downtown barrios would not be advisable!