Sosua Shoot Out or Firecrackers

[J D Sauser]

Originally Posted by uk300wrx

Been reading through this thread and it's got me a little worried, we're off to cabarete end of june which i know is'nt very far from sosua, we did want to venture out of our al as there is a free shuttle provided by the complex running to cabarete and sosua, i'm now worried that this is not safe to do so, or are the shootings that has occured well away from the touristy bit.

We stayed al in sosua 2 year ago and never ventured out of the complex only on tours, but because we have done a lot of the tours already we were looking forward to traveling by shuttle to sosua and cabarete at our own free will. Can anyone advise me if there is any saftey issues regarding this, or am i just been overprotective with the issue

Dont' be too concerned, just don't do anything clearly stupid.
Like in Miami, NYC, Palm Beach, Paris, Geneva or most any town or city in the world, criminal activities are mostly confined to sectors tourists and even locals and residents would (should) not visit unless acting in an very irresponsible way (like blindly following 5 minute friends and loves of a life time into sectors unknown and clearly less than recommendable to anybody not belonging there). Unlike other locations in the world, these sectors are clearly recognizable by the state of the streets and buildings and lack of infrastructure and also lack of "family" activities on the street as well as the lack of people looking like you walking the street.

Also, don't buy or use drugs of any sort or hang out with people who do or propose to you to.
Don't wave money, jewelery or electronic valuables around... don't create envies either.
And don't believe in any deals which seem to good to be true... because they ARE.

And you shall be fine.

... J-D.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by uk300wrx

Been reading through this thread and it's got me a little worried, we're off to cabarete end of june

By end of June there are likely to be fewer bad guys around. Puerto Plata's police chief General Then has taken over the rounding up of traffickers & weapons in Sosua & has given them 48 hours to hand over themselves plus weapons and he will guarantee they live. Rest of sentence unfinished but funeral directors are probably going to find they have a growth industry for a few weeks. This is the same guy who did this in the PP barrios a year ago when he was a Coronel & while I don't like the indiscriminate elimination of people, I have to say it worked in PP. Street shootouts between rival punto owners dropped markedly. Don't go where the bad guys at any time but especially not for the next few days because mopping up operations are likely to be in progress.
Puerto Plata Digital

I don't want to sound like a cynic but this will move puntos to other areas while attention is focussed on Sosua. This is just what happened in PP. The drugs industry didn't stop or decrease - it just went elsewhere.

[Berzin]

Originally Posted by liam1

i hope they change Police personnel is Sosua, they are as corrupt as they get.

the cops in Sosua are charging "rent" for every "punto" selling drugs, and they charge 15K - 20K a month, depending on location. also there is more drugs here now because before the international traffickers (Colombians, Venezuelans and Puerto Ricans) used to pay the Dominicans for their services in cash, about 2 years ago they began paying them more but instead of cash money in drugs, in other words if they owned the Dominican 15K they would not pay them 15K cash but 20K worth of cocaine, and then the Dominicans have to turn the coke into cash, that's why there is so much coke on the streets now.

Is the rent money charged in pesos or dollars? It would be interesting to know, because from the amount of rent charged one could ascertain more or less how much the punto is making for the dealers.

If we are talking about this type of money, and with a recession coming right over the horizon, you best believe the Colonel will get the same treatment every other crusader receives in the drug game-"Plata o Plomo"-and he will have a decision to make.

[liam1]

it is in Pesos.

[liam1]

Originally Posted by Lambada

With respect, liam1, the payment of kind rather than cash started during the 2000-2004 administration so it has been in place about 5 years & initially coincided with a period of high inflation here, so 'assets' had to be turned into cash & thus the market was created.

i am not disagreeing with this since it is probably correct. the people i know "started doing their thing about 2 years ago when the cocaine traveling on international routes began spilling on the local market". you said it began spilling over 7-8 years ago, ok, then i guess it just reached these guys about 2 years ago.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by Berzin

If we are talking about this type of money, and with a recession coming right over the horizon, you best believe the Colonel will get the same treatment every other crusader receives in the drug game-"Plata o Plomo"-and he will have a decision to make.

That would be true if it were a black & white issue. But as with all these things it is best to keep in mind that even the 'good' guys may not be entirely without some sort of allegiance to one faction or another. Yeah, I know, cynical BUT I had a very depressing conversation with the father of a local Fiscal this morning.............. So before anyone starts making donations they had really best look into this. Only please don't ask me to...........that's why the post I put earlier focussed on results, not motivation. If someone is reducing the number of traffickers, fine by me. But I really wouldn't want to examine why that someone might be doing it too closely because I suspect I don't want to hear the answer (at least not on my own doorstep ).

As to whether the system here is stronger than the drug trade..........I'm sure it isn't like Medellin but I'm equally sure there is an awful lot about here which we don't know. And it is probably wisest to keep it that way.

[liam1]

i would say that the drug trade in DR, like in most other countries in the world, is tightly controlled by Secret/Intelligence Services.

[liam1]

if there was a REAL effort to stop the drug trade, in a very short time 90% of puntos could be put out of business. local cops already know where they are, and who the sellers are, but as long as they're collecting rent, or as long as they are not pushed from the higher-ups from the Capital, they won't bite the hand that feeds them. inter-country drug shipping is as easy as putting a package on a Caribe Tours bus and in a matter on hours it is at the location. there are 5-6 military check-points when coming from Dajabon, but military and police vehicles are waived thru without any inspection, so are large busses, and most of illegal guns come to DR from Haiti, via Dajabon. the international trafficking circles are very much infiltrated by government agents who are following heavy shipments and making sure the big money ends up where it is supposed to.

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by adrianb

I hope something is done about it.

Not a chance.
Just like in the US, the drug trade is now part of the economy.
It is here to stay.
As one DNCD officer said to me, "Why do you think we call it control de drogas?
Nobody has any intention of eradicating it.

[DR Mpe]

Originally Posted by adrianb

I can see why. I could keep up a payment of $2k/month to some cops to keep an area of Sosua clean for a while, but that would be stressful. Meanwhile the drugdealers would be offering $3k long term. Thats a really tough position.

I am not a math expert but I think this means 2+3... so they receive 5 k a month. Pleeeeeaaaaseeee it is nice thoughts but... come on ?!? Me entiendes?