Santiago.-.Judge Stefany Reyes, of the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of Santiago, postponed until next Friday, June 19, at 4:30 in the afternoon, the hearing for the coercive measure against the main individuals involved in Operation Onco14, accused of being part of an alleged network that allegedly diverted millions of pesos intended for the care of cancer patients at the Cibao Regional Oncological Institute (IORC).
The decision was adopted after the defendants’ lawyers requested time to study the voluminous file submitted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which contains the evidence supporting the investigation into the alleged corruption scheme.
Among those indicted are Héctor Antonio Lora Cruceta, former president of the Cibaeño Cancer Board; Luisa Yasiris Guzmán, president of the Tócate RD Foundation-Shelter House and wife of Lora Cruceta; and Dilcia Isabel Vargas Sánchez, former vice president of the board and ex-wife of the main defendant.
Lawyer Antonio Falette, legal representative for Dilcia Isabel Vargas Sánchez, stated that the defense needs to review all the documents of the case before establishing a position regarding the charges attributed to his client.
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While Francisco Guillermo Gómez, lawyer for several of the defendants, indicated that the file was delivered by the Public Prosecutor’s Office during the afternoon, it is therefore essential to analyze the evidence presented by the prosecuting body.
For the next hearing, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will reiterate its request for 18 months of pretrial detention and the declaration of the case as complex, considering that it involves a structure that allegedly operated with resources intended for oncological treatments, affecting funds that were supposed to be used to assist cancer patients.
Operation Onco14 has sparked great public outrage because authorities maintain that the allegedly embezzled resources were intended to guarantee medical services and treatments for people facing one of the most devastating diseases in the country.
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The defendants were arrested during raids carried out by the General Directorate of Prosecution, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (PEPCA), and the Santiago Prosecutor’s Office, with the support of the National Police and the Criminal Investigation Unit (UIC). During the interventions, cash, vehicles, a firearm, electronic equipment, property titles, and documents considered relevant to the investigation were seized.
The file indicates that Lora Cruceta assumed the presidency of the Patronato Cibaeño Contra el Cáncer in October 2018 for a two-year term, but remained in office until October 2025, a situation that, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, allowed her to consolidate control of the institution and execute the operations under investigation.
The defendants face charges of criminal association, fraud against the State, bribery, high-tech crimes, illicit access to computer systems, and money laundering.
With the request for pretrial detention and the declaration of the case’s complexity, the Public Prosecutor’s Office seeks to ensure the preservation of evidence, prevent potential flight risks, and deepen the investigations into an alleged network that reportedly converted resources intended for cancer patients into a source of illicit enrichment.
