Fifteen people are convicted of trafficking Haitians

Santo Domingo.- The Collegiate Court of Montecristi imposed sentences of 15 and 10 years in prison on 15 people, including four military personnel, prosecuted in the framework of the case called ‘Frontera’ against a network dedicated to the trafficking of undocumented immigrants from Haiti, the Public Ministry reported this Tuesday, which described this ruling as “historic”. Those sentenced to 15 years in prison are Rafael Zabala Peña, Javier José Dolores Hernández Merejildo, Julio César Pujols Montero and Rafael Contreras Arno, who, according to the accusation, “used their military investiture to facilitate and allow, with malice and omission, the irregular passage of Haitian citizens into Dominican territory through the northern border, between the provinces of Dajabón and Montecristi”. Meanwhile, civilians Eddy Rafael Cordero Villanueva and Osiris Rafael Estévez Fortuna were sentenced to 10 years in prison for their leading role as organizers of the illegal crossing of migrants.

You can also read: A Dominican is sentenced to 10 years in prison for trafficking Haitians

The court sentenced Edna Josep, of Haitian nationality and responsible for housing and hiding migrants in the country, to a 10-year prison sentence, after confirming “her active and conscious participation in the criminal network”, according to a statement from the Public Ministry. He also sentenced transporters Santo Valerio Contreras, known as Santico; Anelby Susaña Guzmán (Chichi), Hilario Antonio Gómez Paul, Jesús María Cerda, Elbio José Castillo Martínez (Soco), Aquilino Sosa Fernández, Expedito Rodríguez (Bobole) and Anelsy Escarlex Cordero Núñez, linked to the logistics of mobilizing migrants, to five years in prison. This sentence represents “a firm step in the defense of national sovereignty and the institutional integrity of the Dominican Republic” and constitutes “a transcendental precedent in the fight against criminal networks operating in border areas,” stated the Public Ministry.