Santo Domingo.– Fourteen of the 15 defendants in the Buffalo NK case are negotiating plea deals with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in order to conclude the process through an abbreviated procedure and opt for a reduction of the potential sentences they face for alleged crimes related to drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and money laundering.
The conversations between the prosecution and the defendants led the judge of the First Instruction Court of the National District, Raymundo Mejía, to postpone the preliminary hearing until next August 10, in order to grant more time for the parties to conclude negotiations and formalize the corresponding agreements.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, only one of the defendants remains outside of that negotiation process. This is Joelvis Idelfonso Montero Pérez, who is serving a sentence for drug trafficking in Puerto Rico and has not yet been transferred to the Dominican Republic to face the accusations against him in this case.
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Once the agreements are signed, it will be up to the judge to decide whether to approve or reject them. The Public Prosecutor’s Office reported that it expects the agreements to be signed by 14 of the defendants, including individuals and companies linked to the process, by the next hearing.
According to the accusatory file, the criminal structure was composed of Dominican, Colombian, and Venezuelan citizens and maintained ties with the Sinaloa Cartel, from Mexico, and the criminal organization Los Lorenzana, from Guatemala. The investigation maintains that the network was dedicated to international drug trafficking, illicit arms trafficking, money laundering, and other related crimes.
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The authorities attribute the leadership of the organization to Isidoro Rotestán Clase and Rafael Ynoa Santana. According to the indictment, Rotestán Clase coordinated and financed the drug trafficking operations and allegedly authorized bribe payments to members of the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and the Dominican Republic Navy to facilitate the transport of illicit shipments.
The file also indicates that Rafael Ynoa Santana coordinated with Juan Carlos López Macías, alias “Sobrino,” who allegedly maintained direct contacts with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Los Lorenzana organization for international trafficking operations.
Likewise, the Public Prosecutor’s Office identifies as alleged front men for the organization Estefany De la Cruz Paulino, Jomaiky Ureña Rotestán, Leda Margarita Clase, Yamilka Paulino, Glorisel De la Cruz Paulino, Luigi Aneudy Ureña Read, Geyser Climerson Castillo Mordán, Johnny Casimiro Tejada, Cristino Rotestán Clase and Braulio Rotestán Clase, who, according to the accusation, served as nominees to hide assets and resources.
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The investigation also establishes that the network used the companies Mariscos del Caribe Clase S.R.L., Mojos S.R.L., and Elegant Records Productions E.I.R.L. to allegedly launder money from drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and other illicit activities.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the organization had been operating since 2019 and possessed the logistical and financial capacity to transport up to six tons of cocaine per year from Colombia and Venezuela to the Dominican Republic, from where the drugs were sent to the United States and Puerto Rico.
The file indicates that the structure used fishing vessels, “go fast” speedboats, satellite phones, and encrypted communication systems to carry out its operations. Furthermore, it had the capacity to recover cargo, sink vessels to eliminate evidence, and modify transport routes when it detected risks of being intercepted by the authorities.
As a result of the investigation, 12 international drug trafficking operations attributed to the network were documented. Six of them were thwarted by the authorities, who managed to seize a total of 1,824 kilograms of cocaine.
In Dominican territory, the operations were allegedly coordinated by Rafael Ynoa Santana, known by the aliases “Felo,” “El Cojo,” or “Pocho,” along with Isidoro Rotestán Clase, alias “El Men,” “Juan Carlos,” or “José Pérez.” In Puerto Rico, Joelvis Idelfonso Montero Pérez was identified as the person responsible for receiving the shipments, a role for which he was sentenced to 120 months in prison in that jurisdiction, according to the indictment.
