Wave of microdrug trafficking score-settling shakes Dominican Republic in May
A series of deaths linked to microdrug trafficking marked May in the Dominican Republic, with cases in Elías Piña, Santiago, Jarabacoa and Boca Chica.
Fugitive, hitmen and drug dealers: the bloodstained trail of microtráfico in May
Diariolibre.com reports that the death of fugitive Ranller Encarnación Vicente, alias "El Ranger", aged 32, adds to a chain of homicides linked to microdrug trafficking recorded in the Dominican Republic during May, a phenomenon that, according to authorities, is acquiring increasingly worrying dimensions.
The National Police reported on Sunday 24 May on the death of Encarnación and Sánchez Montero Montero, aged 47, also identified by authorities as a criminal. Both were shot and wounded after exchanging gunfire with police officers in the Los Guineos sector, Hondo Valle municipality, Elías Piña province. Hours later they died whilst receiving medical attention at the Municipal Hospital of El Cercado.
"El Ranger" had escaped on 19 May from the Correction and Rehabilitation Centre of Elías Piña, where he was serving a 30-year sentence for two homicides. Following his escape, the Police attribute to him involvement in around four murders related to microtráfico disputes in the communities of Hondo Valle and Juan Santiago. According to the police report, Encarnación would burst into homes in the early morning to force residents to give him shelter, and had shot and wounded a senior officer during a previous operation.
Police spokesperson Diego Pesqueira attributed the increase in these conflicts to pressure exerted by organisations such as the Police and the National Drug Control Directorate, noting that territorial disputes between criminal structures constitute one of the main causes of deaths. "These cases continue to be concerning. They don't generate as much noise because they involve people linked to the criminal underworld," Pesqueira told Diario Libre.
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Another episode was recorded in Santiago. Margarita Díaz García, known as "La China", was shot dead in the early morning of Tuesday 19 May in the La Yagüita de Pastor sector. Investigations indicate that she and her partner, Roberto Hans Sánchez Tejada, alias "El Flaco", were engaged in the sale and distribution of controlled substances and maintained conflicts with other groups.
In the early morning of 20 May, authorities found the bodies with bullet wounds of Natanael Peña, alias "El Cha", and another man identified as "La Rata", in some undergrowth on the Federico Basilis road in Jarabacoa. The investigations led elite units to a villa in the El Pedregal sector. Several suspects fled towards a zone near the Baiguate river, where Miguel Ángel Mariné Rodríguez, alias "La Cabra", died in a confrontation.
Ballistic tests determined that the nine-millimetre pistol seized from Mariné was used in both the murder of "La China" and the double homicide in Jarabacoa, thus linking the three cases. Authorities also identified a jeep hired by Ruddy Manuel Morán Almonte, alias "La Pólvora", identified as a drug distributor. The vehicle was being driven by Erika Martínez Peralta, aged 26, who stated that "La Pólvora" ordered her to abandon it. Investigations point to the deceased belonging to a group headed by fugitives Morán Almonte and Michael Rodríguez Santos, alias "El Viajante" or "El Deportao", together with individuals known by the aliases "Marinito", "Niquelado", "Chencho", "Papi Jordan", "Gatillo", "El Gánster" and "La Maldad".
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In Juan Dolio, the charred body of Rolando de Jesús Rodríguez, alias "El Gordo", aged 33, was found inside a Daihatsu Mira motor vehicle in a wooded area near the Guavaberry residential. Rodríguez had been kidnapped on 21 May in the Barrio Alto de Chavón sector in Boca Chica during a gunfight over disputes regarding control of drug sales points.
This Saturday Wander Erickson Soriano, alias "Campe", surrendered, identified as one of those involved in the abduction and homicide of Rodríguez. He acted alongside Bernardino del Rosario de los Santos, alias "Nando El Sicario", who is also in custody. Authorities are maintaining a search for "Marquito La Fuga", "El Guardia" and Roberto Antonio Jiménez Dirocie, alias "El Guapo". Those involved would form part of a microtráfico structure known as "Los Sanjuaneros", headed by the Jiménez Dirocie brothers.
On 7 May, Fray José Alcántara Zapata, aged 37, was shot dead in the Monte Adentro sector in Boca Chica. Police records attribute him five criminal records: four for homicide and one for robbery.
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Sociologist Joel Arboleda argues that drug trafficking can reduce certain levels of violence by imposing territorial control to protect its operations, but warns that it also generates new violent expressions linked to consumption and internal disputes between organisations. "In the 1980s, many people understood that it was not necessary to combat the phenomenon because it was a business and the drugs did not stay in the country," he explained. "But drug traffickers began to pay with drugs and that caused a problem we were not prepared for: the increase in consumption."
Arboleda further notes that territorial struggles respond to market disputes and readjustment processes within the criminal organisations themselves, a cycle which, according to May's records, shows few signs of deceleration.
Source: Google News DO — Crime