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| Noticias Telemicro |
The commanding general of the Dominican Armed Forces, Major General José E. Matos de la Cruz, has announced that he is ready to deploy over 300 soldiers on the streets of Santo Domingo. The deployment of soldiers is allegedly being carried out as a response to "rising delinquency," reports El Diario Libre, one of the major circulation dailies on the island of Hispaniola, of which the Dominican Republic occupies the Eastern two-thirds.
El Diario Libre revealed that there are already 800 soldiers deployed throughout the country. Speaking to Diario Libre, General Matos said: "Remember that this has been authorized by the President of the Republic, Danilo Medina, and that this is in support of citizen security."
So, what has happened that citizens need more security? Just 10 days ago, Luis Abinader, the main opposition candidate to President Danilo Medina, said: "The government of the PLD [ruling party] has since long ago lost the battle against delinquency and violence, which is reflected in the number of programs implemented -- all of which have failed -- while petty crime and organized crime have imposed themselves and attack without control all the corners and social levels of the country."
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| Noticias Telemicro |
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| Noticias Telemicro |
In the same speech in which Abinader criticized the PLD for the increasing crime rate, he assured the crowd in Bonao that he would implement measures to reduce the crime rate. Abinader promised to increase the salaries of police officers, while also guaranteeing them better equipment.
But, just how much more equipment can Dominican police forces have!?
Before the rise of the PLD, Dominican police forces were already heavily armed. Since their ascent to power in the late 90s, however, the Dominican police has adopted US police tactics, deploying SWAT teams in its poorer areas at astronomically-increasing rates. Some of the most effective SWAT teams in the Dominican Republic are all-female SWAT teams.
While the main party has all-female SWAT teams cracking down on the streets of the DR, the main opposition candidate has promised to provide them more equipment. In response to that promise, the main party has simply decided to deploy the military, hoping that it can do a better job against organized crime than the National Police and its SWAT teams.
Members of the military are not allowed to vote in the Dominican Republic, so now the police must be made subordinate to the military. One thing is certain, people want a lower crime rate, and they will accept further militarization of Dominican society to aid that goal.
“El
gobierno del PLD hace tiempo que perdió la batalla contra la
delincuencia y la violencia, lo cual se refleja en la cantidad de
nombres y programas que han tratado de implementar, los cuales
fracasaron uno por uno, mientras el delito común y el crimen organizado
han impuesto su ley y atacan sin control en todos los rincones y
estratos sociales del país” - See more at:
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2015/07/21/abinader-asegura-gobierno-perdio-control-ante-delincuencia#sthash.FRaFrQrV.dpuf
“El
gobierno del PLD hace tiempo que perdió la batalla contra la
delincuencia y la violencia, lo cual se refleja en la cantidad de
nombres y programas que han tratado de implementar, los cuales
fracasaron uno por uno, mientras el delito común y el crimen organizado
han impuesto su ley y atacan sin control en todos los rincones y
estratos sociales del país” - See more at:
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2015/07/21/abinader-asegura-gobierno-perdio-control-ante-delincuencia#sthash.FRaFrQrV.dpuf
