US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO4904

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 004904 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR CA/VO/L/C, WHA/CAR (MCISAAC), L/LEI (W. 
FUENTES AND M. TAYLOR); 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2014 
TAGS: CVIS, CJAN, PREL, PGOV, SNAR, KCRM, DR 
SUBJECT: ADDENDUM TO REQUEST FOR CONCURRENCE IN VISA 
REVOCATION 212(A)(2)(C) (CESPEDES MARTINEZ, VICTOR MANUEL) 
 
REF: SANTO DOMINGO 4401 
 
Classified By: DCM Lisa Kubiske for Reason 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY.  In reftel, Embassy requested Department's 
concurrence in the revocation of the B1/B2 visa of now former 
Attorney General Victor Cespedes under section 212(a)(2)(C) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  Following that 
cable, just two days before leaving office, Cespedes ordered 
the early release from prison of a former Dominican 
vice-consul in Haiti who was sentenced to ten years in prison 
for trafficking 43 kilograms of cocaine.  This is yet another 
example, in our opinion, of why the visa should be revoked. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) In July, Embassy sent reftel outlining the case for 
revocation of the B1/B2 visa of now former Attorney General 
Victor Cespedes under section 212(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act.  Cespedes left office on August 16 when 
power transferred to a new government. 
 
3. (U) On August 14, just two days before leaving office, 
Cespedes ordered the release from prison of former Dominican 
vice-consul to Haiti Ormis Freddy Pena Mendez.  Pena was 
arrested in 2002 along with four others while trafficking 
nearly 43 kilograms of cocaine from Haiti to Santo Domingo. 
Pena was also found with 15,000 pesos (about USD 400), USD 
5,000, 16 passports (11 Haitian, four Dominican, and one 
French) and several firearms, including an Uzi.  About two 
months later, Pena was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 
ordered to pay a 50,000 peso fine (about USD 1,250). 
 
4. (U) According to news reports, Cespedes said he released 
Pena because of concerns for Pena's health, including 
hypertension and diabetes.  (Note: The Directorate of Prisons 
reported in July that 15% of all Dominican prisoners have 
hypertension.)  At this point Pena had served less than two 
years of his sentence. In a radio interview on August 25 
Cespedes was unable to recall the details of the health 
justification for the release. 
 
5. (U) In addition, only hours before the change of 
government the Attorney General's office ordered that 
prisoner Martiza Aquino be released on medical grounds. 
Aquino is accused of carrying 129 bags of heroin in her 
stomach. 
 
6. (U)  On August 26 new Attorney General Dominguez Brito 
ordered the return to jail of Pena and Aquino and announced a 
formal investigation into the release of prisoners for health 
reasons.  He said that his office was investigating 
apparently unjustified additions to the list of prisoners 
recommended for pardons, indicating that the changes had been 
made in the Attorney General's office.  The new Attorney 
General has placed a formal prohibition upon Cespedes from 
leaving the country (a precautionary measure also taken in 
regard to a number of other Mejia administration officials). 
 
7. (C) COMMENT.  Cespedes has a record of releasing known 
drug traffickers (see reftel).  When viewed as part of a 
pattern of behavior, the Pena and Aquino cases reinforce the 
argument set forth in reftel, which is that Cespedes has 
aided, abetted, conspired or colluded in trafficking 
activities and that revocation of his visa is proper.  END 
COMMENT. 
KUBISKE