DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic has concluded 2024 with a record-breaking year in tourism, welcoming over 11 million visitors, Tourism Minister David Collado announced on Wednesday, 15 January 2025.

The numbers show 8,535,742 air arrivals and 2,656,305 cruise passengers, bringing the total to a historic 11,192,047 visitors for 2024.

“These results are more than just numbers; they confirm our position as a leading global tourism destination,” said Minister Collado.

Air arrivals surged by 32% compared to pre-Covid year 2019, 19% compared to 2022, and 6% compared to 2023. Similarly, cruise arrivals experienced a significant increase of 141% compared to 2019, 103% compared to 2022, and 18% compared to 2023.

The Dominican Republic’s continued strong in key markets, with the United States accounting for 46% of total arrivals, followed by Canada (17%), Colombia (5%), Argentina (4%), and Puerto Rico (3%).

Punta Cana International Airport remained the top entry point, receiving 59%...

The La Vega Carnival, probably the most famous in the Dominican Republic, will be taking place on Sundays in February. The first parades of the devilish creatures (diablos cojuelos) and merry-makers is set for Sunday, 2 February. Other carnival Sundays are 9, 16, and 23 February. This year, an extra day has been added for Thursday, 27 February, since the day is a holiday, National Independence Day.

In addition to the carnival parades, this year several artistic presentations are included. These are: Yailin, El Blachy, Amenazzy, Bullin 47, Jey One, Yaisel, Mozart La Para and Luis Brown. Also, Chiquito Team Band, El Mayor, Kali 8, Chucky 73, Shadow Blow, La Mas Doll, Liro Shaq, Mark B, Martín Lora, Lomiel, Flow 28 and Shelow Shaq.

Read more in Spanish:

• Diario Libre

Advances are underway for a new airport in Pedernales to serve the three resorts under advanced construction by the Fideicomiso Pro Pedernales, a public-private trust, and that will be operated by international chains. Presidential Minister Jose Ignacio Paliza recently announced the new airport will be built in Oviedo, in the province of Pedernales. As reported, the advances are being made on the construction of the runway.

Already, nearby Cabo Rojo Port receives thousands of cruise passengers, while the builders advance on the construction of the large resorts in the nearby beach area.

Using his account on X (formerly Twitter), Paliza said that in 18 months the airport will be capable of receiving commercial flights. The airport would have a 2,400m (7800ft) runway. A terminal building, control tower, offices, restaurant and helipad are part of the project.

Read more in...

Arajet announces that they are working to launch a first flight to the United States this spring. The first flight would be Santo Domingo (Las Americas International Airport) to New York on 16 April 2025, as reported in Listin Diario. The plan is to offer two daily frequencies from SDQ to New York, said Victor Pacheco, Arajet chief executive officer.

The airline also seeks to start the Santo Domingo-Miami, Santo Domingo-San Juan, Puerto Rico. The SDQ-SJU route would have eight frequencies per day. Other routes would be Santo Domingo-Orlando and Punta Cana-San Juan routes possibly in the second quarter of the year. These routes will compete with JetBlue, Delta, American Airlines, Spirit, Frontier and others.

The airline did not announce the airports of entry for its first frequencies.

Pacheco said the start of these new operations depends on the country receiving Certification 129, issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

US aviation regulations establish that...

Banco Popular Dominicano has pledged US$6.2 million to construct a new cruise port in Samaná Bay. Christopher Paniagua, the bank’s executive president, made the announcement during the traditional breakfast event the bank held for media attending FITUR 2025, the Spanish travel fair, in Madrid, Spain.

The total project cost is estimated at US$9.2 million, according to Juan Manuel Martín de Oliva, vice president of Tourism Businesses for the BPD. Nevertheless, he said the project is still in the negotiation phase.

A first cruise ship terminal would have been built in the city of Samana. Nevertheless, in September 2023, the government announced the Puerto Duarte in Arroyo Barril, on the south side of the Samana peninsula, would be converted into a cruise ship terminal, through the facility of public-private trust. The agreement had been signed in March 2023. The agreement was signed with PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, S.A., represented by Mauricio Hamul. Hamul is the...

Starting 15 January 2025, whale tour boats depart from Samana city and other nearby areas to take foreign and domestic tourists to see the enormous whales breach in the waters of Samana Bay. The boat tours can be booked through 15 March 2025 when the whales leave the Samana Bay waters for northern shores.

Samana Bay is one of the world’s premier whale-watching sites. During peak season, between January and March, over 300 whales come to the bay from many parts of the world, including Greenland and Iceland to mate, give birth and nurse their young. The deep warm waters of Samaná Bay provide an ideal environment for these marine mammals. 

For those booking the tours, the chance of seeing at least one breaching whale is good, but there is no guarantee the whales will perform for you. Tours can last 3–4 hours as the boat captains search for the best spots to see the whales.

There is a Whale Museum in Samana city, a small display, but worthy of a visit before or after the...

The Ambassador of Germany in the Dominican Republic, Maike Friedrichsen was recently in northwestern Santiago Rodríguez province to inaugurate a hanging bridge and two lookout points in the community of El Pelero. The German government contributed RD$2.1 million for the constructions that are intended to boost ecotourism in the mountainous area.

The two outlook points give panoramic views of the area. One is in Pico del Gallo, some 1,750 meters above sea level. The other presents a view of the Cenoví River basin on the road to Salto Los Bañaderos.

The funds benefited projects developed by Guakía Ambiente, Programa de Pequeños Subsidios (Small Grants Program) and Palero Ecoaventura.

The community also contributed to the development of the new tourism facilities. Ambassador Friedrichsen congratulated the community for their efforts. “We are convinced that ecotourism is one of the ways the community has for development,” said the ambassador. Michela Izzo, executive director...

DR1 News will not be updated on Tuesday, 21 January 2025, a national holiday that commemorates the Day of the Virgin of High Grace (Virgen de la Altagracia). The celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church event take place East in Higuey and are centered around the Higuey Basilica. The Virgin of High Grace is the protector of the Dominican people.

The celebration of the holiday on a Tuesday, created a long weekend for many who could take the day off. Provisions should be made to avoid delays in reaching your destination, meaning traveling early, especially when returning to the cities on the holiday.

DR1 News for the day will be compiled for the Wednesday, 22 January 2025 issue. The DR1 Forums continue open 24/7.

Tuesday, 21 January 2025 is the anniversary of the Day of Our Lady of High Grace, the patroness of the Dominican Republic, and many thousands of the faithful will be traveling from all points of the country to visit the cathedral in Higüey, the provincial capital of La Altagracia province.

As is usual in these cases, the Center for Emergency Operations (COE) is deploying response teams and thousands of volunteers to prevent traffic tie-ups and accidents.

Retired General Juan Manuel Mendez, the head of the COE, said that starting on Monday, 20 January 2025 at 2pm his people would begin their highway prevention operations and continue until 6pm on Tuesday 21 January.

The scenario for the operation will be between the Juan Carlos Bridge on Las Americas Avenue all the way east to the Basilica of La Altagracia in Higüey.

Their singular focus will be on accident...

María Isabel Castillo / Diario Libre

President Luis Abinader announced the appointment of new ambassadors to key diplomatic posts, as outlined in decree 20-25. The Ministry of Foreign Relations says the appointments align with the Dominican Republic’s Law 630-16 regarding rotation in diplomatic missions.

María Isabel Castillo Báez is designated as the new ambassador to the United States. Castillo, a seasoned diplomat, currently serves as the Dominican ambassador to Mexico. She is a lawyer with studies at Unibe (Santo Domingo, with two masters degrees from Columbia University in New York in international law and intellectual property and Latin American international affairs and economic development. She is the daughter of well-known Dominican corporate lawyer Praxedes Castillo, and began her career working at his law firm before joining Dominican diplomacy.

Juan Bolivar Díaz...

The Dominican Association of University Rectors (ADRU) has raised important questions regarding the current legislative process that seeks to merge the ministries of Education (Minerd) and Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt) into a single entity. The university leaders claim that the proposal will limit the autonomy of the nation’s universities since the legislation includes articles concerning the management of the universities and institutional policies along with other things that would limit each university’s autonomy as an academic institution.

The rectors also say that the legislation does not seem to recognize the distinctions between these institutions of higher learning. While voicing their understanding of the reasoning behind the legislation, the nation’s top educators also point out that in line with the government’s new stand, vocational...

The Acting Committee for the Pact on Animals, led by the executives of the Listin Diario, has announced a massive effort to spay and neuter as many of the dogs and cats that live on the streets as possible. Both processes, the sterilization process and the awareness campaign are scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2025.

The educational and awareness portion of the process is known as “Love Saves” and is aimed at teaching people to care and respect these creatures. The efforts of the group are aimed at the sterilization of 10,000 animals a year, which will greatly assist in controlling as many as two million strays over a year’s time.

The driving forces behind these initiatives are Miguel Franjul, the director of the newspaper and Lorenny Solano, the head of the Dominican Animal Rights Federation (FEDDA). They noted that one of the major issues is the...

President Luis Abinader issued Decree 10-15 dated 15 January 2025 that designates the name of the late advertising guru and poet Rene del Risco Bermudez to the Telecommunications Cultural Center located at Isabel la Catolica Street No. 214. The center is operated by the Dominican Telecommunications Center (Indotel).

The late Rene del Risco’s daughter, Minerva del Risco was named part of a committee that will work with Indotel board president Guido Gomez Mzara and National Library director Rafael Peralta Romero to coordinate actions to implement the mandate. Minerva del Risco is the wife of former Dominican ambassador to the United States Flavio Dario Espinal, who served as legal advisor during the last government of former President Danilo Medina.

Minerva del Risco is a leading literature promoter. In 2024, Del Risco was one of the leading organizers of Centroamerica Cuenta, a major...

Jose Manuel Armenteros Rius passed away on Saturday, 18 January 2025. His family was preparing his 100th birthday on 26 March. He was working on an expanded version of his life memoirs. He had lots to tell and share.

Armenteros is renowned for his significant contributions to the nation’s development, particularly in the water engineering, the environment and business. Of Spanish descent, he was actually born in the eastern province of San Pedro de Macoris. He carried out a doctorate in engineering at the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Madrid, Spain and returned to the Dominican Republic where his career was marked by environmental stewardship.

Armenteros founded the Fondo Pro Naturaleza (ProNatura) in the 1990s, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving watersheds, conserving soils, and reforesting the Dominican landscape...

Baseball fans in the Dominican Republic are in for a treat over the next week as the two teams from the capital city of Santo Domingo face off for the Dominican Professional Winter Baseball Championship finals organized by the Dominican Professional Baseball League (Lidom).

The Tigres del Licey made the playoffs finishing in first place in the 71st Lidom season with 11 victories and four losses. The Leones del Escogido followed with 10-5, Estrellas Orientales (that had won the regular season) with 5-9 and the Aguilas Cibaeñas with 3-11.

It was the Licey’s third consecutive year making of the playoffs.

Starting Monday, 20 January 2025, the Tigres del Licey will now face the Leones del Escogido in the championship round of the 2024-2025 championships to decide the Dominican representative in the Caribbean Championship that this February 2025 will be played in...

Marco Rubio during the US Senate confirmation hearing for his nomination as US Secretary of State spoke with praise about the Dominican Republic. US Senator Tim Kaine had urged Rubio to give more attention to countries in the Americas that are doing things right, specifically mentioning the Dominican Republic. Focus on the good guys and help them be better examples for the region, said Kaine.

In his statements, Rubio acknowledged that in general countries that are doing things right are ignored and the attention has been to those who cause the headaches. Rubio spoke about the “major challenges” the DR faces as a neighbor to Haiti and the strong tourism recovery after Covid, with the country having done “positive things. “

Senator Kaine said that Rubio “cares about the Americas”. He complained that US secretaries of state have traditionally focused on the east-west axis and...

The Tax Agency (DGII) has announced an update to the exempt amounts applicable to the real estate property tax (IPI) and the new ceiling for classifying low-cost housing, reflecting the corresponding inflation adjustment for 2025.

According to an official statement, the maximum sale price of homes developed by low-cost trusts, including those from the Ciudad Juan Bosch project acquired through mortgage loans, will be RD$5,193,655.47. This value will allow buyers to qualify for the housing bonus and be exempt from the transfer tax.

As for the IPI, properties designated as homes and undeveloped urban land belonging to individuals will be exempt from the tax if their value does not exceed RD$10,190,833, according to the tax authority.

This adjustment, the DGII explains, aims to maintain balance in fiscal policy, ensuring that exempt amounts reflect the...

The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) on 14 January 2025 released an overview on the economy in 2024. The Central Bank highlighted the capping of inflation within its target range throughout 2024, the economic growth near its potential of 5% and the robust financial system. The briefing analyzes recent monetary and financial policy measures and their impact on increased liquidity, lower interest rates, and the performance of the financial system.

The BCRD measures in 2024 were successful to maintain sound macroeconomic performance and relative exchange rate stability, despite the narrowing interest rate differential with the United States and heightened volatility in international financial markets. In fact, the Dominican peso depreciated by only 5% in 2024, less than major economies in the region like Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Uruguay...

Minister of Public Works Deligne Ascención on 15 January 2025 provided details of how the ministry has invested the funds generated from the renegotiated concession contract with Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom).

Ascención revealed that a significant portion of the revenue has been channeled into the reconstruction of roadways in the Greater Santo Domingo area and other provinces across the nation. “We have constructed hundreds of kilometers of roads,” he emphasized. “In fact, the president will be inaugurating a new section near the San Isidro Expressway this Saturday, he said when interviewed on TeleAntillas Channel 2’s “Uno + Uno” talk show.

The minister mentioned specific projects funded by these revenues. He highlighted the ongoing work on Pintura, Isabel Aguiar, and 27 de Febrero and Av. República de Colombia avenues.

Looking ahead, Ascención announced that...

Claudia Pellerano is the new president of the Dominican Association of Free Zones (Adozona). During the inaugural session, she said the goal is to reach a record-breaking US$10 billion in exports by 2026, Diario Libre reports.

The new Adozona board, which will serve from 2025 to 2026, includes José Tomás Contreras as first vice president, Frank Rodríguez, Luis Emilio Rodríguez, and Marcos Cabral as second, third, and fourth vice presidents, respectively. Aquiles Bermúdez will serve as secretary.

In her inaugural address, Pellerano highlighted the significant contributions of the free zone sector to the Dominican economy, noting that in 2024, free zones accounted for 66.5% of the country’s total exports. She projected that this figure would reach approximately $9 billion in 2025.

“The 92 parks in the sector have contributed to the country’s development through...

Advances to choose attorney general, new process is outlinedThe members of the National Council of the Magistracy who met on 15 January 2025 approved the ruling that will apply to comply with the amendments in the 2024 Constitution.

President Abinader had convened the meeting of the CNM as another step before the choosing of the new prosecutor general to replace Miriam German Brito and seven adjunct prosecutors. The 2024 Constitution was amended so that the participation of the attorney general is removed from the CNM and the participation of the president of the Constitutional Court is added.

Law 1-25 establishes the process for selecting the next attorney general and seven deputy prosecutors.

Those present at the 15 January meeting included the presidents of the Supreme Court of Justice, Luis Henry Molina; the Constitutional Court...

Dominican proposals for use of sargassum were included in the beneficiaries of the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) funding through the IDB lab. The selected proposals come from Barbados, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its innovation laboratory, IDB Lab, announced the results of their Sargassum Innovation Quest: Building Resilient Coastal Ecosystems. The initiative was launched to identify and support solutions that leverage advanced technologies and innovative practices to harness the potential of sargassum biomass and enhance the resilience of coastal communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The effort, developed in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is a response to the challenges faced by the region due to the increasing influx of...

Mildred Correa, a grieving mother who took the drastic step of exhuming her daughter’s remains and bringing them to the prosecution office to demand justice, had been arrested after the act. She was released from custody. Correa had carried her daughter’s body into the Higüey courthouse on Tuesday, 14 January 2025 in a desperate plea for closure regarding the teen’s death. The mother did not accept the handling of the case by the judiciary.

Correa’s attorney explained that her release was made possible under Article 34 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows prosecutors to exercise discretion in cases with potential sentences of less than a year. This legal provision applies to the unauthorized exhumation of a corpse, as outlined in Articles 358-360.

“We have secured her release,” the attorney stated. “Now, we will launch a new investigation from scratch to seek justice if the...

Elian Peña / Diario Libre

Following the golden road paved by stellar ball player Juan Soto, 17-year old shortstop Elian Peña has agreed to sign with the New York Mets for US$5 million. Soto late last year signed for US$765 million.

Peña received the top bonus in the 2025 class for a Latin American prospect, as reported by Ben Badler of Baseball America. Peña began playing baseball when he was six years old in his native Azua province, being sent to train in Santo Domingo when he was 10 years old.

Peña’s reported US$5 million bonus is the largest given out in Mets franchise history. The previous record was that of Francisco Alvarez who had signed for US$2.7 million in the 2018-19 signing period.

Separately, the San Francisco Giants agreed to sign Josuar de Jesús González for a US$3 million bonus. De Jesus Gonzalez is a native of San Pedro de Macoris who also began his “career”...

With their 1-0 win on Wednesday, 15 January 2025, the Tigres del Licey (10 wins and 3 losses) continue to lead the 2024-25 Dominican Winter Professional Baseball Championship. The Leones del Escogido are in second place with (9 wins and 4 losses). The Estrellas Orientales, that had won the regular season, are behind with a record of 5 wins and 8 losses. There are still 10 games to be played.

Read more in Spanish:

• Lidom standings

• Lidom news

• Games schedule

It will not be before March 2025 that the DR gets a new attorney general. The procedures are lengthy and are underway.

Continuing with the procedures, President Luis Abinader led the inaugural meeting of the National Judiciary Council (CNM) on Monday, 13 January 2025 evening to prepare for the actual selecting of the next Attorney General of the Republic and seven Deputy Attorneys General, in line with Law 1-25, which amends the Organic Law of the CNM. The changes were introduced in the 2024 Constitution. The meeting was by digital means.

The announcement was made by the Executive Branch’s legal advisor Antoliano Peralta, who also shared details about the next meeting, set for Wednesday, 15 January 8am. During this session, members are scheduled to approve the working schedule and authorize the CNM president to submit the draft regulation for a 20-day public...

The Presidency has celebrated the achievements of Milagros German at the Ministry of Culture. She is recognized for designating an excellent team of professionals in culture that accompanied her during her three-year term. One of her most notable accomplishments was the re-engineering of the Santo Domingo Book Fair.

German closed her three-year term in charge of the Ministry of Culture with the celebration of the Berklee Scholarships and the announcements of the winners of the Annual Classic and Popular Music Award to Joel Diaz Suero and the National Visual Arts Award to painter Manuel Montilla.

While the resignation of Culture Minister Milagros German is effective 15 January 2025, the Presidency has yet to announce her replacement. There have been several press reports that the choice for minister of culture is Robertico Salcedo, movie actor and film producer and...

The Public Procurement Agency (DGCP) announced on Tuesday, 14 January 2025 the implementation of the modernization process for the Electronic Public Procurement System (SECP). The goal is to improve user experience in terms of speed, usability, and customization.

The DGCP highlighted in a press release that this step marks the beginning of a comprehensive evolution of the platform, which will be carried out gradually throughout 2025. The process will begin with the modernization of the SECP’s technological infrastructure to strengthen its stability and performance.

The institution reported that this first phase of the process, financed and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will temporarily suspend all SECP operations, including the calling for and participation in state purchasing procedures, as well as user...

In a historic ceremony, the National Police welcomed 984 new female recruits to its ranks. The event, presided over by Interior and Police Minister Faride Raful and National Police Director General Major General Ramón Antonio Guzmán Peralta, marked a milestone in the institution’s ongoing transformation, as reported in a National Police press release.

The new class, named “María Trinidad Sánchez” in honor of a prominent Dominican figure, represents a substantial step forward in promoting gender equality within the police force. These aspiring officers will undergo rigorous training at the Major General Eulogio Benito Monción Leonardo Police Training School in Hatillo, San Cristóbal.

“We have selected the best and brightest to join this prestigious academy,” said General Esteban Figuereo García, Central Director of Human Resources...

Barrick Gold with the backing of Dominican government officials and the participation of church and community leaders seeks to reach an agreement with those who seek better compensation for relocating to make way for a second tailings dam in the province of Sanchez Ramirez. The tailings dam would extend gold mining in the province.

The Ministry of Environment has already given the environmental permission for the construction of the second tailings dam and the company seeks to advance in the construction. While tailings dams are designed to be permanent, they have been known to fail catastrophically as in the recent cases of the Jagersfontein dam in South Africa in 2022, the Brumadinho dam in Brazil in 2019, the Staya Dam in Italy in 1985 and the El Cobre dam in Chile in 1965. Tailings dams are being replaced by the more expensive dry dams, not the...

The Dominican Republic received US$2.7 billion in external financing in 2024 and more loans were approved this January 2025.

In the final ordinary session of the second legislature of 2024, the Senate approved two substantial loans totaling US$445 million in time for the 12 January shutdown of the legislative period. Congress resumes sessions as of 27 February 2025.

The approved loans included:• US$45 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to address the environmental crisis at the Duquesa landfill in Santo Domingo Norte.• US$400 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to develop sustainable development policies to combat climate change.

The Dominican government, through the Ministry of Hacienda’s Public Credit Department, reported a total of US$2.7 billion in external disbursements during 2024.

These...

EFE was the first to report that Venezuelan politician Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia left the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, 14 January 2025. His whereabouts in the country were not known from Sunday, 12 January after he had carried out a significant activities agenda since arriving on 8 January 2025.

On 14 January 2025, Diario Libre shared that Gonzalez Urrutia had boarded a private Gulfstream jet operated by the local aviation company Panorama Jets that left from the La Isabela International Airport in northern Santo Domingo to Guatemala. CNN confirmed that Gonzalez Urrutia had traveled to Guatemala. He is scheduled to meet with President Bernardo Arevalo on Wednesday, 15 January.

Gonzalez Urritia had been living in exile in Spain, until traveling on a weeklong tour to the Americas that took him to meet with heads of state in Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Gonzalez Urrutia has the vote rolls for 85% of the population that prove...

Mildred Correa, a grieving mother, is now under the protection of La Altagracia province prosecutors after presenting the remains of her deceased daughter at the Higüey Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, 14 January 2025 in her desperation for delays in the conclusion of the investigations into the death of her daughter. Authorities are currently providing her with specialized care and assistance.

Sixteen-year-old Yeira Idraivia Encarnación Correa tragically drowned in March 2024 while at a river recreational area with friends and an 18-year-old. According to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF), the cause of death was drowning, and there were no signs of violence.

An autopsy ruled out the possibility of sexual assault, as no evidence of sexual violence was found, as reported. Yet the mother suspects otherwise.

The Public Ministry has launched a thorough...