SANTO DOMINGO.- Postponement of the hearing on coercion against a former medical authorizations assistant from Senasa after the court accepted a request from the defense to prepare its arguments in the process. The decision was made by Judge Lissa Veras Rivas, of the Permanent Attention Court of the National District, who set the hearing for next Friday.
The defendant, Ángel Luis Guzmán Vásquez, is accused of his alleged connection to a structure that would have diverted billions of pesos to the detriment of the National Health Insurance (Senasa). The magistrate indicated that the postponement will allow the lawyers to review the file, organize the means of defense and gather the bail budgets, since the formal notification of the request for preventive detention was made on the morning of this Monday.
Upon concluding the hearing, the head of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca), Mirna Ortiz, explained that the case of the defendant is part of a specific line within the investigations related to Senasa. According to her, the authorities acted quickly after detecting an attempt to leave the country by Guzmán Vásquez, which led to his arrest and the request for measures to prevent his possible evasion.
According to the Public Ministry, Guzmán Vásquez worked as an assistant in the Medical Authorizations Department of Senasa between March 2021 and November 2022. During that period, he allegedly participated in the irregular issuance of authorizations for consultations and procedures. The investigations establish that between January 2021 and February 2025, 4,363 authorizations considered fraudulent were processed, mainly for minor surgeries and medical consultations.
In the file, the prosecuting body requests 18 months of preventive prison against the accused and that the process be declared complex. The request is based on the risk of flight and the possibility that the accused may interfere with the investigation by altering or eliminating evidence.
Authorities indicated that Guzmán Vásquez was arrested at the Las Américas International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Boston, United States, without presenting a return ticket, which reinforces the theory of the risk of evasion.
This case falls within the so-called Senasa Operation, which investigates a scheme of irregularities in that institution. In that process, former director Santiago Marcelo Hazim Albainy remains under preventive detention, identified as the alleged main responsible. In addition, six other former officials are serving coercive measures in the Najayo Hombres center, while three additional individuals involved remain under house arrest.
