José Valenzuela, former mayor and former consul in Haiti, passes away

Santo Domingo.- José Altagracia Valenzuela, former mayor of Las Matas de Farfán and former Dominican consul in Haiti, died on Monday, January 12, 2026 while receiving medical treatment outside the country, as a result of cancer. The Valenzuela Cedano family informed about the complete details of his career and the funeral honors agenda. In addition to his management as the first mayor of the San Juan municipality between 2016 and 2020 by the PRSC, Valenzuela joined the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) in 2020, through the Vía Segura movement, supporting the presidential candidacy of Luis Abinader. That same year he was appointed consul in Belladère (Veladero), Haiti, a border area of high sensitivity. In 2022, he was appointed advisor to the Executive Branch by presidential decree.

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His entrepreneurial career began in the 1970s with informal commercial activities, later consolidating in the transportation sector: in 1989 he pioneered the express service between Las Matas de Farfán and Santo Domingo, and was a founding partner of the Las Matas de Farfán Bus Association (ASODUVE). In the 2000s he created Exportaciones Valenzuela, a family business that boosted the local economy.

Funeral Honors:

Saturday, January 24th - Santo Domingo: wake at Funeraria Blandino – Lincoln, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 25 – Las Matas de Farfán: wake at Funeraria de los Santos, starting at 8:00 a.m. Institutional tribute at the City Hall, at 3:30 p.m. Then a funeral mass will be held at the Santa Lucía Church, at 4:00 p.m.