Preventive prison imposed on military accused of illegal weapons possession in Barahona

Santo Domingo.- A judge from the judicial district of Barahona imposed three months of preventive detention against a sergeant of the Dominican Republic Army (ERD), arrested last April after the seizure of several firearms and ammunition during a raid on his residence.

The accused, Luis Manuel Ruiz Cuevas, known as “el Guardia”, is under investigation for alleged links to crimes related to the possession, carrying, and illicit trafficking of firearms. According to the Public Ministry, the arrest took place on April 8, 2026, around 3:30 in the afternoon, during a raid carried out with a court order in a house located in Barahona province. During the operation, several firearms of different types and calibers were seized, including two Uzi-type weapons —one of them with illegible numbering—, two M-15 and M-16 rifles, as well as a .38 caliber revolver of an unidentified brand.

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The authorities also seized six rifle magazines, 190 5.56 mm caliber cartridges, 23 9 mm caliber cartridges, two Uzi magazines, two Glock pistol magazines of 17 and 22 cartridges, several 12 mm caliber cartridges, a Taurus pistol magazine, and five dagger-type bladed weapons. In addition, during the raid, a brown cartridge belt, a communication radio with three chargers, two magazine holders, a cell phone, and a computer were seized. The investigation of the case is being handled by prosecutor Abraham Carvajal Medina, while the general prosecutor of the court Ramil Cadete Pérez, attached to the Specialized Prosecutor's Office against the Illegal Trafficking of Weapons, along with the head prosecutor of Barahona, Wellington Matos Espinal, presented the evidence supporting the accusation.

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The measure was dictated by Judge María Consuelo Valenzuela Pérez, of the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of Barahona, who ordered the fulfillment of preventive detention in the public prison of that province. Ruiz Cuevas faces provisional charges for alleged violation of articles 66, 67, 68, 70 and 71 of Law 631-16 on Control and Regulation of Weapons, Ammunition and Related Materials.