{"id":497875,"date":"2026-01-16T21:06:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T01:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/years-without-a-sentence-the-cases-that-continue-to-set-the-judicial-agenda\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T21:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T01:06:17","slug":"years-without-a-sentence-the-cases-that-continue-to-set-the-judicial-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/dominican-news\/justice\/years-without-a-sentence-the-cases-that-continue-to-set-the-judicial-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Years without a sentence: the cases that continue to set the judicial agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"Santo Domingo.<\/strong>– Even in 2026, several of the main judicial files of the Dominican Republic remain trapped in a prolonged procedural limbo.\n\nHigh-profile cases like Medusa, Calamar and Coral\u2013Coral 5G<\/strong> have become symbols of judicial slowness, while public attention begins to turn towards SeNaSa,<\/strong> a case file that will soon be back at the center of the national debate.\n\n\n

You may be interested in:<\/strong> Judicial cases that shook Dominican society during 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\nThe Second Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District<\/strong> set for Tuesday, January 20, the hearing of the appeals filed by Santiago Hazim and six other people involved in the SeNaSa case.\n\nFor this reason, at De \u00daltimo Minuto we have prepared a compilation of the alleged corruption cases that remain “rolling” in the corridors of the Palace of Justice of Ciudad Nueva.\n\n\n

Medusa<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe Medusa case, involving former Attorney General of the Republic Jean Alain Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong> and several former officials of the Public Ministry, was presented as one of the largest anti-corruption processes in the country. However, after years of hearings, postponements, procedural incidents, and legal appeals, the trial on the merits has yet to clearly take off.\n\nA new incident prevented yesterday the trial on the merits against the defendants in the case, which should have started in 2024, from being postponed again, this time until January 28th of this year.\n\nAlthough the incident presented by the defense of the defendant Altagracia Guill\u00e9n<\/strong> was rejected by the court, its extensive and repetitive presentation, the late decision of the judges, and the opposition appeal that the lawyer presented to it in court, caused the presentation of the MP that appeared in the number 2 role of the court to be postponed around 4:00 in the afternoon.\n\n\n

Operation Chameleon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe Chameleon Operation is an investigation by the Public Ministry involving a corruption network in the bidding for traffic lights in Greater Santo Domingo, in which more than 1.317 billion pesos were awarded. The accusations include crimes such as espionage, organized crime, use of false documents, illicit enrichment, and embezzlement. The case was exposed at the beginning of October 2024.\n\nThe defendants are the former director of the National Institute of Transit and Terrestrial Transportation (Intrant), Hugo Beras;<\/strong> the businessman Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel G\u00f3mez Cana\u00e1n and Pedro Vinicio Padovani B\u00e1ez, former head of the Traffic Control Center of Intrant.\n\n\n

Squid<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe Calamar case, which involves former ministers and high-ranking former officials accused of a millionaire embezzlement of the State, follows a similar route. Despite the initial media impact and the economic magnitude of the file, the process remains bogged down between recusals, technical debates, and decisions that are postponed again and again.\n\nThis case is holding a preliminary hearing, and this Friday, the technical defenses of former ministers Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n Peralta and Gonzalo Castillo,<\/strong> pointed out along with Donald Guerrero<\/strong> as the ringleaders of that alleged criminal structure, presented their arguments.\n\n\n

Coral and Coral 5G<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nIn Coral and Coral 5G,<\/strong> where high-ranking military and police officials accused of administrative corruption are involved, the situation is no different. Although some partial decisions have been achieved, the trial remains without a near conclusion.\n\nThe First Collegiate Court of the National District<\/strong> set the next hearing for January 20 in the case of alleged corruption known as Coral and Coral 5G,<\/strong> a date on which the Public Ministry will begin its conclusions.\n\nBy decision of the court, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will have a period of three hearings to present its concluding elements.\n\nHe also arranged for the defense bars to receive the schedule for the presentation of said conclusions via email.\n\nThe Public Ministry, through the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca)<\/strong>, accuses military personnel and police officers of forming an alleged corruption network to defraud the Dominican State of more than RD$4.5 billion, which was dismantled with the Coral and Coral 5G<\/strong> operations.\n\n\n

Operation Falcon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nIn 2021, the Public Ministry dismantled a drug trafficking and money laundering network that operated mainly from Santiago de los Caballeros and had ramifications in other provinces of the Dominican Republic.\n\n\n

The authorities called this operation against organized crime Operation Falcon<\/strong>. The 70 physical defendants and corporate entities accused of forming the structure were sent to trial on March 6, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operation Larva<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nIn October 2021, a supposed drug trafficking and money laundering structure was dismantled with Operation Larva.\n\nThe case is in the opening for trial against the defendants Jorge Luis Herasme Estrella, Mar\u00eda Mercedes Ramona Estrella, Sarai Esther Herasme Estrella, Ram\u00f3n Eduardo Pi\u00f1a Reyes,<\/strong> as well as the five legal entities.\n\n\n

Operation Nest<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe Nido operation was launched on January 3, 2024 by the Public Ministry,<\/strong> with which a supposed network that defrauded people with more than 700 million pesos was dismantled, offering them housing in supposed real estate projects, through multiple fraudulent maneuvers. The case is in the preliminary hearing stage.\n\nThe accused are headed by businessman Emmanuel Rivera Ledezma<\/strong> and his children Eduardo and Mar\u00eda Gabriela Rivera Pichardo<\/strong>, as well as the wife of Ledesma, Escarlet Mercedes Cruz Figueroa.<\/strong>\n\n\n

Operation Caiman<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nA presumed structure that trafficked drugs from the department of La Guajira, Alta Guajira, in Colombia,<\/strong> to the south coast of the Dominican Republic, where shipments of cocaine hydrochloride were seized, was dismantled through Operation Caiman, in April 2024.\n\nTen people accused of belonging to a criminal network are serving pre-trial detention in penitentiary centers in the southern region.\n\n\n

Operation Seagull<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nSeven of the eight defendants in the fraud network that captured more than RD$3,000 million through the fraudulent scheme called Investor Winner, <\/strong>dismantled through Operation Gaviota in June 2024, are in pre-trial detention.\n\nThis is in the merits phase.\n\n\n

Operation MC Sunflower<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nFrom the Operation MC Sunflower<\/strong>, it is known that the accused in the alleged transnational criminal network dedicated to human trafficking through sexual exploitation were given three months as a coercive measure in June 2024.\n\nThe accused are Michelle Carolina Guti\u00e9rrez Ruiz and Mario Jos\u00e9 May Mendoza. In addition, Jhorman Derek Cortes Solano, who was imposed an economic guarantee of 500 thousand pesos, a ban on leaving the country and periodic reporting.\n\n\n

Operation Hawk<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nA suspected network operating in the Attorney General’s Office,<\/strong> responsible for removing criminal records of criminals and prisoners in exchange for bribes. The network was dismantled in August 2024 through Operation Gavil\u00e1n.\n\nAccording to the Public Prosecutor’s accusation, employees of the Technology Directorate of the Attorney General’s Office, took advantage of their access to the database of the Cases and Files System to alter and delete criminal records.\n\nMost of the defendants are subject to coercive measures. The case is at the beginning of the trial on the merits.\n\n\n

Operation Buffalo NK<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe individuals involved in Operation Buffalo NK were arrested during a simultaneous operation by air, sea, and land, deployed in the provinces of Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, Mar\u00eda Trinidad S\u00e1nchez, La Romana, and Saman\u00e1.<\/strong>\n\nThis is a supposed international drug trafficking network with ramifications in Colombia, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. This network was dismantled in September 2024.\n\nFor the case, Rafael Ynoa Santana, alias “El Cojo”, Isidoro Rotestan Clase, Juan Bol\u00edvar Hern\u00e1ndez, Jos\u00e9 Antonio Toribio, Juan Henrique Tavarez, Severiano N\u00fa\u00f1ez Pichardo, Robert Nicol\u00e1s Acosta Adames, and Cristian Esteban Alc\u00e1ntara Javier are in preventive detention.\n\n\n

Operation Reef 2.0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThrough Operation Reef 2.0, a drug trafficking and money laundering structure was dismantled in October 2024.\n\nThe defendants in the case are subject to coercive measures as follows: \u00c1ngel Mar\u00eda Polanco, Luis Ar\u00edstides Alc\u00e9quiez, Alanna Familia and Ana Mar\u00eda Pe\u00f1a Mel\u00e9ndez<\/strong> were sentenced to one year in prison, to be served at the Olegario Tenares Freedom Deprivation Center, located in the municipality of Nagua.\n\nThe accused Ana Victoria Duarte Trinidad is under house arrest, also for one year. Meanwhile, Wilmer Manuel Polanco Caridad has as a coercive measure the periodic presentation every six months before the Prosecutor’s Office of Mar\u00eda Trinidad S\u00e1nchez.\n\n\n

Operation Pandora<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nIn November 2024, the Public Ministry launched Operation Pandora against a criminal network composed of National Police officers, led by the colonel who directed the Weapons Intendancy<\/strong> of said institution. This network stole more than 900,000 projectiles.\n\nSeven of the 10 people charged in the theft of ammunition from the National Police are serving preventive prison in the military detention center of Special Operations, located in Manoguayabo, Santo Domingo Oeste. Others were imposed the guarantee measure and house arrest.\n\n\n

Operation Venus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nIt was called Operation Venus<\/strong> to a case about an alleged network accused of trafficking and sexually exploiting Colombian women in the country, dismantled at the end of February 2025.\n\nThe accused are Dariel Castro Santos, Geraldyne Torres Betancur (Colombian, who lived with Dariel), Jason Manuel Santana, alias “Nino” and F\u00e9lix Joel Rodr\u00edguez, alias “Joi”. (Lived with Jason). The accused are serving a year of pre-trial detention.\n\n\n

Antidote Case II<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nAnother case pending before the Public Ministry is the so-called Antidote II Case, in which the defendants are the deputy director and six other Penitentiary Surveillance and Treatment Agents (VTP), for assaulting several inmates at the El Pinito Correction and Rehabilitation Center (CCR) in La Vega.\n\nFor the case, Judge Ada\u00edas S\u00e1nchez, of the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of La Vega, declared the case complex and imposed the pre-trial detention measure on the deputy director of the CCR, Jos\u00e9 Luis Agramonte, as well as agents Julio Alcib\u00edades Mont\u00e1s P\u00e9rez, Robert De La Rosa, Joheny de Mora Moreta, Jos\u00e9 Benjam\u00edn Jerez P\u00e9rez, Ariel Meregildo and Santo Beltr\u00e9 Reyes, all 31 years old.\n\n\n

Operation Barrel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe Specialized Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prosecutor’s Office and the Santo Domingo Este Prosecutor’s Office launched Operation Barril on April 29, 2025, with 17 simultaneous raids against a suspected criminal structure involved in drug trafficking, gambling, and money laundering.\n\nThe organization would be headed by David Caminero Borgen, alias “el Patr\u00f3n de Mendoza”, who is currently serving pre-trial detention.\n\nFor this case, the Public Ministry submitted Caminero Borgen, Enmanuel Caminero Borgen and Olga Borgen last February, after conducting several raids, in conjunction with members of the National Police. They are serving 18 months of pre-trial detention, as a coercive measure, in the Correction and Rehabilitation Centers (CCR) Najayo Hombres and Najayo Mujeres, in San Crist\u00f3bal.\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Santo Domingo.– Even in 2026, several of the main judicial files of the Dominican Republic remain trapped in a prolonged procedural limbo. High-profile cases like Medusa, Calamar and Coral\u2013Coral 5G have become symbols of judicial slowness, while public attention begins to turn towards SeNaSa, a case file that will soon be back at the center […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[36952],"tags":[17011,16943,43088,15273,43087],"class_list":{"0":"post-497875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-justice","7":"tag-coral","8":"tag-coral-5g","9":"tag-judicial-cases","10":"tag-medusa","11":"tag-squid"},"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-25wf","dum_api":{"author_name":"Arelis Suero","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-cropped-Diseno-sin-titulo-41-96x96.jpg","categories_name":["Justice"],"featured_media_url":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}