Black Immigrant Daily News

Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested 19 people in a sweeping corruptioncase that accuses a well-known former presidential candidate and three former officials of embezzling nearly $350 million and illegal campaign financing.

The arrests are the latest in a string of investigations that officials have launched in the past two years as part of a crackdown on rampant government corruption in the Caribbean country.

Among those detained Saturday night is Gonzalo Castillo, a former public works minister who won 37% of the vote when he ran as presidential candidate for the Dominican Liberation Party in the 2020 general elections won by current President Luis Abinader.

Also arrested is a former treasury minister, Donald Guerrero; former comptroller general, Daniel Omar Caamano; and former administrative minister to the presidency, Jose Ramon Peralta.

Prosecutors said they are accused of paying bribes, laundering assets and illegally financing the previous electoral campaign on an “unprecedented” scale after embezzling $347 million of government funds.

The suspects were charged after authorities launched 40 raids targeting their properties and businesses in the capital of Santo Domingo and beyond.

Hundreds of Castillo supporters gathered Monday outside the Justice Palace to protest his arrest as they waved the party’s purple-and-yellow flag and tried to damage the building before police scattered the crowd with tear gas. Meanwhile, officials with the Dominican Liberation Party questioned the impartiality of prosecutors and accused them of only investigating and arresting former government officials and not looking into corruptionallegations against Abinader’s current administratoin.

“It is clear that behind these actions, there are markedly political and re-election interests,” said Charlie Mariotti, the party’s secretary general.

Police on Saturday also arrested the former director of the State Sugar Council, Luis Miguel Piccirilo; former director of the National Cadastre, Claudio Silva Pena; and the former directors of Casinos and Gambling, Oscar Chalas Guerrero and Julian Omar Fernandez.

Defense attorneys for the accused could not be immediately reached for comment. The suspects were expected to appear in court Monday.

Last year, authorities arrested Jean Alain Rodriguez, the country’s former attorney general, and other suspects accused of diverting government funds in an unrelated case.

One of Abinader’s promises in the 2020 campaign was to appoint an independent attorney general to fight corruption and impunity. He selected Miriam German Brito, a former judge held in high regard.

Since then, various high-ranking government officials tied to ormer President Danilo Medina have been arrested, along with two of his siblings.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

In the wake of the historic agreement on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters – and on the side lines of the UN Water Conference – the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Norway are convening world leaders in Copenhagen on 23-24 March for the largest global high-level event on transnational organised crime in the global fishing industry.

Countries and communities across the world are dependent on the sea, its resources, and the opportunities it holds for the economy, food and well-being of both people and planet. Fisheries crime undermines the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and poses serious threats to marine ecosystems, economic development, and global food security.

With political leaders from over 35 countries and territories from six continents represented, the Blue Justice Conference 2023 is a unique opportunity to accelerate international efforts to strengthen global capacity and inter-agency cooperation for the prevention and law enforcement of fisheries crime and towards the fulfilment of the SDGs.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on reparations during a global conference next month in Baltimore, Maryland.

According to Don Rojas, the Vincentian-born Director of Communications and International Relations for the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), the organisation has received confirmation that Mottley will attend the State of the Black World Conference V, from April 19-23, as a special guest to deliver the keynote address.

Rojas, a former press secretary for slain Grenada Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, said Mottley will join President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in addressing the conference, which is organised around the theme, “Global Africans Rising, Empowerment Reparations and Healing.”

IBW said Mottley has emerged as “a major figure in the Caribbean advocating for stronger ties with the African Union and a global emphasis on reparatory justice with Africa playing a more active role.”

IBW noted that Mottley has called for a global summit on reparations in collaboration with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission, the African Union, National African American Reparations Commission and reparations commissions from various regions of the Global Black Diaspora.

“We are honored and delighted that Prime Minister Mia Mottley has accepted our invitation to play a major role in State of the Black World Conference V,” said IBW President Dr Ron Daniels. “She has shown an eagerness to work with President Addo of Ghana in expanding and strengthening the global reparations movement.

“Once Vice-President Francia Marquez from Colombia confirms, we will have a formidable trio of leaders embracing the cause of reparatory justice as the ‘human rights issue of the 21st Century’, as proclaimed by Professor Hilary Beckles [vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies],” Daniels added.

He also said that Mottley will be presented the IBW Legacy Award at the Global Women’s Leadership Summit at the conference for her “historic role as the first woman Prime Minister of Barbados.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Prime Minister Ariel Henry signaled Friday that he wants to mobilize Haiti’s military to help the National Police fight the country’s increasingly powerful gangs.

Henry said during an appearance at the Armed Forces headquarters that he intends to mobilize all of the country’s security forces in the fight against gang violence. His comments come as Haiti and some U.N. officials continue to press the international community to deploy foreign armed troops to help quell the widespread violence.

Jean Robenson Servilius, who works in the press office for Haiti’s Defense Ministry, confirmed to The Associated Press that officials are working on plans to activate the military. He said the Armed Forces currently have some 2,000 soldiers and that more are being recruited, adding that they’ve been trained by experts in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.

Robenson said he could not provide further details.

Haiti’s military was disbanded in 1995 after it participated in multiple coups and was accused of other political interference. The Armed Forces were reinstated by slain President Jovenel Mo?se in 2017 after the U.N. ended its peacekeeping operation in Haiti known as MINUSTAH.

Since then, it has played a limited role, which includes providing protection to Haiti’s prime minister.

“Are we ready to work hand-in-hand with the police force in the fight against insecurity?” Henry asked during his visit to Haiti’s military headquarters.

It was not immediately clear when the military would be activated, how many soldiers would be called to duty or what role they would play. But Henry stressed their help was needed.

“The Haiti that we want, we will not be able to build it with gangs that are rampant everywhere. They must listen to reason, or we will make them listen to reason in spite of themselves,” he said.

Gangs control an estimated 60% of the capital of Port-au-Prince, and they have killed hundreds of people in recent months in their fight to control more territory in the aftermath of the July 2021 assassination of Mo?se at his private home. Tens of thousands of Haitians have been displaced by the ongoing violence, which U.N. officials say has reached levels not seen in decades.

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By Cristina Caus

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Mar. 17, 2023: Last month, Guyana gathered leaders for a 4-day international energy conference to discuss how the oil & gas sector can harness the country’s development. Given the current global energy context, sustainability was the hot-button topic throughout the program and the conversations revolved around how can Guyana, an oil superpower in the making, explore and produce oil sustainably while remaining aligned with the world’s 2050 net-zero goals.

While some global powers, pushing their agendas toward carbon-free and clean energy projects, view the Caribbean oil hype skeptically, others are highly optimistic about the opportunities arising. Can an oil & gas-based economy be sustainable? 

In a broader sense, sustainability is not an environmental-only term, as many think. It encompasses fulfilling the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations while balancing economic growth, environmental protection, and social well-being. 

Since the oil & gas production rising in Guyana, the development of communities and renewable energy initiatives has been a focus for the key oil players and the government. Multiple achievements and promising plans were shared during the 2023 International Energy Conference in Guyana, all fueled by the nation’s petroleum industry. 

ExxonMobil has invested in the community by partnering with local entities to engage with the community and address community challenges since 2012. The focus areas include the environment, STEM education, and women, youth and community empowerment. Over the past years, ExxonMobil Foundation invested more than US$10 million in Guyana for research, sustainable employment and conservation, collaborating with the University of Guyana to train Guyanese for sustainable job opportunities and expand community-supported conservation. The investment is also intended to support Guyana’s Green State Development Plan, the country’s 15-year development plan that aims, among other things, to diversify Guyana’s economy and balance economic growth with the sustainable management and conservation of the country’s ecosystems.

President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge shared during the conference that the US$160 million Ogle Operations Center, in construction at the moment, is proof of long-term investment in Guyana’s prosperity and sustainability. With the latest digital capabilities, this modern center in Guyana aims to control Exxon’s offshore operations and around 130 ex-pats are now training locals to build the future workforce. The company has comprehensive mentoring programs in place to ensure that Guyanese will run the operations in the near future. 

CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited (CPGL) has been building communities in Guyana since it started its oil & gas activities. Liu Xiaoxiang, President CPGL shared the latest news on the 130 solar lights system donation to Moraikobai, the only indigenous village in Region Five. As part of the “building the partnership bridge” plan between China and Guyana, CPGL’s CSR initiatives are selected under four main pillars: developing Amerindian communities, promoting Education, the transition to Clean and Renewable Energy and fostering Safe and Thriving Communities. To date, CPGL has planned and implemented over 30 projects across six regions in Guyana in addition to the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI).

The Greater Guyana Initiative is a partnership with the Stabroek Block co-venturers ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC; and the People of Guyana. This is intended to support communities to help develop the local workforce, build human capacity, advance education and improve healthcare, and promote sustainable economic diversification for a growing Guyana. The Greater Guyana Initiative has funded a Hinterland Poultry Project valued at more than US $608,000 to boost the poultry industry in the hinterland regions. This project, also called the ‘Egg Sandwich Project,’ is the first regional socio-economic project funded by the GGI. It is focused on enabling the hinterland residents to raise their local poultry capacity, thereby enhancing consumer access to high-quality local poultry products and economic independence.

A lot is happening in Guyana because of oil & gas, “… because investing in Guyana means an investment in the region,” as the Minister of Finance of Guyana, Dr. Ashni Singh, highlighted. From investment in urban development to education projects and social infrastructure (such as the building of 12 new hospitals), the new Gas-to-Energy Project will address long-standing issues of high electricity costs. The government has allocated US $759 million for the development of the plants that are advancing this Gas-to-Energy project, set to significantly lower the cost of electricity, triggering rapid growth in industrial activity, and promoting a smooth transition to renewable energy sources countrywide.

The government has massive solar projects in store for the hinterland for 2023, part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, which will benefit the coastal communities and the most remote areas. One of the initiatives funded through a line of credit of US $7.2 million from the Government of India starts this year and will include 30,000 150-watt solar photovoltaic units with batteries and lighting kits being installed in hinterland communities.

All these projects and initiatives place importance on ensuring that Guyanese across the country benefit from the petroleum sector through revenue and

investments in socio-economic development, which is a sustainable approach in essence. Case in point, what the Minister of Natural Resources of Guyana, Vickram Bharrat, has mentioned, “… the big powers built their economies on non-environmentally friendly practices. These are the same rich countries so concerned about the emissions that they are trying to limit production from natural resources. However, none offer help to small economies for the renewable energy transition, which requires massive government input financially.”

Now is the time and the place for countries like Guyana to ensure security for its people and the entire region by using the petroleum industry as a ladder to a sustainable future.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Cristina Caus is an international oil and gas business developer and consultant and holds a master’s degree in international business from Florida International University.

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