VZCZCXYZ0008
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #1350/01 1112000
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 212000Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4480
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON PRIORITY 2557
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 1048
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 4211
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCOWCV/CUSTOMS CARIBBEAN ATTACHE MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNFB/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/HQS DHS WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001350 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR SEARBY, L/LEI FOR TORRES AND MUELLER 
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR CRIM/OIA ORJALES AND ESTABROOK 
US MARSHAL SERVICE PLEASE PASS TO CHRIS DUDLEY 
DEA FOR OF,OFI,DO,DCO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CJAN SNAR KCRM DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: EXTRADITION TREATY ASSAILED BY 
NARCO-ATTORNEYS AND TABLOID PRESS 
 
¶1.  Over the last two weeks, sensationalist tabloid "El 
Nacional" has attacked the United States for purported 
violations of the 1910 U.S.-Dominican Extradition Treaty. 
According to sources cited by "El Nacional," U.S. extradition 
requests for individuals whose alleged crimes are punishable 
by sentences exceeding 30 years violate an explicit treaty 
provision capping sentences for returned fugitives. 
 
¶2.  A simple reading of the treaty quickly reveals this to be 
a lie; the treaty contains no sentencing language. 
Accordingly, one must inquire into "El Nacional,s" motives 
for persisting with this story. 
 
---------------------------- 
Captured by Narco-Attorneys? 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. On Monday, April 10, "El Nacional" published an article 
quoting legal "experts" who reiterated that the United States 
was violating the bilateral extradition treaty. The attorneys 
quoted in this piece were Domingo Rojas Ninas, High 
Commissioner for the National Commission on Human Rights and 
former attorney for narco-trafficker Franklyn Franco and 
Felix Damian Olivares, principal attorney for extradited 
narco-trafficker Quirino Paulino Castillo. 
 
¶4.  Why the reliance on "experts" linked to 
nacro-trafficking, especially Olivares, who was repeatedly 
cited by that paper throughout 2005 as an expert critic in 
extradition matters? Some Embassy contacts in various 
Dominican media and legal circles suggest an unholy alliance 
that permits extradition attorneys to fight for their clients 
publicly while the paper's editor is provided ammunition for 
his personal leftist/nationalist agenda. A Rojas quote from 
2005 suggests nationalism is equally in play, or at least 
part of a nacro-attorney media strategy: "que cuando un 
dominicano es acusado en el extranjero de cometer un crimen o 
delito y se encontrase en la Republica Dominicana puede ser 
juzgado por los tribunales dominicanos". ("When a Dominican 
is accused overseas of committing a crime and is discovered 
in the Dominican Republic he can be judged by Dominican 
tribunals.") 
 
¶5.  While this is technically true, Rojas should already know 
that common practice in international law is to prioritize 
conflicts in jurisdiction based on an aggregate balance of 
factors, including: treaty requirements, locus of crime, 
nationality of perpetrator, nationality of victim, 
convenience to parties and witnesses, and the availability of 
evidence. (See, e.g., The Princeton Principles on Universal 
Jurisdiction (2001)). When the United States desires 
prosecution for a Dominican citizen who committed a crime 
within U.S. territorial boundaries, the balance clearly 
favors the United States. 
 
----------------- 
A Constant Critic 
----------------- 
 
¶6.  Detached observation should prepare the reader for 
attacks such as these from the pages of "El Nacional." The 
paper's editorial policy, set by an "old guard" leftist 
radicalized by the U.S. intervention of 1965, is one of 
vehement anti-Americanism, exemplified by past pieces 
rejecting CAFTA-DR ("more thorns than flowers"), U.S. 
military presence in the Dominican Republic (suggesting New 
Horizons exercise is U.S. attempt to built "secret" military 
base), the Iraq war ("genocidal"), and the extradition of 
Paulino ("a defeat for the government and for justice"), 
while supporting both Cuba and Venezuela (criticizing major 
party leaders for speaking with "anti-Venezuelan 
conspirators" and "enemies of Venezuela"). 
 
----------- 
The Fallout 
----------- 
 
¶7.  What, then, is the impact of this criticism for the 
future of U.S. extradition in the Dominican Republic? The 
Embassy notes that none of our law enforcement contacts, 
whether in specialized agencies or in the Office of the 
Attorney General, have suggested that this is a "real" issue 
for the Dominican government. 
 
¶8.  This fact, combined with repeated, spirited defense of 
the Treaty by Acting Attorney General Rodolfo Espineira, 
leads the Embassy to conclude that there is little threat of 
negotiated plea agreements being foisted on U.S. prosecutors 
as a precondition to a fugitive's extradition, at least in 
the near term. 
 
¶9.  On April 20 presidential legal advisor Cesar Pina 
Torribio was enticed by journalists into commenting that the 
extradition treaty should be amended specifically to bar 
capital punishment of Dominican citizens, in conformity with 
the Dominican Constitution -- but, he added, some of the 
current proposals in Congress for amendment of the Penal Code 
call for capital punishment for offenses such as rape of a 
minor. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Future Legal Challenges and Potential Difficulties 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶10.  While the treaty is clearly not implicated and there is 
little danger of a significant change in law or practice in 
the near term, the Embassy would still highlight legal 
challenges to extradition that may arise in the coming years. 
 
30 year maximum 
- - - - - - - - 
 
¶11.  In regard to maximum sentences, the Dominican 
Constitution, while silent on actual terms, may be 
interpreted as prohibiting sentences in excess of 30 years 
(the maximum set under Article 7 of the Penal Code) based on 
language contained in Article VIII, section 1, barring 
sentences that impose death, torture, and "any other penalty 
or vexatious procedure or that would implicate the loss or 
diminution of physical integrity or health of the 
individual." The logical argument to make based on that 
interpretation would be that extradition of subjects facing 
terms in excess of 30 years would violate the Dominican 
Constitution. 
 
¶12.  It doesn't appear that there is much support for this 
argument, as domestic legislation (Law 489-69, modified by 
Law 278-89) simply establishes that the Presidential 
authorization for extradition should contain a statement that 
authorities should not impose a sentence above the Dominican 
30 year maximum. The United States does not interpret the 
language as mandatory. And it does not always appear -- it 
was not contained in the presidential authorization of the 
recently returned fugitive Juan Rincon Concepcion 
 
Death Penalty 
- - - - - - - 
 
¶13.  What was present in that authorization, however, was a 
boilerplate language explicitly attempting to bar application 
of the death penalty ("bajo ninguna circunstancia se le 
impondra la pena de muerte" -- "in no circumstances will the 
death penalty be imposed on the subject"). As the Dominican 
Constitution prohibits imposition of the death penalty and 
current Dominican practice attempts to exclude its imposition 
for those extradited, the Embassy predicts future 
difficulties for extradition requests for crimes possibly 
punishable by death sentences upon conviction.  The Embassy 
maintains this position even as polling conducted by the 
Gallup organization and local daily "Hoy" demonstrates that 
67 percent of Dominicans favor imposition of the death 
penalty for convicted child rapists. 
 
---------- 
 
Conclusion 
---------- 
 
¶14.  While the immediate fallout of "El Nacional,s" biased 
attacks against extradition and the bilateral treaty are 
certain to have no meaningful impact, significant underlying 
issues still exist in cases involving the death penalty. 
Support for Dominican fugitives, the vast majority of whom 
are involved in narco-trafficking, is slight, and without a 
significant change in public support there will be little 
pressure to link extradition to sentencing guarantees. 
 
¶15.  Drafted by Michael Garuckis. 
 
¶16.  This piece and others can be consulted at our SIPRNET 
web site (http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo)  along 
with extensive other material. 
HERTELL