For almost two years, the Public Ministry of the Dominican Republic has been investigating four deputies, three from the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Details of the investigation have not been disclosed.
Recently, a fifth deputy, Sergio (Gory) Moya de la Cruz, also from the PRM, was added to the list of legislators under investigation. He is linked to a presumed scheme of extortion of lottery seats mentioned in the file of Operation Squid. The Supreme Court of Justice has appointed Judge Napoleón Estévez Lavandier as the “control” judge of the investigation, given the privileged jurisdiction that the defendants possess.
The other four legislators under investigation are Faustina Guerrero Cabrera, Rosa Amalia Pilarte López, Nelson Rafael Marmolejos Gil, and Héctor Darío Féliz Féliz. Guerrero Cabrera, from El Seibo, is mentioned in Operation Falcón, while Pilarte López, from La Vega, has family members facing justice for drug-related offenses and money laundering. Marmolejos Gil, from Santiago, is also from the PRM, while Féliz Féliz, from Oviedo (Pedernales), is from the PRD.
The control or investigative judge must authorize procedures required by the Public Ministry in its investigation, such as searches, interception of calls, and requesting financial reports. The deputy prosecutor Pedro Inocencio Amador Espinosa is leading the investigations.