Local October 19, 2012 - 8:33 am

Dominican authorities avert bloodbath akin to Waco, Texas

Santo Domingo.- The shootout with a religious sect linked to the group of Germans which attacked a police patrol during a raid of their property, with one sect member killed and three agents hurt, could’ve unleashed a massacre such was that in Waco, Texas in 1993, said Police chief Jose Polanco.

The sect had built a fortified compound to survive an alleged cataclysm they expected in December 2012, based on the Mayan prediction, and prepared it militarily to defend it in the ensuing chaos.

The group’s mix of beliefs included Buddhism, Maya culture, Sahi Baba, Christianity and extraterrestrials, information they believe is shrouded by the major world powers and the media.

The cult members lived shut off from the world in a compound of some 20 luxury homes in Sosúa, Puerto Plata. They didn’t allow people outside the organization to enter and had several run-ins with police and other authorities.

The sect called "The Academy For Future Health” (AFFH) is led by the German Peter Brunk, whose control over his followers and mind control was such that it’s now being compared with that exerted by David Koresh over his followers in 1993, when a raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas left dozens dead and catapulted him to world notoriety.

One of the German detainees revealed that the group also has a property in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Family Conflict

Five years ago one of Brunck’s sons left the sect on personal problems in Germany and revealed everything about the group, prompting an investigation there and German journalists visiting the Dominican Republic.

The reporters, unable to enter the compound, managed to fly over the area in an Air Force helicopter, but were attacked by some of the people within the complex of villas.

In December, 2006 two masked gunmen on a motorcycle shot Brunck, but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time.

COVID-19

December 21, 2024 - 9:15 am

Dominican Republic receives international equipment certification

December 21, 2024 - 9:09 am

Country registers 10,168 probable cases of dengue, 12 deaths

December 20, 2024 - 8:40 am

DIGEMAPS issues health alert over counterfeit mental health medications

December 17, 2024 - 8:25 am

Dominican Republic Consulate promotes the country as manufacturing leader at Barcelona Health Hub

MOST READ

World

Trump nominates Leah Francis Campos as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic

Local

Training talent is the challenge for Dominican Republic to use and develop AI

Tourism

Government announces investment of RD$ 300 million for tourist highways in the East

Tourism

Dominican Republic secures 50,000 additional airline seats from Canada

MORE NEWS

Tourism

Passenger boom at AILA: receives up to 100 flights daily

Economy

Two hotels in the Dominican Republic are among the best

Local

Is electricity being stolen? Operation against electricity fraud carried out in Santiago

Local

President Abinader guarantees Christmas dinner to families in poverty