San Francisco, Dominican Republic.- Prominent journalist Pedro Fernández denied Wednesday that the attack by gunfire against him stems from his son’s 600,000 peso debt with alleged drug trafficker Yuyo Paula, and cited National Police general Neivi Luis Pérez and Duarte Province prosecutor Reyes Victoria for what might happen to him and his family.
He said the local police and prosecutors are in cahoots with drug gangs.
In a press conference, Fernández rejected the bodyguards authorized by president Danilo Medina just hours after Reporters Without Borders demanded his protection from alleged drug traffickers who reportedly shot out the windows of his SUV while driving through a “hot” sector of San Francisco, the country’s notorious drug capital.
He said many police officers are on the side of the drug traffickers headed by Paula.
“It’s safer to walk alone and unprotected than with police agents, since they can kill you and claim otherwise, because they’re up to their necks with drug trafficking, said Fernández, who has received the support of Dominican Republic’s Journalists Association -CDP- and other workers’ unions.
The threats and attacks against the journalist and his family come after he denounced the high number of drug pushers and 12 murders including those of business leaders Fernandez says the police and prosecutor in San Francisco, have yet to clarify.