Bar owners lose first round in Colonial Zone row

Santo Domingo.- After a Monday morning meeting lasting more than three hours the Interior and Police Ministry ordered the closings of five bars in the Colonial Zone, for failing to adhere to the schedule to sell alcoholic beverages.

Interior and Police minister Jose Ramon Faldul announced that the bars Encuentro, Studio Bar, Mojiganga, Cacibajagua and Miloka will be shuttered for 20 days as the penalty, affirming that disorder in the Colonial Zone won’t be tolerated, but noted that he aims to reconcile all community sectors in the name of harmony.

Several neighborhood and Catholic Church groups, bar owners and residents of the tourist area attended the meeting held at Interior and Police headquarters, in the Duarte office building, where they agreed to meet every 15 days, starting Friday, to ensure adherence to the agreements, which the Zone’s residents vowed to enforce.