Judge voted against releasing Colombians in major drugs case

Santo Domingo.- National District 2nd Appellate Court presiding judge Ramón Horacio González voted against releasing Colombian alleged drug traffickers, the brothers Huber Osvaldo Buitrago and Angel Maria Buitrago on bond, noting that is was the only way to keep them from fleeing the country.

He said in addition to the Colombians not having a bonafide identity and used forged Venezuelan passports to enter and leave the country, "there’s evidence serious enough to presume they could be guilty of the crimes they’re charged with, international drug trafficking…punished with 30 years in prison."

The Buitragos’ release by majority vote Wednesday drew the immediate rebuke from sectors of society and of Justice Minister Francisco Dominguez, who vowed to appeal the ruling.

The two foreigners detained several months ago during an unusual operation headed by the National Investigations Department (DNI) are charged with forming part of a drug trafficking ring that sent narcotics from Dominican Republic to the US and Europe.