DOMINICAN REPUBLIC CONVICTS TRAFFICKING FELONS,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SANTO DOMINGO 003147

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR-MCISAAC, WHA/PPC-PUCCETTI, G/TIP-OWEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM DR KWMN SMIG PREL
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC CONVICTS TRAFFICKING FELONS,
DIFFERS WITH 2005 TIP REPORT

REF: A. STATE 100335


B. STATE 097787


1. (SBU) Summary: Assistant Attorney General Frank Soto, who
coordinates the Dominican Government's anti-TIP efforts,
provided details of the Dominican Republic's first
convictions of traffickers under a 2003 anti-TIP law, in a
May 20 court decision published June 2. Soto expressed
disappointment at the continued classification of the
Dominican Republic on the Tier 2 Watch List and cited this
verdict and other prosecutions and measures now underway. In
remarks to the press, Soto took issue with specific
information in the report. Editorial reaction, while
limited, has concurred with the report's conclusions. End
summary.

Report Delivered
- - - - - - - - -


2. (SBU) Per guidance and timetable (Refs A-B),Embassy
political officer on the afternoon of June 2 delivered the
2005 TIP report on the Dominican Republic, in English and an
informal Spanish translation, to Assistant Attorney General
Frank Soto, who heads the AG's anti-TIP unit and coordinates
interagency anti-TIP efforts. They also provided it to MFA
Director for Women's and Children's Affairs Cecilia
Caballero, and MFA Human Rights Director Rhadys Abreu de
Polanco. On June 3, Embassy published on its public webstie
the informal Spanish translation of the Dominican Republic
portion and the full English text of the 2005 worldwide TIP
report. Embassy on June 7 delivered the report in both
languages to Under Secretary of State for Consular and
Migratory Affairs Rosario Graciano.

Recent TIP Convictions
- - - - - - - - - - - -


3. (SBU) Deputy AG Soto expressed disappointment that the
Dominican Republic had not been taken off the Tier II watch
list. He provided a copy of a sentence handed down in Boca
Chica (a beach town east of Santo Domingo) May 20 against
three Dominican traffickers, under Dominican anti-TIP Law
137-03, for offering 12-13 children as prostitutes. This
operation was set up by representatives of the U.S.-based
International Justice Mission, one of whom posed as a
prospectgive customer. The convictions, based on more than
20 hours of video filming of the attempted transaction,
brought prison sentences of 15 years and fines of RD 175,000
(USD 6,000) each. The convictions had not previously been
publicized because the judge did not sign the sentencing
document until May 31. Political officer commended this
breakthrough, the first convictions under the 2003 anti-TIP
law, and encouraged the authorities to maintain the momentum
with further convictions.


4. (SBU) Soto displayed posters and glossy brochures being
used in an educational campaign to inform judicial and police
personnel and the public about the crimes of alien smuggling
and TIP. They advertise a telephone hotline (1-809-200-7393)
to report accusations of such activities. The phone is in
Soto's office, in the Department Against Alien Smuggling and
Trafficking in Persons (Departamento contra el Trafico
Ilicito de Migrantes y la Trata de Personas). Soto referred
to several ongoing investigations and prosecutions of alien
smugglers, some of which he was sure would result in
convictions. He pointed to the May 17 conviction of a
Santiago bar owner for sexual exploitation of minors (under
the Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, not
under the TIP law). Political officer noted that these
events occurred after the period covered by the TIP report
and could be taken into account in next year's assessment.


5. (SBU) Soto and MFA Under Secretary Graciano commented
separately that many of the deficiencies noted in the TIP
report were due to lack of resources and that any outside
assistance would be appreciated. Graciano described a
proposal by several local NGOs that would offer business
opportunities for Dominican women who have been deported from
abroad, to enable them to get ahead in the Dominican Republic
rather than emigrate.

6. (SBU) Graciano commented that our next report should
mention the Dominican Republic,s "consular network" of
officials who are being or will be trained to handle TIP
cases and issues. She said the plan is to reactivate this
network, first in Brussels, then in the Caribbean and Central
America. The MFA has not yet decided which capitals in the
Caribbean and Central America are to be the points of
contact. Buenos Aires will be added subsequently. Consular
Affairs will soon present a plan to the Foreign Minister for
interagency actions on migration, TIP, and alien smuggling.


7. (SBU) Graciano said she recently started up a new MFA unit
to combat alien smuggling and TIP, as part of a reinvigorated
Division of Migration Affairs within her Consular
sub-secretariat. An MFA consultative committee coordinates
anti-TIP issues internally among offices that deal with
consular/migration, women's and children's, legal, and
Haitian affairs. There is also an operational committee of
subordinate officials on TIP. Government-wide, an
"Interagency Committee for Women's Affairs" (acronym CIPROM)
sometimes discusses TIP. Soto told us that the MFA women's
and children's unit periodically convenes an interagency
meeting to review a report of the government's efforts
against TIP.

Public Comment on the Report
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


8. (U) On June 4, mainline daily "El Caribe" published an
interview with Soto in which he commented that the 2005 TIP
report did not recognize all of the government's actions
against TIP. As in the discussion with Embassy officers, he
took issue with statistics cited, in particular the estimate
that 2,000 Haitian children are trafficked annually into the
Dominican Republic to be exploited in various ways. Soto said
this figure has been used by OIM and UNICEF for years without
being updated. He also objected to the statement that
Dominican children are trafficked to various foreign
countries. He pointed out that there are "very strict
regulations" regarding international travel of minors from
the Dominican Republic and challenged the Department of State
to find "one example" of a minor that had been removed from
the country illegally. Soto asserted that, with the
Dominican Government,s proactive closing down of brothels in
recent months, it would be difficult to find minors being
exploited commercially for sexual purposes. He noted that his
unit of the Attorney General's office had been elevated to
the status of a department when tPresident Fernandez took
office and has units dedicated to combating pedophilia and
pornography on the internet as well as prevention and
education.


9. (U) Four major daily newspapers carried stories June 4 of
the TIP report's release, and two of them published excerpts
from the text on the Dominican Republic. In an editorial
June 6 national daily "El Caribe" noted Soto's criticisms,
but characterized the report's conclusions as consistent with
other investigations by international organizations and NGOs.
The newspaper called for redoubled efforts by authorities to
combat "networks in this country that profit from commercial
sexual exploitation of women and children."

Comment
- - - -


10. (SBU) Embassy will continue its close dialogue with
Assistant AG Soto and Under Secretary Graciano, competent
officials who are working with limited resources.


11. (SBU) The three Boca Chica convictions, resulting in
stiff punishments, represent a big step forward. The police
and judiciary worked as they should, and the court delivered
the convictions promptly by Dominican standards -- from
arrests to convictions, the whole process took less than 11
months. The investment of time and effort by the U.S. NGO
provided an unprecedented and evidently irrefutable body of
evidence.
Hertell