How about that some one doing something

great but stuff will still be exported on the black market

offer rewards to rat out the black market. Some one working the issue the reqwardee gets three months salary for the official while the official is in jail

There goes Banistan's source of income!

OMG. This sounds too good to be true.

Damn, indict a few Generals and all hell breaks loose.

Who got the balls?

I agree, give rewards for people who rat the thieves out.

As far as we know Josie (PITUFO GRUñON) could be the ringleader behind these thugs stealing cooper to help their camrade in China.

So you can purchase their products from YOUR comrades at Wal-Mart and IKEA!

This is great news.I also agree with using whistle blowers but until those people feel protected from the people they give up it won't work. Who wants to give up a high ranking police officer and then get shot by him later. Not worth it.

Incredible how small a premium one has to pay for THE terminiation of ones breathing privaliges in the D.R.. MAYBE 1000 PESOS ON A GOOD DAY.....In tommorrows addition we are going to learn about whats been happening to all of those lightbulbs that keep mysteriously disappearing ?

in DR they will tap into your cable, electric, water, and gas if you do not check your lines every month

Typical socialist idea.

Penalize those who work hard and are trying to turn a profit instead of going after the real problem.....The criminals

Can anybody shed some light about this copper exporting business in the DR? I don't get it...is there a legal way to get copper in the DR?

"It was also learned that 500 containers in Caucedo Multimodal Port will be closely inspected"
Where the hell do those companies get enough copper to fill 500 containers?...Are we recycling or it's the result of having thousands of buzos in Duqueza and Rafey?

spoken like a true nitwit. the guys who steal and export cable are hard working people, by anthonyc´s assessment. yes, they put entire neighborhoods out of electric service for entire weekends, by stealing electric cables, and also interenet and telephone wires, plus manhole covers. but, since someone is making money, it is just good old capitalist ingenuity. jeezus.

Dready,

Did you even read what I posted?

I said that the Government should go after the criminals....Not the honest copper recyclers. .....Jeez!

spoken like a true nitwit. the guys who steal and export cable are hard working people, by anthonyc´s assessment. yes, they put entire neighborhoods out of electric service for entire weekends, by stealing electric cables, and also interenet and telephone wires, plus manhole covers. but, since someone is making money, it is just good old capitalist ingenuity. jeezus

but also lets not forget how the drug dealers are treated like heros and great men....
really so many look up at them, better they look down and try and make one REAL LIFE for them selfs.

is paulino one GREAT MAN OR SOME ONES HERO?

if they saw him now sitting in a MANHATTAN FEDERAL FACILITY
he for sure is no ones HERO.

Jamacia did this over a year ago. Many people out of work

and Col O.North is also a slime Hero to many

here we go again... north....
dont worry about north..
all is good in the dr....
have a great life in the land of

smoke and mirrors
where nothing is for real..
hey! at least o. north could read and write.....like like the idiot sitting in a jail cell in new york city..
give me and all the readers a big BREAK....

You people read what you want to read.

danny,
check your house in puerto plata... the cables might be gone by now lol... your jacuzzi will have no power when you arrive

anthonyc, last i checked, there are no functioning copper foundries in the DR. so, anyone in the business of exporting substantial amounts of copper is, to my mind, a suspect in the trafficking of illegally obtained copper. given the general level of ethical standards among businessmen here, it is safe to suggest that more than a few are promoting the illicit activity, if only by buying the merchandise. if i buy a stolen radio from a street hood, and i get arrested, are you going to say that the cops should ignore me and go after the real criminal, the guy who actually stole it ?

This exorting of copper ingots derived from purloined electrical distribution wires has been going on for years. It was a severe problem in 2000 when I first arrived in the DR. It is now 2010 and the problem still exists only worse.
In all that time, NOONE in government did anything to halt the flow of illegally acquired copper into the international market. Golvernment officials were hand in glove with the thieves andthe companies who did the exporting right out in the open.
Everyone knew that there was NO COPPER PRODUCED in the DR and that the ONLY SOURCE OF THAT METAL was derived from the stolen wires of the distribution system.
You idiots want to blame someone, blame yourselves and the thievery that is endemic to the DR.
Lets face it, the DR is a nation of thieves who perpetuate that in the entire society, and until the entire society changes, it will always be that way.
Rationalize that away.

TexasBill

nice to hear from you, TB. hope all is well with you. and yes, i agree with you regarding the paucity of ethics in general. it will come back to haunt us here, or already has.

It's about time that someone at least addressed the problem in official circles! In the last decade my family home has been robbed SIX times of it's cables! Sons of bitches.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. people from the goberment please that cable thef has to stop soon because its cancer for the country and his people. how ever is making money fron this has to star looking the big pichture even then self will paid the hightes price. what do you think where do you live , is not onlly the goberment responsability is evrey dominicans responsability we have to stay together on this one come now ... an talking about our beutiful contry...........

I bet there is a lot of copper in the METRO not that I want to give Banistan any ideas!

Written by: dreadlocks, 10 Mar 2010 11:37 AM
anthonyc, last i checked, there are no functioning copper foundries in the DR.

Do you see the lack of logic in that statement?

The Article said "SCRAP" it did not mention anything about a refined product. There is a small metal recycling industry in the D.R.
While I don't doubt that some ( who am I kinding? Probably most) are involved with the purchase of stolen copper I find it stupid to punish all for the actions of some.
What about the small, ethical business owner who now is looking at a major financial loss due to this law?
Aren't you on the side of the greenies? Wouldn't you want a metal recycling business in the D.R. to succeed?

Punish the Criminals!!!!

Welcome back Texas Bill: Hello dreadlocks:
I could not make it any clearer.I agree with both of your statements 100% ".If the shoe fits wear it"!!!
Keep at it ,maybe some of our country men will learn by constructive critisim .What i can not understand is why the DR been small population wise in the 50s, these never took place ? Was it Trujillo's rain of terror, or was it less Haitian's influence 3mns as oppose to 9mns today and there
is not jobs so they have to exort to thievery.What ever the case maybe we are going bacward like the CANGREJOS. Please enlighten me. Maybe what we need is a strong leader and forget all this DEMOCRACY hypocritism in order to to get away with it.This starts from the parlament down to the people. This is a real fail State when human values are lost .I don't think DR was ever ready for Democracy to start with or maybe they like to be kiked in the ass by a rifle's butt or just plain shut by a firing squad.Who ever heard of 75 genls, 25 admls no ships

Mr Rancier, i cannot add a single word to such a statement. it just about sums up the root of the problem

Mr. Rancier, a strongman isn't the answer. Respect for the law is. You see, when you have a society where all the big dogs and their hanger-ons get away with literal murder on a daily basis what incentive is there for the average citizen to be an upright member of his/her society? Most people will see the reality as a sham and act accordingly. Impunity does not exist in a true democracy, which the DR is not. As such it is not fair to denounce democratic governments and/or processes based on the Dominican Republic of 2010.

Cibaeno, i must agree with you on your assessment, also. i am not saying that a leader the likes of Trujillo is the answer. however, a leader who makes EVERYBODY tow the line is the person who is needed. the problem is that there is nobody setting a good example. when the guy in the street sees all these generalissimos and politicians stealing left and right, they are going to follow suit. the leaders set the tone for the socialisation of the populace. with amoral leadership comes amoral society. the political leadership has created a society formatted towards protection of the powerful, who act with total impunity and disregard for the rules of civilised society. when Fausto sees the guy in the Audi A7 run the red light, without worry of police intervention, what is he going to do when he gets a car?

Dread, your still placing an emphasis on an individual, on a savior of sorts. Dangerous line of thinking in Latin America. Something more grassroots needs to occur. The population needs to finally get fed up. I'm thinking Palermo in the early part of the last decade when hundreds of thousands of Sicilians, young and old, finally took to the streets to denounce the hold that the Mafia has had on their society. But that type of indignation is usually rooted in a a society that has a true understanding of the situation, something that cannot be currently achieved in the DR due to the dismal levels of education among the general populace.

very insightful remarks, Cibaeno. to add a little to that , let me make mention of a list of qualities that a writer used to describe a group of people.

they harbor feelings of hopelessness, fatalism, and despair, oftentimes using phrases like ¨si Dios quiere ¨:

they have no long range goals

they assume that wealth is a condition of nature, not something one strives to attain

there is no thought that things could be different, and better, and the leadership does nothing to change that inertia

any capital attained is immediately expended upon short term gratification, partying, drinking, and gambling

they are usually very religious and devout, and look to El Senor for earthly comfort and salvation.

sound familiar?

a social scientist made those remarks about the peonage societies of Latin America which create these people.

Dread, very apt description of DR's peasantry and urban poor. The American ambassador to DR in the 60s, John Bartlow Martin, made almost the exact same observations that you've just shared with us back during his official capacity in DR.

yes, Cibaeno...in the 60s. 40 years on, it is still the same.

"yes, Cibaeno...in the 60s. 40 years on, it is still the same."

Sadly, my point exactly. Until education becomes a priority it will remain the same. But then there lies the reason why education is NOT a priority. It suits certain sectors of the population who would love nothing more than for the status quo to remain the same.

For what it is worth, I'm not at all certain that the democratic form of government is truly viable given a large and diverse population.
I look at the USA today and wonder if representatives elected without there being some form of recall mechanism to neutralize those representataives who prove to be antagonistic, arrogantly non-responsive to consensus and/or just plain self-centered to the point of not truly representing those who have elected them,
We are privy to just such actions taking place today in the US Legislataive Branch of that Govenment. Even to the degree that there is a section embodied within a single bill that PROHIBITS ANY CHANGES EVER being made to a particular section of the legislation.
That is tantamount to a Legislataive Body becoming DICTATORIAL to the peoples it is mandated to serve by the governing Constitution.
We can only hope to replace those who aare so arrogantly acting in the next election cycle.
Pray for us.

TexasBill

"For what it is worth, I'm not at all certain that the democratic form of government is truly viable given a large and diverse population."

But can one truly call how Washington functions in this day and age democracy? The special interests, not the people, control the legislative branch lock, stock and barrel. The days of Mr. Smith have been gone for some time. And what do you mean by "diverse". I'm not trying to pick a fight but are you insinuating that democracy is not well-suited for a society composed of significant numbers of people of color?

cibaneo75(excusethe misspelling);
Quite the contrary, I am NOT making ANY reference to people of Color, as you put it.
By my use of the term, "diverse", I am refering to the various socio-economic segments of the US Society. Nothing less and nothing more.
Too often, people tend to try and read into written statements by others, that which they, themselves hold as being central to human thought and intent as to conclusions.
When people write/speak in generalities, I suppose they must be extremely cautious as to the verbage used, lest they become offensive to those who seem to pounce at the slightest deviation of presentation due to that persons background/political/philosophical orientation.
Such leads me to ask, whatever happened to the habit of asking the simple question, "What did you mean by **********, or similar interrogatives.
One must NEVER jump to conclusions over seemingly innocent verbage, wouldn't you think? Or do you really think before engaging your mouth?
TB

"One must NEVER jump to conclusions over seemingly innocent verbage, wouldn't you think? Or do you really think before engaging your mouth?"

TB, I jumped to no conclusions. I just asked you to expand on your point as it was somewhat nebulous to me and I thank you for doing so. With that said, how do you feel about the comment I made in reference to how Washington functions and if it is at odds with what is a true democracy?

By the way TB "diverse" has many meanings including the one I alluded to...look it up and spare me the righteous indignation. Learn to use the language the way it's used in the twenty-first century before you go on any further tirades.

cibaeno like gender rather than sex. like a n word has different meanings depending on who uses it?

Indeed words have different meanings when used in certain contexts...as such I see no reason for indignation when one asks for clarification in such instances. But if the shoe fits...

cibaeno75;

reference my "tirade" over your inquery about the use of the word "diverse".
We are not dealing in an exercise in semantics, but rather dealing with a "mind-set" that exists in certain segments of world society.
When we focus on a particular "word" and require an explanation of its usage from the original user in a comment, we are opening up the field for quite a bit of contrary commentary.
The USA probably has one of the most "diverse" populations of any nation in the world, wouldn't you say?? Why then your questioning the intent of my usage of that word in my commentary? I would think, which I sometimes do, that the usage was self-evident and required no further explanation.
I trust that my clarification, above, is sufficient to alleviate any adversity of intent to you, or anyone else.
FYI, if I had intended for the use made of the word in question to be specific, I would have so stated.
Satisfied??

TexasBill