Wow! If true, this place is getting out of control. Gunned down in broad daylight in your own store.

Yes Gringo. It has been out of control for sometime. Just that a few folks never want to accept/see the truth, even if it is under their own noses. Drugs, money and greed now have their ugly fingers around ther DR. It will take strong leadership to change this, and none of the current politicos or candidates have the stones or courage to make that happen. Look for more of this crap to happen in the near future.

drug business is getting out of control, we need to cleanse the streets from this parasites!
R.I.P Ruben Soto

I agree. I guess this country needs a miracle candidate or super hero to come out of no where and save the people. Seems almost hopeless unless the people rise up and let their voice be heard! Vote NUNCA tomorrow!

Some people get into this bussiness not knowing this is serious stuff. When you get involve with the big guys, your life, and the life of your family is at risk 24/7; so, whether or not this man was involve, is not clear, but his step daughter was, and that's enough reason for them to kill anyone they suspect to know something.

May GOD have mercy on us all.

May GOD have mercy on us all. No such thing or the other drud. Legalize

The country is turning into another Mexico.

If the DR goes the way of Mexico they are in real trouble.

What a sin. This is how drugs kill twice.

Realisticly, DR is still one of the safest Latin American countries, yet, thats comparing it to Latin America, so it does not compare so well with the rest of the civilized world. Now, that does not mean that things in DR ARE DEFENITELY getting out of control and has been getting out of Control for a while. All of the sudden, leaders such as Pinochet, 12 years of Balaguer, among others, do not seem so bad to put the population and the thugs in check. They are oppresive, yes, but F%$K, sometimes they are needed to fix the mess.

I tell you, the difference between Pinochet and Balaguer's 12 years was that at least Pinochet left an infrastructure in place to prevent this shi^t from happening in Chile. Balager was oppression with little infrastructre in place. Thats why here we are 32+ years later and our country is once again being overran by thugs, just that this time, they are not the ones who keep your car in customs. These are the drug, blood-money, cold-blod killers.

God Save us

This is not just a problem in the DR... wake up, look around... every country has these same issues...
Look at the US.. when are we going to wake up and realize when you have something so powerful as
drugs and money, you will always have corruption and crime... look at Chicago and the Al Capone days with just alcohol and come to terms..
PROHIBITION DOES NOT WORK. i say legalize it, and take the savings of trying to fight a war that can't be won, tax it and use the money for rehab facilities and drug education.

I know it sounds radical.. but the current illegaliazation of drugs is creating our problems with the gangs and most crime we deal with...everywhere!

caribbeanlife,

The thing is, that legalizing in DR will not fix anything. DR is not the consumer, DR is the transport bridge, so what good would it do the DR to legalize something were the market is not big while its final destination is still illegal? That would simply create an excess of drugs in the market, that are cheap enough for locals to expirement more and thus create a new generation of drug addicts.

It is Said that he was also a member of Figueroa Agosto's inner circle of intimate friends. Something must be done to stop all this killing. The moment they let that man "escape" along w/ his concubine things have been just out of control.

Where is Ricardolitto with his pro PLD reform speech.

Things are just getting started in the DR.
Where is Nero? He is on his way to Spain to play his fiddel.

:'{
todo el mundo......
Don't find fault. Find a remedy. ~Henry Ford

legilizing mota is one thing but the others are robbers of the soul and no country needs that, but every individual is responsible for doing any and all they can to stop this human sufferiing for to long the cry has been corrupt leadrship but that is the after affect of a non involved noncaring GREEDY populance
EDUCATION, TOLARENCE, COMPASION OF THE HEART, BEING FEEDUP WITH THE STATUS QUOE AND GETTING INVOLVED AT GRASS ROOTS WILL MAKE FOR REAL SOCIAL CHANGE

we don't a revolution we need a change of conscience

I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's work, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be.
con't....

We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.

All I know is that first you've got to get mad.
You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell,
[shouting]
Howard Beale: 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it:
"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE

IT ANYMORE!!

from the movie "Network" 1976 :/

He must of been in to deep, or he must of not pay a debt on time either way they need to get to the bottom of this

Use to live & work parttime in Santo Domingo 2004-2008 and did a little Cathering Sevice for Americans that were on vacation. I use to buy Birthday Cakes and good Fresh Bread from this bakery, but forgot what Zone/Area it was located in the city. Prehaps someone out there knows the answer.

Sly....

allison, do you live in a real world? You can yell untill you turn blue, and wait and see how much you're going to acomplish.

Cheesus, it appears that Dodge city needs a new sheriff to come and impose order. I was a frequent patron of La Francesa, and it was a "get together and breakfast" landmark for the city.
Imagine if you had been there having a quiet coffee and three criminals with machine guns burst in with their guns blazing.
Sorry for the owner of the business and his hard working family and relatives, the culprits of this mafia type killing should be found and prosecuted harshly.

I have said it many times before. If Santo Domingo doesn't do anything about there increasing Drug, Corruption, and Murder problems tourist will stop vacationing in this country and once the trourist is gone it will be hard to get them back. I left this country in disappointment in 2008 to move back to the states after living there for 4 years. I have never known such a country that has so much promise and have been given some many chances to get there act together, but they keep screwing up. WHAT THE HELL...

What zona is La Francesa Bakery located???

bayman46
La Francesa is located on the corner of Abraham Lincoln and Paseo de los Locutores in a mall in Ens. Piantini, that is one block north of 27 de Febrero Ave.
BTW They are three dead and two wounded from this shooting that happened in broad daylight at 2:40 PM.

The deportees are in action.
Well!
Sad but true.

Semper&^%$*Fidelis..............................

It's a sin man.I have been going there near 30 years,it saddens what i see going down over there.It's dangerous in the daytime.Come on folks,it is time to speak out.The kids that I see,they are the ones that are paying heavily.Drugs and the crime and corruption that go with them,are destroying any chance of taking a coupla of steps forward..No,money talks and criminals walk.A damn shame ],I lov the country and the people,Greed wins every time.

That poor man!!! my condolences to his family.

Aww thats so mean. The guy was just living his peaceful life as a baker and you just kill him.

The country is at peace. I just came back, from a 7 day trip it was amazing. This moron got involved with the big dogs and now the dogs bit his behind. In DR it's still possible to lead a "normal" life if you know how to play it safe. It still hasn't gotten like Mexico or Colombia, plus I don't think it could reach that high level. The powers that be here are powerful and they won't let it get like that. The other two that died, sadly died because they ran outside when the incident was takjing place. I do believe that deportados are in play. Those F$%ing idiots.

Could be that the cartels can provide a better government than the weasels you elect?

One rule that I was told when I moved here. do not get involved with any shady deals to include drugs, prostitutuon, or sneaking past customs as those are protected by powerful people and if you get one of your associates Pi%%ed off at you it could be nasty. This guy could have been targeted only becasue he was related to the step daughter to warn some unrelated person that is in the governement to play ball.

Jim H ..you should read my postings with more care ,,I have said so many times that although the economic progress here is impressive , the legal system and the maintenance of law and order is so bad that it more than detracts from the progress..However it does seem that much of the high publicity crime is drug connected and much with the Figueroa business because of the large gang he seems to have had .
But Jim H , never point a finger at me thinking I am any way apathetic about murder or any other crime..,,that is crazy.

So mhmm whats wrong with what I said was he a drugdealer or something?

I'll repeat.......again.....again......and again, is the DR becoming the future Mexico in the making minus the mass killings ? YET !

Something has to be done and quick....

GOD SAVE THE DR.

Miss Haiti what is going on here is that when a daughter marries some connected man the family rejoices because they get the scraps left over. Now if the man was corrupt as long as the inlaws benifit so be it. Now when the police come the family is so mad because you are picking on them when there are so many out there much worse.
The same culture that prides itself based on family connections is now getting burned by the same conections. His step daughter was involved with the inner circle of the drug world. I dare say a good portion were patrons of this bakery as well as some of the political and military contacts. I would say friendly breakfast mettings were conducted. Now this guy may have been nothing more than used as an open letter to the others or he may have been the actual target for his own sake. Who knows the whole truth? How ever members of his family were involved. Under the patronage makes or breaks you rules he was involved.

GOD SAVE THE DR. so you believe Voodoo and their gods are shit also. Money is god!

Money is the root of all evil, the love of money is the problem, one can't take it with you, and you can't buy your way into Heaven, money can't buy you love or Health.

For some the love of money is so great they'll steal, cheat, rob, swindle and kill and think nothing of it.

I'll repeat what I posted about a year ago.....

"Money is power, power corrupts, total power self-destrucks".

And they had a gun ban this past weekend

True....but I'm willing to bet the gun used was most likely stolen or from the black market, just think if drugs can enter the DR illegaly so could weapons.

The latest.....
Mexico's murder rate is rising by leaps and bounds. Rumors have it most hits now are acts of revenge / pay-back not control of the drug trade and where family & friends of the dealers / smugglers are now becoming the new targets.

Little Brain:

Your permissive encouraging attitude towards a government that permits these types of criminals to prosper in the name of economic progress is pathetic. Take the drug money out of the economy and then where is the progress?

juanb you betray your lack of education and lack of decent background by such insults ,,as you say you are from a small farm and I suggest that maybe you have had not had the fortune to debate respectfully or intelligently .. The drug trade has not benefited the economic progress that the government is prompting but it has assisted the private economy , real estate and cars when the drug money is being washed ..we can do without the drugs and the shooting but we can still have legitimate economic progress ..But there is no need for you to participate in it ..it is not mandatory to use all the new roads and bridges or to be involved with all the new and better industries .
I am unsure of the phrase permissive encouraging attitude ,,what does it mean ?? ad if you are suggesting that the government is any worse than the other parties you need to look around more ..it is strongly rumoured in the east that a big drug boss here is a politician from another party .

Oh akay I get it. By the way BASTA how old are you?

Are the drugs headed towards the US borders? We need to start in our country as well….

Bottom line build the fence and get the borders in the US under control and this stops here and Mexico.

I think we should round up every colombian national in the country , and do very thoro background check on every colombian imigrant and find out what is there bussness in santo domingo . no matter if this guy sold drugs on the streets , it does not make him any less of a human . A murder was commited and we need to bring the criminals responsible for this

Jonbonz & Hellborn25,
WOW ! were begining to sound like AZ Law 1070 which is alright with me but....... we must be careful someone like BLANK BLANK who is less informed is libal to class us all as nazi's.

Moose9029;
The sooner the better.....

DR the new stepping stone / mid-way point north.

All take care.

GOD save the DR even from our selves.