Contract murder puts Dominican Republic’s ruling party against the wall(Update)

Santo Domingo.- TV host Rafael Ventura on Tuesday affirmed that RD$50 million in funds provided by the miner Barrick Gold to the City Hall of Bayaguana (east) led to contract killing of councilman Renato Castillo, for which the mayor Osvaldo Sosa as been charged with murder.

Ventura, who spoke with the slain official’s wife and mother in an exclusive interview on ColorVision Channel 9, affirmed that there’s “complicity” in Castillo’s murder and demanded that the ruling party issue an official statement into the underworld style execution.

His wife Raysa Julieta Acosta said her husband foresaw his death and agreed with Ventura in describing the Bayaguana City Council and “orgy of complicity.”

“How is it possible that corruption has become so widespread that a member of the PLD (ruling party) hires murderers to silence a colleague of his own party,” Ventura said, and demanded a full investigation.

He also asked the population to be on the alert to the prosecution of Sosa, “because we know how things are done in this country.”

Missing money

Acosta said one of the shooters works for Sosa, in whose property several weapons were found.

She said Barrick Gold had provided the RD$50 million to the City Council, “but that money was never seen,” accusing her husband’s colleagues and the mayor of stealing the funds.

She also regrets that Rafaela Javier was the only one of Castillo’s colleagues to attend the funeral service.

Castillo was shot several times while driving his car by gunmen on a motorcycle who fled the scene, but were detained days later.

PLD issues a statement

Dominican Republic’s ruling party (PLD) on Tuesday said it expects the "strongest condemnation" for the vile murder of Bayaguana city councilman Renato Castillo.

In a statement from its Political Committee, the PLD also expresses grief and solidarity with the slain councilman’s relatives

"The PLD demands that the authorities responsible for the investigation of this repugnant fact reach the ultimate conclusion and gather all the evidence to support Justice and achieve an exemplary condemnation against the authors, material and intellectual, of the crime."