Milestone ruling: Dominican human traffickers get 15 years in prison

Higuey, Dominican Republic.- An Altagracia province court on Wednesday handed down unprecedented 15-year prison sentences against four men convicted separately of smuggling 81 mostly Haitian boatpeople to Puerto Rico.

The prosecution claimed that the men caught red-handed transporting undocumented travelers were repeat offenders.

Local media report the Appellate Court’s milestone ruling against Ciriaco Espiritusanto Carpio, Jesus De Leon Berroa (Keny) Jorge Luis Luiciano Gerardo and Augustin De Los Santos Viloria (Tintin), convicted of human trafficking.

La Altagracia province prosecutor Edwin Osvaldo Encarnacion said among the boatpeople were 71 Haitians and nine Dominicans.