It’s Time to Shutter Biden’s Secret Global Lawfare School

It’s Time to Shutter Biden’s Secret Global Lawfare School

In a new letter to the Trump administration, the Hispanic Leadership Fund (HLA) urges Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s team to shut down the Biden administration’s global lawfare school funded by U.S. taxpayers. The Judicial Studies Institute (JSI) – run by the DOJ and bankrolled by the State Department – trains foreign prosecutors and judges…

Human Rights Abuses in the Dominican Republic: Deafening Silence from the Hispanic Caucus Chair, Rep. Espaillat

Human Rights Abuses in the Dominican Republic: Deafening Silence from the Hispanic Caucus Chair, Rep. Espaillat

Recently, the Associated Press released an expose documenting ongoing human rights abuses at the hands of the Dominican government led by President Abinader. The AP exposed the inhumane conditions within the Dominican Republic’s prison system, where thousands are imprisoned without charges or trials. According to the report: U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents are among…

Letter to Director Marocco: End U.S. Taxpayer Funded Lawfare in the Dominican Republic

Letter to Director Marocco: End U.S. Taxpayer Funded Lawfare in the Dominican Republic

In a letter to Director Peter Marocco of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance, HLF President Mario H. Lopez urged the Trump Administration to end wasteful foreign aid that enables human rights violations, mass incarceration without due process, and lawfare against political opponents by the Dominican government. “For years, millions of taxpayer dollars have gone…

U.S. Designates Dominican Republic as Major Drug Trafficking Hub

U.S. Designates Dominican Republic as Major Drug Trafficking Hub

Last month, the Dominican Republic was officially labeled by the United States as a “major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing” country in a memorandum released by the Biden Administration. Although the inclusion of the DR in the “Memorandum on the Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal…

State Department’s Visit to the Dominican Republic Raises Questions About the DR’s Regional Leadership Role

State Department’s Visit to the Dominican Republic Raises Questions About the DR’s Regional Leadership Role

Does the Dominican government have the capacity to achieve meaningful reforms? The attendance of the Dominican Public Ministry at a recent meeting between the Dominican National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is a positive sign by the United States for promoting…

Blinken’s Visit to the Dominican Republic Falls Short

Blinken’s Visit to the Dominican Republic Falls Short

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visit and meeting with Dominican President Luis Abinader was the proper moment for the United States government to directly raise the Dominican Public Ministry’s violations and abuses of human rights. Sadly, Blinken’s visit missed the mark on human rights and many other critical issues in dire need of…

Another Dominican Horror Story: British Man Imprisoned Without Charge is Beaten and Tortured

Another Dominican Horror Story: British Man Imprisoned Without Charge is Beaten and Tortured

British media reports that U.K. citizen Shaun Magee is being held under preventive detention in the Dominican Republic without formal charges.  In addition, a Dominican judge has stated that there is no evidence to support his confinement. Shaun now joins tens of thousands of people fighting for their lives within a Dominican justice system that…

Human Rights and an Independent Public Ministry Are Non-Negotiable

Human Rights and an Independent Public Ministry Are Non-Negotiable

As the debate in the Dominican Republic over legal reforms and the selection of a new Attorney General continues, the independence of the Public Ministry – which is tasked with upholding human rights – has to be non-negotiable and real. Despite Miriam Germán Brito announcing that August 16th would be her last day as Attorney…

Another Year, Another Horrifying Report on DR’s Prisons

Another Year, Another Horrifying Report on DR’s Prisons

Last week, the Dominican Republic’s National Public Defense Office (ONDP) released its 2023 Prison and Detention Report, which further revealed the dire conditions inmates face while in the country’s penitentiary system. The report underscored a deteriorating situation that is “far from improving” at the hands of the government, according to Rodolfo Valentín, Director of the…

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