Quirino Paulino
Encyclopedia
Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, a.k.a. "el Don" (born 8 September 1960 in Comendador
, Elías Piña Province
) is an ex-captain of the army
of the Dominican Republic
, and alleged boss of a drug-trafficking organization responsible for importing tons of cocaine
into the United States
since September 2003. Castillo's personal fortune was estimated at RD
$2 billion.
. Under civilian and military protection, Paulino increased his wealth and assets, and immersed himself in politics, commerce, banking, agriculture, and military activities. Since September 2003, Paulino headed a cocaine trafficking organization that transferred cocaine from South America
(primarily from Colombia
and Venezuela
) via the Dominican Republic en route to the United States. The organization used a variety of routes to send the cocaine from the Dominican Republic and/or Haiti towards Puerto Rico
to the U.S. mainland, including New York
. After the drug was received and distributed in the United States, the profits were returned to several bank accounts in the Dominican Republic.
for hearings of a drug-smuggling case pending in New Jersey. Paulino's extradition is the first under a newly adopted criminal code in the Dominican Republic, and was the result of a joint investigation involving cooperation between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) and the Dominican Government's National Direction for Drug Control (Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas, or DNCD). The investigation was sponsored by the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF
).
. Paulino's Army record indicates that Zorrilla recommended that he be readmitted into the National Army and promoted. Former Secretary General of the Dominican Armed Forces Major General Soto has since told prosecutors that he did not personally know Paulino.
The Dominican newspaper El Listín Diario published a report in which claimed that in addition to the RD$2 million Paulino donated to the Dominican Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Dominicano) for the construction of the gate of the elementary and high schools in Comendador
, capital of Elías Piña Province
, he also donated a vehicle to the Municipal Committee of the Dominican Liberation Party Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana and is also known to have made donations to the Christian Social Reformist Party Partido Reformista Social Cristiano politicians in the area. The report points out that Paulino employed engineer Henry Duval, a PLD director, who was director of the INDRHI in San Juan de la Maguana
during the 1996-2000 Fernández
Administration as chief of irrigation
in one of his farms in 2000 when the latter was fired from his government post with the change of government. Duval, after working four years for Paulino, was appointed again to his previous government post by the present government. The newspaper also mentions that Paulino appointed as chief of his veterinarian staff Esvelti Edmond, another PLD activist and former director of cattle ranching for the government in San Juan de la Maguana, once he was fired with the change of government in 2000. Edmond was reinstated in his former post when Fernández returned to government on August 16, 2004. He was sworn in as a member of the PRD before the 2004 elections by the brother-in-law of the candidate and then president Hipolito Mejia.
In April 2004, Major General Furcy Castellanos, chief of Army Intelligence (J2) revealed that the armed forces alerted former president Mejía that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was on Paulino's trail. He explained that Mejía did not adhere to the recommendations of removing him reportedly because of the proximity of the May elections.
After Paulino's arrest, more than 60 other Dominicans considered an important part of the network were arrested and later extradited, including Lidio Nin Terrero, Eduardo Rodríguez (Eduardito), José Ramón Ortega, Erwin Mendez, César Bueno, and Tirso Cuevas Nin. Most of the group is in prison, some have not contracted attorneys and a few have been released on bail, although with severe restrictions. The U.S. vs Paulino criminal case is being heard in New York’s South District Court by judge Kimba Wood
. Among the reasons why the judges have denied releasing the majority of the suspects on bail is that they do not have properties in United States which can be presented as guarantee, that they have guarantees in other countries or their country of origin, and that they could possibly escape and become fugitives.
Comendador
Comendador is the capital of the Elías Piña province of the Dominican Republic. It has a border crossing to the Haitian town Belladère.-Population:The municipality had, in 2002, a total population of 25,475...
, Elías Piña Province
Elías Piña Province
Elías Piña is one of the 31 provinces of the Dominican Republic. It is located in the western part of the country, on the border with Haiti. Its capital city is Comendador....
) is an ex-captain of the army
Military of the Dominican Republic
The Military of the Dominican Republic or Fuerzas Armadas de la República Dominicana consists of approximately 44,000 active duty personnel, about 40 percent of which are utilized for non-military operations, including security providers for government-owned non-military facilities, toll security,...
of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, and alleged boss of a drug-trafficking organization responsible for importing tons of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since September 2003. Castillo's personal fortune was estimated at RD
Dominican peso
The Dominican peso, also called peso oro is the currency of the Dominican Republic. Its symbol is "$", with "RD$" used when distinction from other pesos is required; its ISO 4217 code is "DOP". Each peso is divided into 100 centavos , for which the ¢ symbol is used...
$2 billion.
Background of the Paulino Organization
Paulino was raised in the barrio san carlos y savica province of the Dominican Republic. He began his military career in the National Army in 1978 and soon after, he discovered the profits to be made in illegal trading over the border with HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. Under civilian and military protection, Paulino increased his wealth and assets, and immersed himself in politics, commerce, banking, agriculture, and military activities. Since September 2003, Paulino headed a cocaine trafficking organization that transferred cocaine from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
(primarily from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
) via the Dominican Republic en route to the United States. The organization used a variety of routes to send the cocaine from the Dominican Republic and/or Haiti towards Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to the U.S. mainland, including New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. After the drug was received and distributed in the United States, the profits were returned to several bank accounts in the Dominican Republic.
Arrest and Controversy
Paulino was arrested by DEA special agent Erik Pepen following the confiscation of 1,387 kilos of cocaine linked to him on December 19, 2004. The confiscated cocaine had an estimated value of RD$900 million (approx. US$26,400,000). Paulino was extradited to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for hearings of a drug-smuggling case pending in New Jersey. Paulino's extradition is the first under a newly adopted criminal code in the Dominican Republic, and was the result of a joint investigation involving cooperation between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA) and the Dominican Government's National Direction for Drug Control (Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas, or DNCD). The investigation was sponsored by the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF
Ocdetf
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force is a federal drug enforcement program in the United States, overseen by the Attorney General and the Department of Justice. It primarily concerns itself with the disruption of major drug trafficking operations and related crimes, such as money...
).
Political and Military Links
The depth of Paulino's links to the highest levels of Dominican political parties and military have been of primary concern to law enforcement. Paulino entered the National Army with the rank of 'Sergeant Major' on March 9, 2002. Five months later, former Army chief General Manuel Ernesto Polanco Salvador fired him on August 1, 2002. One year later, on September 10, 2003, after Zorrilla Ozuna replaced Polanco, Paulino was reinstated into the Army, being promoted to First Lieutenant of the National Army by memorandum 32070 signed by former Secretary of the Dominican Armed Forces, Major General General Soto Jiménez following instructions from former president Hipólito MejíaHipólito Mejía
Rafael Hipólito Mejía Domínguez is a Dominican politician and former President of the Dominican Republic...
. Paulino's Army record indicates that Zorrilla recommended that he be readmitted into the National Army and promoted. Former Secretary General of the Dominican Armed Forces Major General Soto has since told prosecutors that he did not personally know Paulino.
The Dominican newspaper El Listín Diario published a report in which claimed that in addition to the RD$2 million Paulino donated to the Dominican Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Dominicano) for the construction of the gate of the elementary and high schools in Comendador
Comendador
Comendador is the capital of the Elías Piña province of the Dominican Republic. It has a border crossing to the Haitian town Belladère.-Population:The municipality had, in 2002, a total population of 25,475...
, capital of Elías Piña Province
Elías Piña Province
Elías Piña is one of the 31 provinces of the Dominican Republic. It is located in the western part of the country, on the border with Haiti. Its capital city is Comendador....
, he also donated a vehicle to the Municipal Committee of the Dominican Liberation Party Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana and is also known to have made donations to the Christian Social Reformist Party Partido Reformista Social Cristiano politicians in the area. The report points out that Paulino employed engineer Henry Duval, a PLD director, who was director of the INDRHI in San Juan de la Maguana
San Juan de la Maguana
San Juan de la Maguana is the capital city and the largest city in the province of San Juan and is the 10th largest city in the Dominican Republic.-References:...
during the 1996-2000 Fernández
Leonel Fernández
Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna is a Dominican lawyer, academic, and the current President of the Dominican Republic since 2004. He held the same office from 1996 to 2000...
Administration as chief of irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
in one of his farms in 2000 when the latter was fired from his government post with the change of government. Duval, after working four years for Paulino, was appointed again to his previous government post by the present government. The newspaper also mentions that Paulino appointed as chief of his veterinarian staff Esvelti Edmond, another PLD activist and former director of cattle ranching for the government in San Juan de la Maguana, once he was fired with the change of government in 2000. Edmond was reinstated in his former post when Fernández returned to government on August 16, 2004. He was sworn in as a member of the PRD before the 2004 elections by the brother-in-law of the candidate and then president Hipolito Mejia.
In April 2004, Major General Furcy Castellanos, chief of Army Intelligence (J2) revealed that the armed forces alerted former president Mejía that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was on Paulino's trail. He explained that Mejía did not adhere to the recommendations of removing him reportedly because of the proximity of the May elections.
Trial Complications
In February 2005, District Attorney José Manuel Hernández Peguero said that Doris Pujols Ortiz, the judge in charge of the Paulino case in the Dominican Republic has extended the investigative process term given the complexity of the case. The trial against Paulino and other 20 defendants charged with drug trafficking in New York, could begin in September 2006.After Paulino's arrest, more than 60 other Dominicans considered an important part of the network were arrested and later extradited, including Lidio Nin Terrero, Eduardo Rodríguez (Eduardito), José Ramón Ortega, Erwin Mendez, César Bueno, and Tirso Cuevas Nin. Most of the group is in prison, some have not contracted attorneys and a few have been released on bail, although with severe restrictions. The U.S. vs Paulino criminal case is being heard in New York’s South District Court by judge Kimba Wood
Kimba Wood
Kimba Maureen Wood is a United States federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.-Early life and education:...
. Among the reasons why the judges have denied releasing the majority of the suspects on bail is that they do not have properties in United States which can be presented as guarantee, that they have guarantees in other countries or their country of origin, and that they could possibly escape and become fugitives.
See also
- Military of the Dominican RepublicMilitary of the Dominican RepublicThe Military of the Dominican Republic or Fuerzas Armadas de la República Dominicana consists of approximately 44,000 active duty personnel, about 40 percent of which are utilized for non-military operations, including security providers for government-owned non-military facilities, toll security,...
- Vladimir Pujols
- Los Zayayines
- Baninter