Former Dominican army captain and infamous drug trafficker Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo announced on Monday that he funded former president Leonel Fernández’ presidential campaign, alleging that Fernández was fully aware of the source of the funding.
In an interview yesterday on the TV program Hilando Filo, produced by reporter Salvador Holguín, Paulino Castillo said that he provided funds for Fernández’ presidential campaign from 2002 to 2004 (Fernández went on to serve as president from 2004 to 2012), as well as for the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Global Democracy and Development Foundation—FUNGLODE), a non-profit founded by Fernández in 2000.
Paulino Castillo indicated that over $155,625 in narco-trafficking funds was used for FUNGLODE. He also stated that Fernández owes him approximately $500,000, money that was used in his campaign for president of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (Dominican Liberation Party—PLD). Paulino Castillo further affirmed that the former president was aware that it was “dirty money,” and offered to take a polygraph test to prove his claims.
Paulino, who was extradited to the U.S. in 2005 for drug crimes, was released in 2014, after rumored “negotiations” with authorities, leading to questions regarding the veracity of his claims.
While Fernández was applauded for reducing inflation and encouraging foreign investment while in office, he was also criticized for downplaying corruption in the Dominican Republic. Three of his senior advisors had their visas revoked by the U.S. in 2012 for alleged ties to possible drug-traffickers.
Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta was asked today to comment on rumors circulating that his colleagues were financing a negative publicity campaign against Fernández. So far there has been no comment from Fernández on the allegations.
