Large quantities of construction materials are extracted from the mine located in Mena, Tamayo. The 3,399 tareas (approximately 1,300 acres) of land was acquired by Pagán for the sum of RD$5,948,250.
Taken from Diario Libre
TAMAYO, BAHORUCO PROVINCE- The 3,399 tareas (approximately 2.1 million square meters) of land acquired, according to the Pepca, with money from acts of corruption by Francisco Pagán, is so large that the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo (with about 1 million square meters) would fit twice into the surface of that plot of land bought for the modest price of RD$5,948,250.
The place in question is located in a remote area of the Mena Abajo, in the municipality of Tamayo, Bahoruco. The area is known to the community as "Lagunita" or "Cadoca." To get there, one must travel a long, dusty road surrounded by thorny bushes, sugarcane plantations, and banana groves.
However, upon arriving at the land that for some was an agricultural estate, the surprise is to find a huge portion of land in which a quarry or aggregate mine for construction operates.
The quarry features large mounds that have already been exploited to extract truckloads of gravel, coarse and fine sand, and other construction materials. The site also includes a kilometer-long row of concrete pipes which, according to some locals, will be used to extract and transport water from nearby aquifers.
Dozens of trucks loaded with material used to leave the quarry every day, say community members from the impoverished community of Mena, who complain that they have not benefited at all from these lands "that produce millions of dollars," according to their assessment.
Now that these lands have been handed over to the State, community members hope that the investments or exploitation that can be carried out in that place will help the development of the community that is "eager for work".
“How many taxes and how many benefits can reach this community that can be reinvested in social welfare projects… Previously, who knows where the money that came in as taxes or the payment to acquire those materials went?” questioned Brandy Cuevas, director of the Mena municipal board, who also clarified that the land is so extensive that a large part of it can be used for agricultural production.
Corruption network
Francisco Pagán is accused of being part of the corruption structured by Juan Alexis Medina Sánchez, who according to the Public Prosecutor's Office benefited from being the brother of former President Danilo Medina to illicitly profit from public funds.
The village of Mena
Mena is a municipal district of Tamayo, in the province of Bahoruco. This impoverished community has approximately 8,000 inhabitants, many of whom rely on agriculture, cultivating various short- and long-cycle crops. According to municipal data, some residents also raise cattle, goats, bees, and poultry.
In the village, the "best" blogging houses, as people say, are owned by families who have emigrated to European countries in search of better living conditions for themselves and their families.
Small houses made of zinc and wood are plentiful, and under the leafy "neighborhood trees" it is customary for young people and even adults to gather and talk for long periods of time, sometimes due to a lack of productive activity to occupy themselves with.
That is why today they look with hope to the recovery of the immense land, as they believe that this could be a source of sustenance for many.
Discovered after the Anti-Octopus accusation
The defendant in the Antipulpo case, Francisco Pagán, acquired the land where the quarry is located in 2019, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The property covers 3,399 tareas (approximately 1,399 acres), including improvements, annexes, and outbuildings, and is located in Mena, in the municipality of Tamayo, Bahoruco province. The case file states that the vast property was purchased from Banco de Reservas for RD$5,948,250 through a sales agreement dated June 27, 2019, notarized by Dr. Marcos Antonio García Natera, and was paid for by Pagán without financing. The defendant, Francisco Pagán, admitted to the Public Prosecutor's Office that the property is part of the assets acquired through illicit means and voluntarily surrendered it to the State. The case file establishes that Banreservas was used for 95% of the illicit operations of the network run by Alexis Medina Sánchez, the main defendant in the Antipulpo case. According to information from Banreservas, before the 3,399 tareas were sold to Francisco Pagán, they belonged to an entity identified as Alimentos Nacionales, which had been awarded them since 1937.
