Dominican Republic court ratifies preventive detention in Senasa corruption case

A Dominican court has reaffirmed the preventive detention of Ángel Luis Guzmán Vásquez, an individual linked to a corruption network accused of defrauding the National Health Insurance (Senasa). The decision was made by Judge Raymundo Mejía of the First Court of Instruction of the National District, following a request from the Public Ministry.

Guzmán Vásquez, a former assistant in Senasa’s Medical Authorizations Department, is accused of participating in a scheme involving irregular authorizations for medical procedures and consultations. Investigations under Operación Cobra and Cobra 2.0 suggest the network used fraudulent maneuvers to obtain payments exceeding legal limits, potentially defrauding the state of billions of pesos. One report indicates he is linked to 4,363 irregular requests totaling approximately 41.1 million pesos.

While the court maintained the detention, Guzmán Vásquez’s defense attorney, Billy Gerónimo, stated that the defendant is willing to collaborate with authorities. The defense is currently seeking an alternative legal agreement with the Public Ministry, though no terms have been finalized and the attorney noted that the client lacks the assets to provide direct financial restitution.