DR: Politics is war

Political violence broke out again this past weekend in a number of confusing incidents that sometimes involved party loyalists. The clashes occurred in Piedra Blanca, about half an hour north of Santo Domingo, and in the densely populated San Carlos sector of the capital city. In the first incident, three of the President’s military escorts were slightly wounded by bullets and broken glass. This happened when, according to witnesses, a military bus attempted to pass a semi-trailer. Shots were fired, although no one is sure who initiated the shooting. In another armed confrontation in San Carlos, Manuel Antonio (Pololo) Balbuena was injured and died of his wounds on Sunday. A former president of the San Carlos Athletic Club, Victor Perez Balbuena, and an alleged PLD party activist, Miguel Nicolas Torres, were also seriously wounded, and are recovering in different medical centers.