El Faro Latino Views Visit by Román Jáquez and Well Sepúlveda to JCE Offices in the U.S. with Caution
New York: El Faro Latino newspaper has expressed concern and skepticism over the surprise “supervisory” visit from high-ranking officials from the Dominican Republic’s Central Electoral Board (JCE) to its service offices in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston. The visit comes amid a legal dispute between the electoral body and the newspaper, following the JCE’s refusal to disclose financial details related to the 2024 Dominican elections held abroad.
“We find it suspicious that a high-profile delegation from the JCE, including its president, Román Jáquez Liranzo; full board member Hirayda Fernández Guzmán; Director of the Vote Abroad, Well Sepúlveda; and Director of International Relations, Ernesto Jorge Suncar, would visit those offices just days before a scheduled hearing at the Fourth Chamber of the Superior Administrative Court (TSA), which may order the JCE to hand over the requested documents on May 28,” said Esteban Cabrera, director of El Faro Latino.
Cabrera urged the JCE leadership to adhere to Law 200-04 on Free Access to Public Information by delivering complete reports on the use and methodology of the electoral budgets. He warned against submitting manipulated or incomplete reports, a practice he claims has already occurred, and reminded the heads of the visited offices that they could face criminal liability if they alter financial reports involving U.S. dollars or transactions on U.S. territory.
El Faro Latino filed a compliance protection lawsuit with the TSA, which was submitted and received by the National District Judicial Services Center on March 5, 2025, under case number 2025-0054632 and request #2025-R0203865.
The request, which the JCE denied, comes in the context of the newspaper’s ongoing investigative report aimed at ruling out potential irregularities in managing electoral funds, as alleged by members of the Dominican diaspora.
