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Dos agentes de policía de espaldas patrullan una calle caribeña de casas de colores al atardecer
debate sobre seguridad y reforma policial en República Dominicana · Imagen generada por EPM

Eury Cabral urges arrests over killings and a look at El Salvador

Communicator Eury Cabral questioned Dominican police reliance on lethal force in alleged exchanges of gunfire instead of arrests.

--- The context --- In the Dominican Republic, public safety returns to the center of public debate whenever a police operation ends with a suspect dead in an alleged exchange of gunfire. The underlying question is under what rules, with what oversight and with what respect for life and due process the force of the state is exercised. --- The facts --- Communicator Eury Cabral questioned the country's citizen security policy and criticized National Police officers for resorting to lethal force in alleged exchanges of gunfire instead of arresting suspects and bringing them before the courts. In his view, those actions show the absence of a clear criminal policy. Cabral argued that fighting crime should not be based on the death of alleged offenders, but on investigating the causes of crime and applying effective measures to prevent it. He also proposed that the government study components of the strategy of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, whom he credited with important results against homicides, and stressed coordination between the police, the courts and the prison system. --- The positions --- Cabral's position places the emphasis on rights: a suspect remains an alleged offender until a court decides, and the police task is to capture, investigate and present evidence. From that perspective, any foreign experience should be adapted with safeguards and protection of human rights. --- What remains unknown --- His remarks did not include a detailed proposal with steps, responsible parties or deadlines, nor an official response from the government or the National Police to his argument. He also did not specify which concrete components of the Salvadoran model he considers applicable to the Dominican context or what safeguards should accompany them. --- Unanswered questions --- Will the government and the National Police respond to Cabral's questioning of the use of lethal force? Will a formal study of the Salvadoran experience be opened with the participation of jurists and rights advocates? How will investigation and arrest capacity be strengthened so that fewer operations end in deaths? --- EPM analysis --- The debate touches the most sensitive point of any reform: legitimacy. A police force that arrests and a system that adjudicates build trust, while a pattern of repeated confrontations erodes it. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the value of Eury Cabral's argument lies in returning the center of the debate to arrest, investigation and due process, because a security policy measured only by dead suspects ends up weakening the very justice it claims to defend. Studying the Salvadoran experience may offer useful elements, but its Dominican adaptation requires real prevention, institutional coordination and strict respect for human rights, without shortcuts that turn the exception into a permanent rule for anyone.
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