17 July 2003

Increased security at Las Americas airport
Cuban and United States security officials have been co-opted to help with additional security measures at Las American International Airport as participants start arriving for August’s Pan American Games. Agents from both countries will work in coordination with Dominican security officials, patrolling all areas of the airport to protect the expected five thousand athletes from 42 countries. The arrivals to the country will begin in the next few days.


No trouble during games – Puello
Dr José Joaquín Puello, head of the XIV Pan American Games organizing committee, is planning to meet with trade union and civil society representatives in order to ensure that no protests will mar the staging of this international sporting event. Quoted in Hoy newspaper, Puello said he was hoping to meet figures such as Juan Hubieres and Padre Rogelio Cruz and that, “We cannot allow the participants to have a bad experience in our country. We have plenty of time to meet and resolve our problems, but not in the midst of the Games.”
By his own account, Puello is aiming to have the installations up and running a full week before the Games’ launch on 1 August. Work on the Olympic Stadium complex has begun in earnest and it is hoped that the surface paving and other refurbishment work will be finished in ten days’ time.
Mario Vasquez Raña, the Pan American sporting association president who has been vocal in his criticisms of the Dominican preparations for the Games, will arrive on 23 August.
Hoy also reports full hotel occupancy for the duration of the Games at the top Santo Domingo hotels, such as the Lina and Jaragua.

Source: http://dr1.com

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