Government declares Friday a Day of Mourning

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.- Death finally overcame the Customs director, Miguel Cocco, who had been battling for survival during the last two weeks in the Center for Diagnostics and Advanced Medicine (Cedimat).

The medical team that attended him reported that the cause of death was cardiac arrest, probably caused by a pulmonary thrombosis embolism or a cardio-cerebral event. According to Dr Andres Ureña, the chief of Intensive Care at Cedimat, it was a sudden event during medical rounds, with the patient conscious and communicating with the team through gestures.

Cocco, 62, was pronounced at around 9:15 yesterday morning after the doctors tried for nearly an hour to resuscitate him.

The Customs director had entered into the Cedimat on 6 May with kidney problems. Nonetheless his clinical history was quite extensive: he had had a kidney removed, he has undergone two bone marrow transplants, he had a pacemaker and a hip replacement.

In spite of all of this, he was defined by Dr Guillermo Alvarez, his chief doctor, as a strong man.

He is survived by his wife, Minerva Gonzalez, and his daughters, Patricia, Maurin, Yarusca and Catherine.

Friday, a Day of Mourning

The government declared this Friday a Day of Official Mourning for the death of Miguel Cocco. By means of Decree Number 405-09, signed by the Vice-President Rafael Alburquerque in the absence of the President, military honors will be given to the deceased and the flag will be flown at half-mast in all military installations and public buildings.

The burial will be tomorrow and there will be no public viewing beyond the funeral parlor. Family members reported that today they will offer details about the burial. It is possible that the body will be incinerated.

Great sadness

The passing of Miguel Cocco has caused sadness within Dominican society due to his human and professional valor. He has been described, in a general manner, as an honest man, a conciliator and passionate about his job.

Yesterday, upon hearing the news of his death, relatives, officials from the government, members of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and other political organizations went to Cedimat and then to the Blandino funeral Home to support the family.

President Fernandez, who is in Spain on an official visit, sent his condolences in a message from Salamanca. "In the name of the Dominican government and my own, I want to express my condolences for the death of Miguel Cocco, one of the most dedicated and efficient officials with which we have ever had in the public administration."

For the PLD leader Danilo Medina, that departure of Cocco is "an un-substitutable loss". In similar terms the president of the PRD and the PRSC expressed their feelings.

Politician, businessmen, and personalities all flocked to the Blandino Funeral Home, where the coincided in their comments on the qualities and values represented by Cocco.

Among the first to arrive at the wake were Vice President Rafael Alburquerque, former President Hipolito Mejia, Miguel Vargas Maldonado and Reinaldo Pared Perez.

A life of service

Miguel Cocco was born on 21 August 1946 in Santiago de los Caballeros, He studied Sociology at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD). In his youth he participated in revolutionary movements and then entered the PLD in which he was a member of the Political Committee.

During the 1996-2000 PLD administration he was Director General of Customs, a post he held again from 2004 until his death. Under his management, Customs came to the forefront due to his untiring fight against corruption and contraband.

Businessman

Miguel Cocco participated in the private sector as an editor and printer of books and in other areas of graphic arts, when he founded in 1970 the Editora Alfa y Omega. In 1981 he was co-founder of the Editora El Nuevo Diario S.A., that prints the Nuevo Diario newspaper, and in 1980 he produced the children's series Tobogan, which was widely accepted in the country and throughout Latin America.