Staged robbery on live TV shocks viewers in the Dominican Republic

• Staged robbery on television terrifies viewers.
• The controversial movie promotion caused a scandal.
• It happened in the Dominican Republic.

A group of journalists was ‘robbed’ during a live TV broadcast in the Dominican Republic, shocking the audience and sparking outrage.

It turned out to be a movie promo orchestrated by El Nuevo Diario.

The fake armed assault occurred on Monday, February 26, while journalists Jaime Rincón, Aneudy Ramírez and Julio Samuel Sierra were live on El Nuevo Diario en la Tarde.

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This happened in a mobile unit installed in the Cristo Rey area.

A well-dressed man with his face covered by a mask barged in, aimed a gun at everyone and took their wallets while repeating «Nobody move,» over and over.

The supposed robber left, leaving the journalists in shock with their hands up. «We are, gentlemen, we are live,» said one of the reporters while making sure the armed man didn’t return.

The incident quickly went viral on social media and prompted an immediate reaction from police.

Staged robbery on television sparks outrage

This forced the management of the newspaper and the producer of the movie to issue a statement, claiming that it was all a «social experiment.»

The general director of the newspaper, Persio Maldonado, apologized for the upsetting situation.

«Without a doubt, it has been a sensitive situation in terms of image and security, so we wish to express our apologies and, above all, commit to ensuring that it will not happen again,» Maldonado pledged in an editorial.

«All I wanted was to contrast how people react in the 2024, 30 years after the first bank robbery at El Progreso,» explained the director and producer of the film Assault on Progress, Josell Hernández.

They are accused of being irresponsible

The apology for the staged robbery on television was shared in a video posted on El Nuevo Diario’s Instagram account.

The public’s reaction was immediate, and the comments were largely critical of the way they chose to promote the film.

«That is pure and utter irresponsibility (…), this guy should be put in jail at the very least,» opined Darwin Tejada on Instagram.

The outrage went beyond social media and forced the Minister of Interior and Police, Jesús «Chú» Vásquez, to issue a statement.

Investigation into those responsible for the staged robbery on television

He categorically rejected «the social experiment» and ordered an investigation into those responsible.

«This ministry considers that such actions seriously harm the image of Cristo Rey, of the country, and also generate unease among the Dominican public,» reads the statement released by the ministry.

The fake robbery revealed the vulnerability of journalists during news coverage.

Furthermore, it raises questions about security in the capital of that nation and the responsiveness of authorities. To watch a video of the staged robbery on television click HERE.