The trip for two members of the JCE cost US$832 for each hour of training

The media coverage centers on a financial and operational dispute between the newspaper Diario Libre and the Central Electoral Board (JCE) of the Dominican Republic regarding official international travel expenses. The controversy was sparked by an investigative report revealing that a trip by JCE board members Hirayda Fernández and Samir Chami Isa to the Cybersecurity Summer BootCamp in León, Spain, cost the institution $33,294.27 in per diems and tickets, amounting to $832 per hour of training.

In response to the public scrutiny, the JCE issued an extensive communication defending its foreign missions and rejecting Diario Libre's criticisms regarding the costs and duration of these trips. The electoral body argued that such international engagements are tied to essential institutional responsibilities, while the publication maintained its critical stance on the high expenditure relative to the actual training hours received.