Santiago- The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic launched its new anti- fraud campaign, this year under the slogan “No le Hagas Coro al Maco” (Do not hang with the Maco) incorporating the baseball player David Ortiz as this year’s spokesperson. This campaign is focused on educating the public on the proper and legal way to obtain tourist and immigrant visas. The launch of the campaign took place at Monument in Santiago on January 14, 2014.
This campaign seeks to raise public awareness in preventing those seeking a visa for travel or work in the United States from illegally forging documents, since the consequences could include a ban for life.
Larina Helm, from the Fraud Protection Unit said in her opening remarks “We hope this campaign will help the Dominican people avoid being deceived by hustlers. We want to give applicants the knowledge to say “no” to the Macos and “no” to immigration fraud”.
The new campaign entitled “No le hagas coro al maco” includes a radio spot, television commercials, promotional material and information intended for social media. On this occasion, the renowned baseball star David Ortiz agreed to be this campaign’s spokesperson and warn Dominicans of the dangers of trusting strangers and acquiring counterfeit documents by paying large sums of money.
The famous baseball player stressed the importance of being honest when applying for a visa “We must remember that using false documents or lying at the time of the interview can cost you the opportunity to travel to the United States, forever.” Ortiz was willing to take pictures with attendees at the event and several promotional materials were handed out.
The Consular Section of the Embassy of the United States of America in the Dominican Republic first launched its anti-fraud campaign “Ten cuida’o with that Maco” in 2008 and has been present for the last 5 years in the local media. In 2013, the campaign had the support of two artists: Raymond Pozo and Miguel Cespedes, while in 2012 a video contest called “make up a dance for the Maco” was launched through social media networks and the Facebook page of the U.S. Embassy in the country.
