SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) A videotape of a drug suspect being
beaten in the presence of the Dominican Republic's top anti-drug official
is drawing public outrage.

The video, shown on television earlier this week, was filmed by the agency
in 1994 as agents allegedly intercepted a shipment of more than a ton of
cocaine en route from Colombia to the United States.

The video shows an agent hitting the ears of one suspect, while Gen. Humeau
Hidalgo, who was later named head of the National Directorate for the
Control of Drugs, stands at his side.

On Friday, Hidalgo accused the drug suspect's lawyers of releasing the tape
to discredit his anti-narcotics campaign. He made no comment on the tape's
content.

The suspect's lawyer, Carlos Balacer, said he gained access to the tape
during his client's trial, which is under way.

Human rights groups have accused police agencies in this Caribbean country
of abuse. And the president of the Dominican Human Rights Committee,
Domingo Porfirio Rojas Nina, said the video was additional evidence of such
abuse.

The 1994 arrest was a major one for drug officials because it also netted
Florian Felix, the Dominican Republic's most-wanted alleged drug trafficker
at the time.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski