The World - News from Feb. 26, 1988

Dominican Republic President Joaquin Balaguer, faced with mounting anti-government protests, dissolved his Cabinet and warned that he would use military force to crush the unrest if necessary. Balaguer, addressing the nation on state-run television, said he had demanded that his Cabinet be restructured “so that it can respond to the circumstances that are dominating the entire nation today.” Eleven of the Caribbean nation’s 27 provinces were reported crippled by general strikes advocated by so-called Committees of the Popular Fight. Balaguer blamed the protests on “agitators.”