The director of the Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas (DNCD), Rear Admiral Luis Alberto Humeau Hidalgo, told El Siglo newspaper that he will travel to Haiti to meet with Haitian authorities next week. Rear Admiral Humeau seeks to open communication channels with Haitian authorities in order to coordinate new joint efforts to combat drug trafficking. Colombian drug smugglers are increasing their use of the Colombia-Haiti-D.R.-Puerto Rico-U.S. route. Rear Admiral Humeau explained that because of the political problems in Haiti, that country is increasingly serving as a base for drug smuggling operations. The D.R. is participating with the U.S. in the Frontier Lance project whereby a major naval and air fleet patrols Dominican territorial waters. Rear Admiral Luis Alberto Humeau Hidalgo also said that the DNCD will begin next month to implement a United Nations program that seeks to reduce the consumption of drugs in the Dominican Republic. Press reports recently indicated that Colombian drug traffickers are paying local partners in drugs instead of in money. The dealers then must sell the drugs on the Dominican marketplace to cash in on their work. While in the past, the Dominican Republic was merely an intermediary point for drug trafficking, this change in trade practices is having an adverse effect on drug consumption in the DR.
