General Charles E. Wilhelm, USMC, Commander in Chief, U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) met with President Leonel Fernández yesterday at the National Palace. Hoy newspaper said that he announced that US military will train Dominicans in modern anti-drug trafficking techniques. A modern US Navy ship with sophisticated equipment will participate in the efforts to combat drug trafficking in Dominican waters. Drug traffickers are using the Colombia-Haiti-DR-Puerto Rico link to export narcotics to the United States. Poverty and political instability in Haiti has converted that part of the island into a haven for drug trafficking. The US Southern Command is also assisting Trinidad & Tobago, another link in the drug operation. The United States military recently donated two 82-foot patrol ships to back up local drug combat efforts. While most of the drug channeled through here is directed to the US market, the use of the Dominican territory is seen as a major problem for the DR because many traffickers are paying their local agents in drugs for sale on the local market instead of cash.
