Hoy newspaper reports that 300 soldiers of the United States Southern Command and troops of the Dominican Army began joint military exercises in the Sierra Prieta shooting range, north of Santo Domingo. The newspaper says that two other US military groups are training police agents in anti-kidnapping tactics and airport officers in the fight against terrorism. The anti-kidnapping training is timely: news sources reported the kidnapping of Oscar Lama, the son of a well known vehicle and informatics service entrepreneur, and his subsequent prompt release following the payment of an unspecified but reportedly millionaire ransom.