According to the European Union’s Drug Partnership Cooperation Program between the European Union and Latin America (COPOLAD Program), the Dominican Republic continues to be the main command center for drug trafficking in the Caribbean region, with an 800% increase in the cocaine shipped to United States and Europe in the past two years.
The report issued following the meeting held in December in the Dominican Republic with the participation of the head of the anti-drug-trafficking offices of 47 countries from Europe, North America, Caribbean and Latin America, plus the Organization of American States (OAS), states that the current system in place to control shipments through the Dominican Republic is inadequate and is reflected in the increased violence and corruption in the country. They highlighted the lack of security at the ports with pressure from powerful business groups against increased security hindering strict control of thousands of containers every year.
Cocaine trafficking via the Caribbean is a major cause of concern for the authorities, given that it has had a dramatic rise over the last two years. Experts say that corruption combined with the lack of vital technology in ports has been a major weakness for the Dominican Republic, making it hard to intercept drug shipments.
Presidential drugs advisor Marino Vinicio Castillo said that large quantities of drugs were still being shipped out of Dominican ports, and called for security and supervision measures to be strengthened.
Castillo said that despite intervention by the National Drug Control Council and enhanced vigilance, the Haina and Caucedo Multimodal ports were still experiencing drug trafficking problems. He stressed the need to include X-rays in Dominican ports to ensure more comprehensive scrutiny of the goods that enter and leave.
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