A contingent of United States’ special forces with amphibian vehicles and anti-terrorist equipment is participating in training exercises alongside the Dominican military at the Las Calderas naval base in Bani.
The training exercises focus on the rescue of hostages in situations based on past real life events.
The troops from the United States’ Southern Command are carrying out anti-terrorism simulations at the La Isabela International Airport in Higuero, together with the Specialized Corps of Airport Security and Civil Aviation (Cesac).
The initiative is called “Detention of a terrorist cell in the public domain” and lasted 40 minutes, involving two Black Hawk helicopters and troops, practiced the identification of terrorist suspects and their neutralization, the rescue of hostages and making the areas secure.
Cesac director, Air Defense Brigadier General Aracenis Castillo de la Cruz, said that these cooperative exercises take place periodically, in order to improve the skills and abilities of the specialized personnel.
In Bani, the locals have seen the marines lunching in a hotel and in and around the town of Salinas.
A source has said that the exercise is nothing new, as these type of routine training exercises have been going on for more than 20 years at the Las Calderas base.
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Listin Diario
19 February 2019