The Ministry of Defense has a brand new Cessna to fight drug trafficking in the Dominican Republic. Past governments had purchased Brazilian-made Super Tucano aircraft for these operations. The DNCD press release on the donation did not detail the type of Cessna delivered last week by the US government.
The Government of the United States, through its Department of Defense, donated the aircraft valued at more than US$8 million to the Ministry of Defense of the Dominican Republic, “in support of the shared fight against illicit narcotics trafficking by transnational criminal organizations”. The aircraft is donated also to support of the country’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in cases of disasters.
The press release explained that the donation of this Cessna model aircraft responds to the success that the Dominican Republic has had in the fight against drug trafficking in the region and will allow greater control of air and maritime spaces.
Likewise, it will be another tool that will allow the United States and the Dominican Republic to increase their interoperability, giving way to even more fluid collaboration to achieve common security objectives, explains the press release.
The aircraft was received at the San Isidro Air Base by Defense Minister Lieutenant General Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa. Patricia Aguilera, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy and Lieutenant Colonel Lowell Krusinger, military attaché at the US Embassy made the delivery for the United States government.
The event was also attended by Major General Carlos R. Febrillet Rodríguez, general commander of the Air Force of the Dominican Republic (FARD); Vice Admiral Agustín A. Morillo Rodríguez, general commander of the Navy (ARD); José Manuel Cabrera Ulloa, president of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), Luis Soto, general director of the National Intelligence Agency (DNI) and Brigadier General, Alberto Montás Castillo.
Read more in Spanish:
DNCD
Cessna
19 February 2024