According to a report in a Spanish online news media, La Razon, the Dominican Republic will be purchasing military equipment from Spain. In April 2024, the Stockholm International Peace Institute issued a report on military spending worldwide and the report showed that the Dominican Republic had increased its military budget by 14% and had spent approximately US$893 million. The spendings are another of the heavy cost the Dominican Republic carries due to the multidimensional crisis in Haiti.
The note in the Spanish website also notes that the Dominican military is heavily invested in preventing the entry of individuals or participants in the violent gangs that are currently the scourge of the neighboring nation.
La Razon reports that the previous Minister of Defense, Lt. Gen. Luciano Diaz Morfa, had met with providers of military equipment, and discussed the possibility of renewing the flotilla of military equipment with an eye towards improving patrols along the border with Haiti. In fact, Diaz Morfa would have met with his Spanish counterpart, Margarita Febles, and visited the Uro Vehiculos Especiales SA factory in Valga, Spain.
Uro Vehiculos Especiales offers different types of armored vehicles. In fact, in 2022, the Dominican Ministry of Defense had ordered 20 4×4 Vantac ST5s and four anti-riot vehicles for the Dominican Army (ERD). The ministry had previously purchased several anti-riot trucks of a different model-year.
The Dominican Air Force has also acquired some used Pilatus E-26 Pillan trainers from Spain at a “very good price,” according to reports.
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25 November 2024