The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) gave a short specialized training course for Dominican prosecutors and National Police agents focused on the strategic deployment of canine units to resolve ongoing criminal investigations. The FBI agents came to join the search for a three year old declared missing in Puerto Plata.
The workshop, titled “Canines for Missing Persons Searches,” was coordinated through the cooperation of the US Embassy in Santo Domingo and the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
For the opening session, held at a capital city hotel, Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso, General Pedro Ignacio Matos Pérez, representing the Central Investigation Department of the Police (Dicrim) were present. Also attending were the US Embassy representatives for the INL, Rosy Peña and Paul Peschka (FBI).
Reynoso stated: “We are working with world-class experts,” Reynoso stated, “and we know this training will bring significant contributions to our team.”
Reynoso emphasized that modern forensic and operational investigations are increasingly dependent on specialized techniques like K9 units. She noted that a dog’s sense of smell and rigorous training often represent the “last and strongest hope” for providing answers to grieving families and bringing criminals to justice. She argued that when technical and legal teams speak the same language, investigative results are more robust and better supported in court.
The Attorney General said that the newly re-trained agents and the canine unit will resume the search for the child in Puerto Plata this week. Reynoso is leading the effort to resolve the case of missing Brianna Genao. Reynoso herself is a graduate of the US International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) where she completed a Specialization in Investigation. The ILEA is an academy run by the US Department of State that provides advanced training to law enforcement officials from around the world.
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El Nacional
DR1 News
14 January 2026