US Representative Adriano Espaillat urges Colombia to authorize the extradition of Dominican drug lord César Emilio Peralta (César the Abuser) to face criminal charges in the United States. The US government identified Peralta and the Peralta Drug Trafficking Organization (Peralta DTO) as “significant foreign narcotics traffickers” under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act).
Espaillat said: “Although the degree of his criminality is unparalleled in the Caribbean, he is simply the face of a criminal side in the region that the US has overlooked in recent years”. He explained that as the law cracked down on drug trafficking in Mexico, the cartels turned to the Caribbean as an alternative route for moving drugs to the United States.
He said the US Congress and the Executive Branch must proactively increase the US focus on security and law enforcement in the Caribbean to mitigate this threat. He said that programs such as the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) have proven to be viable solutions to combat illicit activity on all islands.
“Cesar the Abuser” operated a vast criminal network that not only trafficked tons of heroin and cocaine through the Caribbean and into the US over the past decade, but also coordinated countless acts of violence and corruption in Latin America.
Adriano Espaillat says that for years, in communities along the East Coast, including in the district he represents, the heroin and cocaine trafficked by “The Abuser” and his cronies have destroyed families and caused the loss of innocent lives.
As reported, last year, Espaillat successfully secured a US$2 million increase in funding for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) to combat illicit drug trafficking and prevent the escalation of violence in the region. US$60 million has been allocated to fund CBSI programs to help prevent young people from being caught up in drug trafficking, help improve and support judicial systems and fight corruption throughout the region.
Read more in Spanish:
Hoy
US Embassy
Espaillat website
23 January 2020