Interpol, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Attorney General Office (PGR) and the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) are investigating the operation of Mexican criminals in the Dominican Republic.
Local media has been following the story of The Rugrats, as the Sinaloa Cartel group here is known. They would have set up shop here but the authorities said they left for Mexico via Colombia after the interagency crackdown on their operations. The explanation is that the cartel would have sought to set up operations in the DR as an alternate route for the trafficking of fentanyl to the United States.
In an interview with YouTuber Jose Peguero, legal expert Rafael Linares said what is outstanding is the passivity of the local authorities in case of recent crimes that could have been caused by contract killing that marks this Mexican criminal group. He is critical of the local Police. He said the DEA and the FBI of the United States have been active in the investigations and persecution of this international crime reach. In recent months, the Attorney General Office has combatted crime with arrests part of the known Operation Jaguar and the older Operation Falcon, in cooperation with US and international law enforcement agencies.
During the 7 July weekly presidential press conference, when asked about the Sinaloa cartel members operations here, the Minister of Defense and the director of the DNCD said the four individuals said to be members were no longer here. The case made headlines after a shooting in Cotuí in northeastern Sanchez Ramirez province opened the lid on the Sinaloa members.
On Thursday, 3 July, Michael Miranda, the DEA’s Special Agent in Charge of the Caribean Division, following the deployment of the Operation Jaguar together with Dominican authorities, had issued an official statement: “Operation Jaguar sends a clear and forceful message: The Dominican Republic is not, and will never be, a refuge for drug trafficking—whether for the Sinaloa cartel or any criminal group.”
Follow the story in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Noticias SIN
Noticias SIN
El Informe con Alicia Ortega
Jose Peguero
CDN Enfoque Final
AN7
La Semanal 7 July
DR1 News
9 July 2025