A coordinated effort will be mounted among agencies of the DR and the US to combat drug smuggling, weapons contraband, and illegal immigration along the frontier with Haiti. Armed Forces Minister, Manuel de Jesus Florentino, announced that the first contingent of soldiers will soon be deployed in cities and military outposts along the 360 km border. They will be conveyed in 50 personnel transport vehicles newly arrived from Spain. In addition to air force and army units, the frontier control operation will include the Military Assistance and International Logistics offices of the U.S. State Department, as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. The plan was outlined in a report titled "Anti-narcotic Integration Project 2000," and will fortify installations across the border from the Haitian towns of Ounaminthe, Perrier, Mont Organice, Thomassigue, Monbin Chacha, Anse-a-Pitre and Malpasse.
