Representatives of the US and Dominican Republic have signed a deal allowing US troops to regularly train in the Dominican Republic. According to US Southern Command spokesman Jose Ruiz, the agreement still needs to be ratified by the Dominican Republic legislative branch. Ruiz said that US and Dominican troops would train together to intercept illicit trafficking and to prepare for disaster relief operations, as reported in the Marine Corps Times.
“We anticipate an increase in our future engagements with the Dominican Republic, including co-hosted exercises, subject matter expert exchanges, training activities, seminars and conferences,” Ruiz said. “Patrol and interdiction operations, joint and interagency operations, maintenance, logistics, communications, intelligence, and search and rescue are examples of some of the areas we cover during training.”
The length of the training and number of personnel and equipment involved would vary by exercise. During a large-scale humanitarian assistance training exercise, it could be upwards of 800 troops, he said, but most of the teams doing the training would be made up of as few as a half a dozen troops.
The troops could stay aboard local military installations or in local lodging facilities, he added.
“The Dominican Republic is, without a doubt, one of our committed and respected military partners,” Ruiz told the Marine Corps Times.
In 2013, about a sixth of the cocaine that reached North America and Europe was shipped through Hispaniola. Dominican leaders are working to counter that transnational crime through training with partners across the Americas, Ruiz said.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/2015/01/26/military-training-agreement-dominican-republic/22173381/