{"id":247524,"date":"2026-02-12T07:35:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T11:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/?p=247524"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:54:20","slug":"air-force-captain-and-airport-coordinator-extradited-to-us-on-drug-trafficking-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2026\/02\/12\/air-force-captain-and-airport-coordinator-extradited-to-us-on-drug-trafficking-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force captain and airport coordinator extradited to US on drug trafficking charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Extraditado-Listin-Diario.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-247557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Extraditado-Listin-Diario.png 600w, https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Extraditado-Listin-Diario-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A high-ranking member of the Dominican Air Force has been extradited to the United States to face federal charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, according to government records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pedro Jos\u00e9 Espinal Arthur, a captain in the Air Force who served as the military coordinator for the Migration Agency at La Romana International Airport until May 2024, was handed over to US authorities in late January. The extradition was finalized through Decree No. 48-26, signed by President Luis Abinader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The charges<br>Espinal Arthur is facing a multi-count indictment in the US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. According to the judicial documents, the former officer is charged with:<br>\u2022 Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.<br>\u2022 Aiding and abetting the distribution of controlled substances.<br>\u2022 Conspiracy to commit money laundering and facilitating the movement of illicit funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The criminal case, identified as Case No. 3:24-cr-00025-PAD, stems from an indictment filed on 31 January 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The extradition process<br>Following a formal diplomatic request from the US Embassy in May 2025, the Dominican Supreme Court moved forward with the legal proceedings. During a public hearing held on 15 January 2026, Espinal Arthur waived his right to a full extradition trial and voluntarily accepted &#8220;simplified extradition.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A dual income<br>Payroll records from the Migration Agency reveal that as of May 2024, Espinal Arthur earned a monthly salary of RD$40,000 as an airport coordinator. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Defense confirmed he received a captain\u2019s salary of RD$34,575.75.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more in Spanish:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/listindiario.com\/la-republica\/20260211\/pedro-espinal-arthur-extraditado-narcotrafico-capitan-fuerza-aerea-coordinador-aeropuerto-romana_893673.html\">Listin Diario <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>12 February 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A high-ranking member of the Dominican Air Force has been extradited to the United States to face federal charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, according to government records. Pedro Jos\u00e9 Espinal Arthur, a captain in the Air Force who served as the military coordinator for the Migration Agency at La Romana International Airport until &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2026\/02\/12\/air-force-captain-and-airport-coordinator-extradited-to-us-on-drug-trafficking-charges\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[340,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247524"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247524"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247559,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247524\/revisions\/247559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}