Strange Proceedings

The president of the Dominican Republic Department of National Drug Control has revealed that the United States has withdrawn logistic support and intelligence resources being employed in the fight against drug trafficking and said that he does not understand the anti-drug policy that the United States is utilizing.

Julio César Souffront Velázquez said that American interception planes and aerial radar systems borrowed by Dominican authorities had been moved to Puerto Rico, which weakens the ability of DNCD forces to prevent the entry or movement of drugs.

Something very strange has occurred with the American anti-drug policy, which has been criticized by John Kerry and by Coast Guard Commander Robert Papp. They have complained before the United States Congress about the reduction in the budget designated for the fight against drug trafficking.

In 2010, American authorities decided to concentrate equipment and resources in Central and South America, in an effort to stem the entry of drugs into their territory, motivating the cartels to change the route of their shipments toward the Caribbean, especially toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

It is obvious that this strategy has not produced good results, as is evident in Kerry’s statements before the House of Representatives, indicating that their forces identify and detain only 20 percent of all the drugs that enter the United States through the border.

Even before, the Drug Enforcement Administration had left maritime and aerial transport paths from the coasts of Colombia and Venezuela without surveillance, activating a corridor of drug transport by air and sea. But even so, Uncle Sam has decided to retire the air and radar services that the DNCD was borrowing.

Despite the fact that almost all the tons of drugs that travel from South America through the Caribbean or its airspace have the mega market of the United States as their final destination, assistance from Washington to combat this scourge diminishes instead of increasing, a phenomenon that reflects a lack of interest or of political will.

In light of such strange proceedings, perhaps it would be convenient if the Dominican government suggested to the American authorities that they purchase all the drugs that the DNCD has captured, for their subsequent incineration, so that it would subsidize the fight against drug trafficking. Something of the sort should be suggested as payment for services rendered.