HomeNewsBriefOver 500 Dominican Police, Soldiers Dismissed for Drug Ties in 5 Years
BRIEF

Over 500 Dominican Police, Soldiers Dismissed for Drug Ties in 5 Years

CARIBBEAN / 8 OCT 2012 BY INSIGHT CRIME EN

More than 500 Dominican officials have been purged from the country’s police and military in the last five years for ties to drug trafficking groups, a worrying sign for the island as it appears to be growing in importance to traffickers.

Between 2007 and 2012, 516 police and military officials were dismissed from their jobs for helping drug smugglers, according to Hoy newspaper. The majority came from the national police and air force, followed by the army and marines.

A number of the arrested officials were caught attempting to transport narcotics at docks, ports, and border crossings with Haiti. More than 100 had been working with the country’s Specialized Airport Security Corps (CESA).

According to Hoy’s report, many of those caught while working for CESA had received their posts with the help of the drug groups’ influence, and some of them had criminal records.

InSight Crime Analysis

The Dominican Republic is an important transit point for drugs trafficked through the Caribbean from South America. Though only around 5 percent of US-bound cocaine transits through the Caribbean, recent indicators suggest that increased pressure in the isthmus has caused drug routes to increasingly shift back to the Caribbean. This is supported by figures from the US Military’s Southern Command, which recorded an increase in aerial and maritime trafficking activity last year through the Caribbean. Dominican authorities seized a record of more than 8 tons of cocaine last year.

In addition to the Dominican Republic’s police and military involvement in the drug trade, there have been recent indications of drug groups’ ties to seemingly legitimate business enterprises. Earlier this month, three air force officials and the owner of a domestic airline carrier were arrested as part of a smuggling ring that transported drugs between Venezuela and an airport 150 kilometers from the country’s capital.

Especially troubling in Hoy’s report is the number of airport officials arrested for their role in drug smuggling. In March this year, the US State Department listed maritime trafficking as its main focus in Dominican anti-drug efforts, listing only one suspected drug flight for 2011. The arrest numbers released by Hoy, combined with the uncovering of the airport trafficking ring, suggest that many Dominican drug flights may have gone undetected.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CARIBBEAN / 11 APR 2022

Kidnappings in Haiti have increased during the first three months of 2022, continuing a grim surge that began last year…

CARIBBEAN / 16 NOV 2021

Rival factions, secret burial sites, homicidal bosses – the ongoing trial of dozens of members of the Klansman gang in…

COCAINE EUROPE / 2 AUG 2021

Spiraling violence around Madrid is being blamed on the fracturing and spread of Dominican gangs, which have become Spain's primary…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.