The Dominican Republic has emerged as one of the Caribbean’s key operational partners in the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition and as a regional leader in multinational efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that use Caribbean maritime corridors to move cocaine to North America and Europe.
“The government of the Dominican Republic, through the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), the Attorney General’s Office, the Armed Forces, and state intelligence agencies, has strengthened its role in maritime, air, and land security across the Caribbean through greater investment in operational capabilities, intelligence sharing, stronger interagency coordination, and very active international cooperation,” Carlos Devers, spokesperson for the DNCD, told Diálogo.
“The Dominican case demonstrates that drug seizures and the dismantling of narcotrafficking networks are the result of a comprehensive strategy based on intelligence, air, maritime, and land surveillance, as well as the use of technology and other resources,” he added.
The country’s operational integration has also deepened through closer coordination with U.S.-based Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), headquartered in Key West.
“Coordination with agencies such as the DEA, JIATF-S, and other partners has enhanced the country’s operational and response capabilities through the timely exchange of information, the tracking of suspicious vessels, and the execution of joint operations,” Devers said.
As a result, the Dominican Republic has strengthened its interdiction, surveillance, air and maritime response, and intelligence-sharing capabilities with U.S. agencies, improving the planning and execution of operations against narcotrafficking networks.
Expanding the operational framework
The Dominican Republic’s growing operational role is the result of a sustained effort. Over the past two years, the country has steadily expanded its participation in multinational counternarcotics operations, including landmark joint maritime operations with the United States and other regional partners. These efforts have demonstrated not only stronger operational capabilities but also the country’s growing willingness to assume a greater share of regional responsibility in the fight against TCOs.
The cooperation expanded further in May, when the Dominican government announced the expansion of temporary U.S. operational access under the Shield of the Americas initiative. According to the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the mechanism supports surveillance, counternarcotics interdiction, information sharing, training, and technical assistance, reinforcing the operational cooperation that both countries have steadily expanded in recent years.
Its importance also reflects the country’s strategic location. “Our geographic position, which once represented a vulnerability along drug trafficking routes, has now become a strategic advantage for detecting and interdicting transnational threats,” Devers said.
Regional, legal, and technological interoperability, he added, help close operational gaps through secure communications, target handoffs at sea, and standardized boarding procedures.
“The United States Department of War is committed to working shoulder to shoulder with the Dominican Republic to confront and defeat the narcoterrorist organizations that threaten our collective security,” said Michael Buemi, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Counternarcotics and Global Threats, during a March event at the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Diario Libre reported. “From policy to operations, we are aligning capabilities to deny them space, routes, and resources. This partnership is essential to protecting our citizens and ensuring the security of the hemisphere.”
The Dominican Republic’s growing role also reflects the increasing emphasis on partner-led operations. According to JIATF-S, approximately 80 percent of successful interdictions are carried out by partner nations, demonstrating how intelligence sharing and operational integration enable countries such as the Dominican Republic to conduct increasingly complex missions against TCOs.
The DEA reaffirmed that commitment during the visit of Dominican Navy Vice Admiral José Manuel Cabrera Ulloa, president of the DNCD, during which both sides reaffirmed their commitment to planning, coordinating, and executing new strategies against narcotrafficking and transnational organized crime, according to the Dominican presidency.
Operational results
Greater cooperation has already produced tangible operational results.
On April 17, a joint operation involving the DNCD, Dominican naval and air forces, JIATF-S, and the DEA Caribbean Division seized 1.7 metric tons of cocaine off the coast of Pedernales. Dominican newspaper El Día reported that the operation resulted in the dismantling of a TCO engaged in large-scale narcotrafficking along the Caribbean corridor.
“This seizure is the direct result of strong international partnerships and a shared commitment to protecting our communities from the devastating impact of drug trafficking,” said Evan Martínez, acting special agent in charge of the DEA Caribbean Division.
“Our collaboration with the DNCD, JIATF-S, and Dominican law enforcement demonstrates how coordinated law enforcement efforts can successfully identify and dismantle transnational criminal networks operating throughout the Caribbean.”
In May, that coordination produced another successful operation south of Santo Domingo, where the DNCD, with support from the Dominican Navy, Air Force, DEA, JIATF-S, and the French frigate FS Germinal, intercepted a go-fast vessel carrying 978 packages of cocaine and arrested three Venezuelan nationals, Infobae reported. The interdiction underscored how close coordination among national and international partners strengthens the Dominican Republic’s capacity to disrupt maritime drug-trafficking routes.
For Devers, the impact of this coordination among Dominican institutions and their international partners has been transformative.
“The strengthening of real-time information [sharing] among countries and agencies allows us to deny criminal networks operational space, protect maritime corridors, and permanently strengthen security throughout the Caribbean, North America, and Europe,” he said.
Greater pressure on Caribbean drug trafficking routes
The operations off Pedernales and south of Santo Domingo are not isolated incidents but evidence of the Dominican Republic’s evolution from a major transit point to one of the Caribbean’s most active operational partners in the fight against narcotrafficking. Growing integration with JIATF-S and the DEA, coupled with expanded bilateral operational cooperation, has reduced the jurisdictional gaps that criminal organizations exploited for years throughout the Caribbean.
The Dominican Republic’s experience demonstrates how institutional reform, intelligence sharing, and multinational cooperation can help overcome structural limitations and strengthen the regional fight against TCOs.
