Strength in unity, cooperation, intelligence, and patience were among the assets Dominican Armed Forces used to their advantage to dismantle several transnational criminal organizations that had set up parallel narco-economies throughout the national territory.
With the support of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the DEA, Dominican authorities dealt blows to narcotrafficking organizations through Operation Cayman II, considered the largest carried out in the south of the country. Cayman II was the culmination of a year-long investigation that resulted first in significant seizures of cocaine (more than 5 tons), and ultimately the raids of several properties and arrests of many criminals in mid-April 2024.
More than 500 troops of the Dominican Armed Forces took part in Cayman II, deploying in the provinces of San Juan, Barahona, Peravia, Pedernales, and Santo Domingo through land, air, and water.
“The Caribbean plays a very important role in the international transfer of drugs coming from South America. It is through the Antilles, particularly the Dominican Republic, where we have seen the greatest increase in drug trafficking in recent years,” German Licona, a Honduran lawyer and security advisor, told Diálogo on June 2. “Many of the drugs that come from Asian countries seek this same route, even bypassing the route that crosses Central America, since it avoids passing through Mexico or Guatemala, where there is greater surveillance.”
Shared intelligence
This result was possible in part thanks to the exchange of intelligence and the installation of an operations center with state-of-the-art technology, which served as a base for agencies involved to map out the operations of the criminal groups, Dominican newspaper Diario Libre reported. In addition, modern investigative techniques were put in place which have resulted in other important seizures since the beginning of phase I of the operation in January 2023.
According to Diario Libre, the Public Prosecutor’s Office identified at least six organizations involved in international drug trafficking, made up of family clans that pass down their criminal activities from generation to generation. These clans are dedicated to this illicit activity using the Dominican Republic as a bridge for narcotics coming from Colombia and trafficked to the United States, Puerto Rico, and Europe, the daily reported.
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These criminal organizations run logistics and transportation and execute transnational drug trafficking operations by sea. In addition, the narco-families controlled groups dedicated to stealing drug shipments on the high seas, Dominican news site El Día reported.
“In recent years there have been more captures of large drug structures that had their operational sector in this region. It’s important that there is permanent international support to significantly reduce drug trafficking,” Licona said. “It’s also important to take into account that many drugs are already being processed in the Central American countries themselves, turning them into producers, as in the case of Honduras, where production zones and drug laboratories have been identified.”
According to the Dominican National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), the security forces used four aircraft to locate the suspects and carry out special deployments in difficult to access areas. Four other vessels guarded the coastline of the provinces of Barahona and Pedernales and Beata Island.
Authorities also found evidence of financial transactions between members of these clans and partners in Colombia, Dominican news site Listín Diario reported, without specifying which cartel or drug trafficking group the colluded parties belong to.
International cooperation
This intense fight against criminal drug trafficking networks in the Dominican Republic has the unconditional support of the United States, a partner ready to provide resources and capabilities to local security agencies.
For instance, in 2024, the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Assistance (INL) delivered to the DNCD specialized equipment for prosecuting and combating drug trafficking and related crimes, including a virtual shooting range, night vision scopes, electronic equipment, machinery for civil works, and military supplies, the DNCD reported in March.
In addition, during 2023 alone, the DEA contributed around $4.7 million to the DNCD in security systems, electronic and monitoring equipment, supplies, training, as well as other tools to strengthen the fight against national and international drug trafficking.
The Dominican Ministry of Defense received in February 2024 an aircraft valued at more than $8 million donated by the U.S. government through the Department of Defense, in support of the shared fight against illicit narcotics trafficking and the country’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in cases of disasters, the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo said in a statement.
According to Cayman II, the six dismantled organized crime groups were able to move, since 2021 some 28 tons of cocaine per year from South America to the island, local media Noticias SIN reported on April 16. Their modus operandi was to send boats to Colombia, return with the drugs to the southern provinces of the island, to then send them to the United States, Puerto Rico, or Europe.