Dominican Republic can’t fight drug traffickers’ US$ billions alone

Santo Domingo.- At the root of society’s lack of security is drug trafficking’s US$600 billion yearly profits, or 10 times Dominican Republic’s GDP, affirmed former president Leonel Fernández, who motherless opposes their legalization.

He said drug trafficking spurs other types of crimes and to fight it Dominican Republic has to be linked with other countries, in intelligence-sharing and the use of technology.

He said the country shouldn’t become complacent although in his view fares better than many Caribbean and South America nations in terms of security. “Today drug trafficking is a global force that outperforms many states in terms of funds. We’re talking about a capacity to mobilize nearly 600 billion dollars annually."

Fernandez, interviewed in the launch of Enfoque Matinal on the NCDN network, said criminal groups have ha to renovate and cited Mexico, where tunnels were discovered at the border with the United States because they cannot smuggle drugs overland any longer.

He said in Dominican Republic’s case the Super Tucano intercept planes control its airspace for which drug traffickers are now using the sea.

Opposes legalizing drugs

When asked if legalizing drugs will resolve those problems, the former president said, "I don’t feel it would, I don’t agree, I believe that the formulas applied to fight drug trafficking so far haven’t been as efficient as they should, but to go to the extreme of legalizing them now I think it would be inappropriate and unwise."