Dominican Republic to pull half-a-million guns to trim murders

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic seeks a nationwide disarmament based on the success by Brazil, which pulled half a million guns from the streets four years ago, to combat the high homicide rate, the Economy Ministry announced Wednesday.

The project, adapted to Dominican Republic’s reality, is coordinated by the Vice Ministry for International Cooperation and partial funding from the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC).

The "Transfer of methodology to reduce the number of weapons and ammunition from the civilian population" aims to strengthen the Dominican Government’s policy against crime.

This measure is a mandate of the first order as part of the National Development Strategy on the "rule of the law and public safety," said the Economy Ministry in a statement.

A delegation of Dominican police and judiciary officials that participated in the first activity was in Brazil for the elaboration and implementation of the plan.