Luis Abinader: “Our country is and will continue to be ready in the face of the situation of instability in the neighboring country”

During the ceremony, 51 new double-cab vans, four vans, 25 trucks, 94 engines, 2 Four Wheels, three minibusses, two buses, and two box trucks were delivered to facilitate soldiers’ mobility and patrol in areas of difficult access, as well as a cargo drone for the Specialized Disaster Mitigation Corps.

The head of state assured that a strong and prepared Armed Forces are equal to a strong government and a strong state and that both strengths go hand in hand.

“Our Armed Forces are making progress in all areas of professionalization, improvement of their personnel and more equipment. We are in contact with allied countries that have large armies, to whom we propose collaboration between our countries and this is bearing fruit and we will also see it later,” Abinader said.

And he added: “Our country is and will continue to be ready in the face of the situation of instability in the neighboring country and we have also seen that other friendly states, superior in economic terms, as is the case of the United States, have made migratory decisions which we respect because only each country can have its migratory measures. We also have to prepare ourselves even more in that sense and that is why we strengthen our Armed Forces every day.”

The president pointed out that despite the limitations in terms of requirements, it is in the interest of this government to improve the operation of the Armed Forces and the National Police. “And we have done that, and we will continue to do it.”

He announced that, after April, an actual military industry would be inaugurated to meet the demand for the Armed Forces to be more efficient in guaranteeing the nation’s defense and security.

He indicated that the Dominican Republic has a very special challenge, especially because the country with which it shares a border, Haiti, is in a situation of instability like no other country in the Western Hemisphere.

President Luis Abinader proclaimed that nobody, absolutely nobody, no State, and much less private organizations, can dispose of or criticize the actions that have been taken or will continue to be implemented to defend the integrity and peace of the Dominican territory.

Process of institutionalization, consolidation of its operational capacities, and operational readiness of the Armed Forces
For his part, the Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre, said that, since August 16, 2020, the Armed Forces have been immersed in a process of institutionalization, consolidation of their operational capacities, and operational readiness of their soldiers, logistical increase and a permanent improvement in the living conditions of their soldiers and their families, thus guaranteeing compliance with the different axes of the institutional strategic plan.

“But none of this would have been possible without the sensitivity and strategic vision of our constitutional president of the Republic, Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, who during his time in government has spared no resources and moral support for our military institutions,” he said.
Fernández Onofre emphasized that technicians from the Armed Forces’ military industry carried out the adaptation of these personnel transport and patrol vehicles, thus reducing the cost of this work by more than 40%.

He added that, under President Abinader’s administration, from 2020 to February 2025, the Armed Forces have received a total of 934 vehicles, including trucks, buses, minibusses, microbuses, URO VAMTACs, riot control trucks, and motorcycles, among other types of vehicles. “With all this vehicle equipment, the Armed Forces’ capacity has increased by more than 300% during your administration, Mr. President.”

Among the institutions that will receive the vehicle units are the Specialized Land Border Security Corps (CESFRONT), guarantors by land together with the Army of safeguarding sovereign spaces in the formal crossings of the Dominican-Haitian border, the Specialized Corps for Emergency and Disaster Mitigation Attention (CEMED), the Specialized Civil Aviation and Security Corps (CESAC), from the air terminals and the Specialized Port Security Corps (CESEP), whose members operate from the different seaports in the country.

The delivered vehicles are equipped with the necessary equipment for the performance of the functions of the members of the three military forces—Army, Navy, and Air Force—as well as of the different specialized defense and national security corps from their different areas of competence and responsibility.

During the activity, a demonstration was given of the capabilities of the cargo drone, DjIFLYCart 30, designed to revolutionize logistics operations through long-distance air deliveries and with a high capacity of up to 30 kg, ideal for transporting heavy and bulky goods. It is also designed for commercial applications that require heavy and long-distance cargo deliveries, such as transporting supplies to remote areas, rescue operations and logistics in difficult terrain.
The vehicles delivered by President Abinader significantly reinforce the operability of the troops in the fulfillment of their duties. This equipment demonstrates the interest of the military high command in strengthening the capacities of the military institutions to fulfill their constitutional mission and defend national interests, confronting both traditional and unconventional threats.

They also increase the mobility capacity and enhance their operability, thus guaranteeing an increase in patrol and security operations on the land border and the coasts and strengthening support for the joint task force on citizen security.

At the ceremony, held at the August 16 Camp of the Dominican Republic Army, President Abinader handed over the keys to the vehicles to the Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre.

The head of state, as the supreme authority of the Armed Forces and the National Police, was received with military honors of style to the rhythm of the notes of the National Anthem.

Present were the Deputy Ministers of Defense for Military Affairs, Major General Miguel Ángel Rubio Báez; for Air and Space Affairs, Major General Technical of Aviation Carlos Febrillet Rodríguez; the Inspector General of the Armed Forces, Major General Delio Buenaventura Colón Rosario; the general commanders of the Army, Major General Jorge Iván Camino Pérez; of the Dominican Republic Navy, Vice Admiral Agustín Alberto Morillo Rodríguez; of the Air Force, Major General Pilot Floreal Suárez Martínez and the president of the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD), Vice Admiral José Manuel Cabrera Ulloa.