Naval station to be built by the US unleashes sovereignty debate

HIGüEY, Dominican Republic.- The announced construction of a naval station and pier at Catuano Pass on Saona Island by the US Southern Command has sparked a debate on whether the facility is a violation of sovereignty.

However the Navy clarified Sunday that only the Dominican military will occupy the station and not Americans.

It said it requested the structure, whose groundbreaking took place Friday, which will be built at a cost of more than RD$50.0 million (US$1.5 million) from the US Government.

Thus far in the debate figure the Dominican Academy of Sciences, ecologists, popular and of leftist organizations and Government officials, who’ve defended the project.

The Government said the station is part in an agreement with Washington, through the US Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG), to bolster area to deal with the trafficking of people and drugs.