Dominican Republic in crossfire of two deadly wars: Washington

Santo Domingo.- While the Dominican Republic wages a successful fight against the dealing with humans, it will have to escalate its war on drug trafficking, according to two reports released separately in Washington on Wednesday.

The Annual Report on Trafficking in Persons keeps Dominican Republic in Category 2, along with others in the region such as Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Argentina, who’ve also made "significant efforts" to eradicate that crime.

Three years ago the Report placed the Dominican Republic Category 3, reserved for countries that are making efforts to fight the problem. Last year it was pulled out of a "watch list," resulting from the country’s progress in the field.

War on drug trafficking

A senior U.S. official yesterday warned that in the measure the war on drug trafficking improves in Central America, drug trafficking in the Caribbean has nearly doubled since 2011, Washington’s goal is to heighten security throughout the region in the short and long term.

The revelation came during a hearing of the House subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, in which U.S. State Department senior officials noted the progress in the war on drug trafficking and organized crime in Central America and the Caribbean, but cautioned that, in any case, it is a long-term task.

Although the movement of drugs particularly cocaine through the Caribbean is "a small percentage" of the entire region’s total flow, "it has risen from 5 percent to 9 percent" between 2011 and 2012,” said William R. Brownfield, Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs and Narcotics.

"The trend we see is that it’s on the rise," said Brownfield, noting that Dominican Republic posted the highest percentage of drugs transiting through the Caribbean region.