Dominican Republic, Colombia join forces against narcotics

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican and Colombian Air Forces carried out joint exercises over the Caribbean this week, a show of commitment to securing air space that criminal organizations use to move narcotics.

Scheduled to conclude Saturday September 14, the exercises are aimed at strengthening controls and preventing the misuse of airspace for transnational trafficking of illicit substances.

This is the fourth consecutive year the nations have met for such exercises. The training is a high priority for Dominican officials, who have made securing their airspace a priority in recent years. Illicit drug flights from South America were, for several years, a preferred method of transporting drugs into the country.

The Dominican Republic was one of the largest recipients in the Western hemisphere of so-called “narcoplanes.” The country turned to Brazilian-made Super Tucano turboprops, the same remedy that Colombia employed to fight the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) terrorist group.