US calls Cuba, Dominican Republic ‘heads or tails’ of drug trafficking

Washington.- Cuba and the Dominican Republic are the headsor tails of the Caribbean’s drug trafficking respectively, according to theannual report on global drug trafficking submitted Wednesday to the US Congressby the State Dept., EFE reports.

The Dominican Republic is still "an important countryfor the trafficking of illegal drugs" from South America to North Americaand Europe, the US government said, which estimates that around 6% of thecocaine consumed in those markets comes through the Caribbean country.

The report also notes that the Dominican Republic is seeing"an increase" in violence linked to drugs, "partlyattributable" to operations between trafficking organizations withpartners in the country and which result in the development of "local rings."

"Dominican Republic continues its cooperation with theUS Government in 2015 by banning illicit drugs and extraditing criminals,including those facing charges on narcotics issues," State said.

The US nonetheless, criticized the country’s "corruption"which in its view makes the fight against drugs difficult.

In a similar situation is Dominican Republic’s neighbor,Haiti, through whose "porous borders" pass marijuana and cocaine to Jamaica,the US, South America and other markets.

It said drug trafficking "takes advantage" of the"lack of control" along Haiti’s coasts. Washington said Haiti’sGovernment made progress in 2015 in "strengthening" the police.

If Dominican Republic and Haiti are the tail of drugtrafficking in the Caribbean, Cuba is the head, because it is not a major "consumer,producer or traffic point” of illegal narcotics, which the US attributes to activepolicies, strict sentences, prevention programs and national publicinformation.