Operation Atlántico targets human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Sosúa

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Public Ministry has launched Operation Atlántico, a large-scale effort to combat pimping, commercial sexual exploitation, and the trafficking of migrants, with a strategic focus on the municipality of Sosúa. Following weeks of intelligence gathering, the initiative included the creation of a new special prosecutor’s office in the area.

Led by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants, in coordination with the Puerto Plata Prosecutor’s Office and other national agencies, the operation mobilized 35 prosecutors and over 500 officers. Authorities carried out 29 raids, seized 12 boarding houses with more than 250 rooms, and inspected 17 bars, where they found 174 women—including six minors—and 22 men, along with weapons and other key evidence.

Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso emphasized that Operation Atlántico is part of a broader, multi-phase strategy, which includes establishing a permanent prosecutor’s office in Sosúa. This office will focus on crimes related to human trafficking, exploitation, smuggling, and drug distribution.