Dominican Interior Minister urges stronger global action against migrant smuggling

Brussels.- At a high-level conference convened by the European Commission, Dominican Interior and Police Minister Faride Raful warned that criminal networks driving migrant smuggling are expanding rapidly and require urgent international cooperation to dismantle. Speaking before delegates from more than 60 countries, Raful stressed that the fight must prioritize victim protection and financial disruption of these transnational operations.

Raful highlighted recent steps taken by the Dominican Republic, including the launch of 865 rapid-response migration agents across all provinces and intensified investigations into trafficking rings. According to official figures, the country initiated over 200 investigations in 2024, prosecuted 275 individuals, secured 228 years in combined sentences, and rescued 137 victims. “These are not isolated crimes; they are billion-dollar criminal chains,” Raful said, noting that smuggling networks generate an estimated $10 billion annually.

The minister also pointed to improved international rankings for the Dominican Republic in the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, attributing progress to stronger interagency coordination and a 77% increase in cross-border cooperation. She urged nations to adopt the “Follow the Money” approach, targeting illicit financial flows that sustain smuggling networks, and called for deeper intelligence sharing among governments.

On the sidelines of the event, Raful met with European officials to discuss joint strategies on border security and criminal investigations. While Dominican authorities frame these measures as evidence of leadership in the region, experts caution that the scale of global smuggling —and its financial muscle— demands far more than national reforms, underscoring the need for sustained, collective enforcement.