U.S. Court postpones hearing in corruption case against former Dominican DEA supervisor

Washington, D.C.- A preliminary hearing in the corruption case against Melitón Cordero, a Dominican former supervisor of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has been postponed by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The hearing, originally set for March 6, was delayed by 30 days at the request of both parties and is now scheduled for April 6 at 12:30 p.m. in federal court in Washington, D.C..

According to the United States Department of Justice, Cordero faces charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and visa fraud while serving as a DEA supervisor at the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Prosecutors allege that he processed more than 100 visa applications by improperly using the DEA’s confidential informant program, which is intended to facilitate visas for individuals cooperating with drug trafficking investigations. Investigators claim some applicants paid thousands of dollars for the benefit, while Cordero allegedly presented them as informants even when they had no genuine connection to DEA investigations.