2009 Country Reports on Terrorism - Dominican Republic
Publisher | United States Department of State |
Publication Date | 5 August 2010 |
Cite as | United States Department of State, 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism - Dominican Republic, 5 August 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4c63b64ac.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Dominican Republic continued to lack the ability to fully control its air, land, and sea borders but is making progress to do so. The Dominican Republic cooperated with U.S. law enforcement agencies under the Sovereign Skies agreement and negotiated a MOU for US$ 10 million to upgrade helicopters and train pilots for counternarcotics operations. In addition, in December 2009, the Dominicans received the first two Brazilian Super Tucano aircraft out of an order of eight that will be used to control its airspace. In another positive step, the Dominican Republic continued to work with the United States to create a nation-wide biometric database base that incorporates and provides timely data from Dominican military, law enforcement, and judicial databases. Biometric equipment was maintained at the headquarters of the Dominican National Police and 16 other key locations, with another 20 sets to be installed. Positive steps were taken last year by the Dominican Republic to strengthen its legal regime and capabilities to combat terrorism.
The National Congress passed the General Counterterrorism Act, thereby creating the legislative framework that defines the behaviors that constitute acts of terrorism and other related acts.
Since the Dominican Republic is a strategic point for international trade and tourism, measures were implemented by the government in coordination with the United States to reinforce customs controls to prevent terrorist organizations from acquiring weapons, weapons delivery systems, and the technologies to manufacture them from persons and institutions located in the country.
The Dominican Republic, in coordination with the United States and other international agencies, organized and/or participated in efforts to strengthen training and international cooperation to combat terrorism. The Dominican Republic hosted a ministerial conference in February that engaged various entities of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in dealing with issues related to illicit drugs, organized crime, and terrorism. This conference concluded with the adoption of the Political Declaration on Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime and Other Serious Crimes in the Caribbean. The Office of the Attorney General for the Dominican Republic sponsored Specialized Training in the Prevention and Fight against Terrorism and Terrorist Financing. In November, law enforcement and high-level officials from the Dominican Republic took part in an UNODC Terrorism workshop in the Bahamas and examined trends and discussed the legal framework and mechanisms of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. In March, the Dominican Republic's counterterrorism unit known as Secretaria de Las Fuerzas Armadas Commando Especial Contra Terrorismo was trained as part of U.S. Southern Command, Special Operations Command-South's Exercise Fused Response. Fused Response provided real world scenarios that tested the commandos' ability to perform counterterrorism type missions. In September, the Dominican Republic participated in a U.S.-sponsored military training exercise, PANAMAX. This particular exercise was designed by U.S. Southern Command to address teamwork and to strengthen the Country's ability to operate jointly against terrorism. As a means to improve border security, members of the specialized Border Security Force were trained by members of the U.S. Border Patrol.
While many land border, ports, and airline hubs remained permeable, the United States assisted the Dominican Republic on various initiatives to improve security, such as the Container Security Initiative. Port Caucedo was identified as a Megaport and its certification was part of the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Initiative.