International forum to combat illicit trafficking by sea

The Dominican Republic is very centrally located among the drug production areas in the Americas, both as a transit and destination country. This has made the Dominican Republic a key region in the fight against illicit maritime trafficking.

The city of Santo Domingo hosted an international forum on security that addressed the issue of drug trafficking by sea, as well as crimes against the environment.

The three-day event brought together specialists from Latin American and Caribbean state security forces and bodies, together with international coordination centres and organisations involved in the fight against organised crime.

The main purpose of this forum was to exchange experiences on the new threats in maritime drug trafficking, including new substances and routes, and to develop comprehensive strategies to combat them. In addition, issues related to environmental crime linked to drug trafficking were addressed, as well as current and future initiatives of the European Union to strengthen the interdiction of these crimes.

The forum was jointly organised by Expertise France and the FIIAPP in the framework of the European Port Cooperation Project (SEACOP) and was supported by the FIIAPP through the project it coordinates in the Dominican Republic on border security cooperation (MCBS).

The event was inaugurated by the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Dominican Republic, representatives of the National Council on Drugs, the Delegation of the European Union and the Embassies of Spain and France.