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View Full Version : Fernandez blames US for drug increase



NewsWhore
03-19-2007, 06:50 PM
President Leonel Fernandez says that the United States has shifted its attention from the war on drugs to homeland security and the issues in Iraq. In his opening remarks at the first summit on Drugs, Security and Cooperation held in Santo Domingo last week, President Fernandez said that as a result of 9-11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the presence of US efforts in the Caribbean has diminished by 62%. The President cited a study by University of Miami professor Bruce Bagley that showed a decrease in the use of fast boats, helicopters and search aircraft used to look for illegal drug smuggling. Because of this decrease, according to the President, the Caribbean nations are seeing an increase in drug trafficking in the region.
The first Summit on Drugs, Security and Cooperation came to a close on Friday with a decision by the participants to diversify their avenues of cooperation in order to combat drug trafficking. Leaders from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, and Trinidad and Tobago promised to allocate more resources towards the problem of demand for the drugs, and they issued a call to the international community for more technical and financial assistance. Finally, the declaration calls for further meetings of the group, but the time and place were not announced.
According to Diario Libre, reports from the United States say that the Venezuela- Haiti-Dominican Republic-United States route has become the most successful drug trafficking channel. Drugs shipped through the island of Hispaniola have quadrupled over the last three years, according to an article in the Miami Herald.

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