US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO3548

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SANTO DOMINGO 003548 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, PREL, EFIN, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: CERTIFICATION REPORT CARD, 2004 
 
REF: A. (A) MCISAAC-KUBISKE E-MAIL 6/16/04 
     B. (B) 03 SANTO DOMINGO 3140 
 
1. Following is the narcotics certification report card 2004 
for the Dominican Republic, requested Ref A (the 2003 report 
card is in Ref B). 
 
2. The United States Government (USG) worked with the 
Government of the Dominican Republic (GODR) to continue 
progress on establishing a regular and predictable process of 
extradition, including extradition of Dominican nationals. 
 
-- The GODR has in place a regular process that has worked 
most of the time and has resulted in 57 extraditions since 
President Mejia took office in 2000 and 75 since the program 
became active in 1998.  In each case, the Embassy receives a 
cable with a full extradition package requesting extradition 
of a subject.  The Embassy sends a diplomatic note to the 
Foreign Ministry, which in turn notifies the Attorney 
General, who issues a provisional arrest warrant for 
extradition.  The subject is then arrested and questioned, in 
accordance with provisions of Dominican law.  The Attorney 
General makes a recommendation to the President, who makes a 
final decision after consulting with his legal adviser.  The 
extradition warrant is signed and the fugitive is returned to 
the United States accompanied by a U.S. Marshal. 
 
3. There have been a few questionable cases within the past 
year.  One fugitive was released from custody, subsequently 
re-arrested, and extradited.  Four fugitives were arrested 
and released without any notice to the Embassy.  We continue 
to follow up on these cases with the expectation that 
extraditions are still possible. 
 
4. The USG continued to urge the GODR to investigate and 
prosecute violators of the enhanced anti-money laundering law 
that expanded the crime of money laundering to beyond drugs 
to include other "serious crimes" as defined in the OAS model 
anti-money laundering law. 
 
-- The GODR's multi-agency money laundering investigation 
unit, established last year under the National Drugs Council 
and headed by Lic. David Perez under the supervision of drug 
czar Bonaparte Gautreaux, has been slow to get organized and 
is still not fully functioning.  The National Anti-Drug 
Department (DNCD), the National Police, and the Banking 
Superintendency each have their own money laundering 
investigation units. 
 
5. The USG has continued to press the GODR to take steps to 
address money laundering through remittance businesses and 
the smuggling of bulk cash shipments across borders. 
 
-- Drug czar Gautreaux last year planned to assign 
investigators to money laundering by remittance and through 
the Dominican Republic's many casinos, but has done little in 
either area. 
 
6. The USG continues to work with the GODR to implement 
training programs and reforms to ensure that asset forfeiture 
becomes an effective and regular part of criminaal 
prosecutions; substantial assets remain to be forfeited owing 
to significant delays in the processing of properties through 
the criminal justice system. 
 
-- The GODR continues to take full advantage of law 
enforcement training and seminars offered by the USG, 
including current training at the National Police Academy. 
The USAID programs on Rule of Law/Human Rights and on 
Anti-Corruption have substantial training components directed 
to the justice system.  NAS has offered training in asset 
forfeiture during FY 2004, for example a visit in March by 
GODR bank supervisors and money laundering investigators to 
the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in 
Washington and a June visit by bank regulators from the 
Financial Intelligence Unit and the Financial Analysis Unit 
to the annual Egmont meeting. 
 
7. The USG has proposed that the GODR enact legislative 
reforms to streamline asset forfeiture procedures, to permit 
forfeiture of property held by fugitives or deceased 
criminals, and to clarify authority for enforcement of 
foreign forfeiture orders. 
 
-- Embassy representatives have discussed this proposal with 
legislators. 
 
8. The USG has worked with the GODR to continue to engage 
with the governments of the United States and Haiti in a 
regional strategy for combating drug trafficking and criminal 
activity across the island of Hispaniola.  Many GODR offers 
of cooperation and joint training to the Government of Haiti, 
reinforced by the Embassy, brought minimal results, and 
Haiti's political crisis, widespread violence, and change of 
government this year have suspended these efforts. 
Cross-border law enforcement cooperation has been limited to 
small, localized operations. 
 
9. The USG asked the GODR to continue to implement the 1995 
Dominican-U.S. bilateral maritime interdiction agreement and 
to implement related bilateral agreements. 
 
-- The GODR continues to cooperate fully under the 1995 
agreement concerning maritime counter-drug operations. 
 
-- Under the 2003 protocol to the 1995 agreement, the GODR 
continues to permit U.S. overflight of the Dominican Republic 
and law enforcement operations by U.S. Coast Guard 
detachments embarked on ships of third-country governments. 
 
-- The GODR has implemented a 2003 agreement concerning 
cooperation in maritime migration law enforcement to combat 
migrant smuggling. 
 
10. The USG requested continued GODR cooperation in 
international and multinational interdiction operations. 
 
-- The GODR continues to cooperate fully in interdiction 
operations. The DNCD has implemented a DEA plan to establish 
additional specialized units covering ports and airports. 
 
11. The USG asked the GODR to enact comprehensive 
anti-corruption legislation to promote and strengthen 
mechanisms to prevent, punish, and erradicate corruption 
among public officials. 
 
-- USAID continues to work with both houses of Congress and 
the judiciary to develop anti-corruption legislation. 
Legislative proposals pending before Congress include laws on 
government procurement, freedom of information, an 
independent prosecutor against corruption, public defenders, 
and a strengthened controller general.  A law mandating an 
integrated financial management system has been passed and is 
being implemented.  These laws will demonstrate progress 
toward compliance with the Inter-American Convention against 
Corruption, which the Dominican Republic has signed and 
ratified. 
 
12. The USG pressed the GODR to take actions, such as 
vigorous prosecutions, against instances of public corruption 
to promote the effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity of 
Dominican public institutions. 
 
-- The GODR has prosecuted some officials, but there have 
been no convictions.  The collapse of three banks including 
Baninter in 2003 has led to ongoing prosecution of several 
former bank executives, in what has become a test of the 
GODR's ability to fight corruption.  The GODR removed two 
officials from senior positions in which they were almost 
certainly engaged in corrupt practices. 
 
13. The USG asked the GODR to create mechanisms to enforce 
standards of conduct and to continue to establish systems for 
disclosing income, asets, and liabilities by public 
officials, such as the publication on the internet of judges' 
financial disclosure statements. 
 
-- Congress is considering a proposed law requiring a sworn 
declaration of assets by non-judicial public officials. 
 
14. The USG asked the GODR to increase cooperation among 
Dominican military, customs, migration, and law enforcement 
agencies to tighten border and port security. 
 
-- Over a dozen agencies collaborated and cooperated closely 
with U.S. law enforcement agencies to improve security at 
international airports and seaports in the Dominican 
Republic.  In particular, CESA, the airport security agency, 
are working directly with on-site U.S. experts to improve the 
performance of airport security personnel.  Indeed, the 
security plans for the Dominican Republic's main airport, in 
Santo Domingo, were entirely revamped in 2004.  The National 
Police, military intelligence, and DNCD information systems 
units worked to create a network for sharing of information 
in their data bases. 
 
15. The USG asked the GODR to increase the interdiction of 
drugs and illegal weapons. 
 
-- Law enforcement agencies of the GODR continue to cooperate 
fully with U.S. counterparts.  Official DNCD reports indicate 
a slight decrease in drugs seized this year.  However, 
Dominican authorities apprehended leaders of a major 
trafficking organization in December and since then have 
arrested 1,489 narco-traffickers including the head of a 
multi-national criminal organization operating from the 
Dominican Republic and a fugitive wanted by DEA, and have 
seized 33 weapons and 376 kilos of cocaine. 
 
16. The USG asked the GODR to increase the number of arrests 
and prosecutions of major traffickers. 
 
-- The GODR has continued to concentrate law enforcement 
efforts on high-level trafficking organizations, with 
increasing results in arrests of traffickers of particular 
interest to the USG.  Five principal subjects are currently 
under investigation, with the assistance of a DNCD-run wire 
intercept unit, which has continued to accumulate evidence 
useful in investigation of major organizations. 
HERTELL