Miami.— A supervisor of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assigned to the Dominican Republic was arrested as part of a federal investigation into alleged misuse of a visa program aimed at confidential informants, a federal official and a former official with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press.
The arrest comes after the government of President donald trump He unexpectedly closed his anti-narcotics office in the Caribbean nation hours earlier on Thursday for what he called a “disgusting and disgraceful violation of the public trust.”
Meliton Cordero He was detained as part of an investigation led by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the two people said. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
No additional details about the arrest were released and there was no response to messages left on Cordero’s cell phone. Neither DHS nor the DEA immediately responded to a request for comment.
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Hours earlier on Thursday, the United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Leah F. Camposreported that it closed the DEA office until further notice without offering a reason.
“Using official position for personal gain is a disgusting and disgraceful violation of public trust,” he wrote on the social network X. “I will not tolerate even a perception of corruption anywhere in this embassy.”
The Dominican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Álvarezstated that the closure had nothing to do with the Dominican government, but was part of an internal United States investigation.
The DEA, FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies each year sponsor the entry into the United States of hundreds of aliens who might otherwise be considered inadmissible due to their association with criminal activity. Over time, many of the people who are expected to help researchers become eligible for permanent residency.
A Department of Justice oversight body published a report in 2019 in which it identified several flaws in the visa program, concluding that law enforcement had lost track of up to 1,000 sponsored peoplewhich posed risks to public safety or national security due to the participation of those individuals in criminal activities.
The Dominican Republic is a major transit zone for drugs originating from South America, and the country’s law enforcement authorities have long worked closely with their U.S. counterparts.
The Dominican president Luis Abinader announced in November that it authorized the US government to operate within restricted areas at the San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport to help combat drug trafficking.
