The supervisor of the office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the Dominican Republic, Meliton Corderowas arrested for alleged abuse of a visa program intended for confidential informants.
The information was revealed in a news story by the Associated Press (AP), which indicates that Cordero was arrested as part of an investigation led by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“No additional details about the arrest were released and there was no response to messages left on Cordero’s cell phone. Neither the DHS nor the DEA immediately responded to a request for comment,” the international outlet notes.
DEA closes its office in Santo Domingo
The arrest of Melitón Cordero occurred after the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic announced the closure “until further notice” of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office in Santo Domingo, arguing that the “Corruption has no place in the Government” of the North American country “or in any other”.
In a message published on the diplomatic delegation’s social networks, the ambassador Leah F. Campos He noted that “it is a disgusting and disgraceful violation of public trust to use official position for personal gain” and warned that he will not tolerate “even the perception of corruption anywhere in this Embassy.”
Leah F. Campos
Therefore, “today I announce the closure of the DEA office in Santo Domingo until further notice,” the message concluded, without offering more details.
In a subsequent message, the diplomat noted that the temporary closure of the DEA office in Santo Domingo “is intended to allow time for an internal investigation of this Embassy” and added that the Dominican Republic “continues to be a fundamental partner in our work to combat narcoterrorism throughout the region.”
“That work will continue at the same robust pace between the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo and our Dominican partners, even as our internal investigation takes place,” he said.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Alvarezasserted that the departure of that anti-drug agency “has categorically no relationship with the Dominican Government or official.”
Like Ambassador Leah Francis Campos, Roberto Álvarez did not specify, however, what the investigation entails.
What remains to be clarified?
United States authorities are expected to explain how the DEA official’s alleged scheme operated, how it affected the visa program and whether, in addition to him, other people participated in the plot.
It also remains to be determined whether this was an isolated irregularity or a structural problem within the system, as well as the real extent of possible failures in the control and supervision mechanisms.
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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 Justice Department watchdog released a report in 2019 that identified several flaws in the visa program, concluding that law enforcement had lost track of up to 1,000 sponsored individuals, posing risks to public safety or national security due to those individuals’ involvement in criminal activity.
