SANTO DOMINGO.- Dominican Republic’s senior security and national defense commanders yesterday agreed to coordinate and start new methods to confront the foreseeable threats against the country, especially drug trafficking.

Armed Forces minister Pedro Rafael Peña said the different government entities aim to coordinate the type of actions that law enforcement and defense organisms can carry out.

"The President was quite explicit in his speech of 16  August, when he said that drug trafficking will not pass; then the defense and security institutions should be already aligning themselves with that thought and that’s the aspect of our meeting."

Present in the more than 3-hour meeting were Police chief Rafael Guzmán, the National Investigations Department (DNI) director Ramon Aquino, National Drugs Control president (DNCD) Gilberto Delgado, the President’s adviser on drug trafficking, Marino Vinicio Castillo, and Armed Forces Intelligence chief Pedro Cáceres Chestaro.

The airplanes

The Armed Forces chief, who said logistics was one of the important points discussed, again complained that the lack of interceptor aircraft and radars are among the urgent needs to fight drug trafficking and other threats.

Peña said the old security concept, where a soldier with a rifle guarded a sentry post, must be surpassed already.