Santo Domingo. – The United States Commercial Attaché yesterday said his country is satisfied with the success of the National Police and the Drugs Control Agency (DNCD) in Dominican Republic’s war on drug trafficking.

Christopher Lambert said the war on drug trafficking continues being a shared priority, noting that president Barack Obama announced the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative in the Summit of the Americas, for which he has asked the U.S. Congress to approve US$45 million this year.

He revealed that Dominican Republic had accepted the program and hosted a meeting on that initiative last month. “The United States applauds the success that the National Police and the Drugs Control Agency have had in the increase in the number of narcotics traffickers who’ve been arrested in the last three months.The cocaine seizures so far this year have exceeded three tons, a 25 increase percent over the annual average of this last decade.”

The diplomat affirmed that in the country “large amounts of other drugs have also been seized, like extasy and marijuana,” and acknowledged that the prosecution  of drug traffic ringleaders has led to the confiscation of a large amount of assets originating from drug trafficking.

Lambert was the invited speaker in the American Chamber of Commerce’s traditional Thanksgiving day luncheon, where he addressed the topic “The United States, the Dominican Republic and the World Economic Crisis: Transformational opportunity towards the 21st century,” held yesterday in the Jaragua hotel.

The American official said his country is working in different topics, many of which require international cooperation and noted Obama’s commitment, before the UN General Assembly, that the United States aims to work with the international community to embrace a new era based on mutual interest and respect, which means that his country hopes to work as equals with the Americas to face the challenges ahead together.