Santo Domingo.– During the last six months the Dominican Armed Forces have expelled in disgrace 538 officers and subordinates, according to predictions in an official report published Friday.

None of the three arms came out unscathed, after the prophylaxis announced last semester by President Leonel Fernandez, as part of his zero tolerance policy against drug trafficking and corruption.

The most notorious case that involves Navy members took place in August, when seven Colombian drug dealers were killed in a far away place of the southern Peravia province, an action called Paya's Massacre.

Subordinate soldiers and civilians got involved in hiding 26,455 pounds of cocaine and 15 million pesos (nearly US$500,000) from the drug dealers, failing in that operation, because one of the victims survived. Shortly later, members of that corps were accused of protecting a network that smuggled people into the neighboring island of Puerto Rico.

However, they have not been the only ones. Several Air Force officers plotted with civilians just two weeks ago and attacked Parmalat product plant, but were captured by the police.

These incidents have caused and increase in reports against police agents, accusing them of "macuteo," a local word that means acceptance of gifts for allowing crimes that range from driving a car with a license that already expired to turning a blind eye on drug dealers.