HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic. – Crimes such as burglaries, armed assaults, and drug consumption in the coastal town of Miches are so rampant, that in the last 10 years drug trafficking has become the main source of jobs for the community’s youngsters, Artes Miches Foundation president Servido Candelario denounced Monday.

“Narcotics and micro-traffic are already the main source of jobs for more than 10 years in Miches, where the authorities don’t do anything to confront the causes that spur these evils either,” he said.

Candelario affirmed that while the work for the cultural training and to project the municipality as tourist destination advances, the town has no permanent structures to deal with that zone’s daily crimes.

He said the illegal crossings don’t take boatpeople to Puerto Rico any more, but to bring drugs and guns instead.

He also regretted the stagnation in fishing, once the main fuel for the municipality’s economy, stemming from what he called a lack of interest by the fishermen. “The situation of Miches can be compared with any hot slum of the Capital, where drugs are easier to get than a banana.”