Dominican Government declares war on prostitute traffickers

Santo Domingo.- A report that ranks Dominican Republic at the top of people trafficking and smuggling concerns Justice minister Francisco Dominguez, who on Tuesday vowed to dismantle all networks operating in hotspots such as Sosua, Boca Chica, Las Terrenas and Higuey, as part of a campaign to eradicate the crime.

He said in Sosua, Puerto Plata the authorities have shuttered businesses which semi-enslaved and prostituted women, including Haitians working out of hovels.

“Families cannot enjoy Sosua, or the beach, or family tourism, it must be destroyed. We’re gathering the entire judiciary to disrupt Sosua’s trafficking networks," the official said, and affirmed that their next target is Boca Chica.

He said the local networks will be dismantled first, and then on to the international traffickers.

Dominguez, interviewed by outlet Listin Diario, said a ring which took Dominican women to a Caribbean island and stripped of their passports was busted this week.

He said those women were in a semi enslaved situation, lasting several months to repay the money borrowed to leave the country, and were released only after making the entire payment.