A day after the US announced it took the unusual step of shuttering it’s Drug Enforcement Administration office in the Dominican Republic — a key site in the agency’s effort to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean — a top agent there was charged with running a visa fraud scheme.
A day after the US announced it took the unusual step of shuttering it’s Drug Enforcement Administration office in the Dominican Republic — a key site in the agency’s effort to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean — a top agent there was charged with running a visa fraud scheme.
US Ambassador Leah F. Campos announced on social media Thursday that she had closed the DEA’s office, writing “It is a disgusting and disgraceful violation of public trust to use one’s official capacity for personal gain.” “I will not tolerate even the perception of corruption anywhere in the Embassy I lead,” Campos added. The Justice Department announced Friday the charges against supervisory special agent Meliton Cordero, who the DOJ said in a press release was assigned to the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic for six years. Cordero was arrested Thursday. Cordero is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and visa fraud, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors didn’t ask that he be detained, but he was ordered to surrender his passport. Prosecutors say Cordero accepted thousands of dollars in exchange for assisting foreign nationals with securing nonimmigrant visas that would allow them to visit the US for a temporary period. “During his assignment at the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, Cordero expedited at least 119 visa applications, at least one of which is alleged to have been fraudulent, often coaching individuals in preparation for their visa interview with U.S. Consular Officers,” the Justice Department said. Charging documents against Cordero have not yet been unsealed in court records. The US ambassador made the extraordinary move to shut down the DEA’s office in the Dominican Republic in recent days, in response to the corruption probe, The decision could hamper US anti-narcotics efforts in the region, which the Trump administration has cited as a high priority. The office is a major base of operations for monitoring and cutting off traffickers using the Caribbean as a route to traffic cocaine from South America to Europe and the US. The Dominican government has allowed the Defense Department to use its military facilities as part of a broader effort that includes military strikes on purported trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. “The temporary closure of the DEA office in Santo Domingo is to allow time for an investigation internal to this Embassy. The Dominican Republic remains a critical partner in our work to combat narco-terrorism throughout the region,” the US embassy in the Dominican Republic said in a statement on X. “That work will continue at the same robust pace between the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo and our Dominican partners even as our internal investigation ensues.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
ICE accuses Honduran alien of ramming law enforcement vehicle before agent shoots out tiresFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
US Navy destroyer, supply ship collide in Caribbean, injuring 2 sailorsFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
US closes DEA office in the Dominican Republic as it condemns corruptionThe U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic says she has closed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in the Caribbean country. Ambassador Leah F.
Read more »
DEA set to return to Bolivia as US revives anti-drug efforts in the regionA top Bolivian official says the United States has resumed intelligence coordination on counternarcotics efforts with Bolivia under its new president. This marks the revival of a sensitive relationship nearly 20 years after former President Evo Morales expelled American anti-drug agents from one of the region’s top cocaine producers.
Read more »
DEA quietly resumes anti-drug coordination with Bolivia almost 20 years since its expulsionA top Bolivian official says the United States has resumed intelligence coordination on counternarcotics efforts with Bolivia under its new president.
Read more »
2 arrested in Elyria drug bust, leading to drug trafficking and child endangerment chargesThe Elyria Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) arrested two individuals Friday following an investigation.
Read more »