DEA Office in Dominican Republic Shuttered Amid Visa Fraud Investigation
A supervisor at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s office in the Dominican Republic has been arrested as part of an investigation into abuse of a U.S. Visa program for confidential informants, officials said Thursday. The arrest prompted the abrupt closure of the DEA’s anti-narcotics office in the Caribbean nation by the Trump administration, which cited a “disgusting and disgraceful violation of public trust.”
Melitón Cordero was taken into custody as part of an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to a current and former U.S. Official briefed on the matter. The officials spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Details surrounding the arrest remain limited, and messages left for Cordero were not immediately returned. Neither the DHS nor the DEA had responded to requests for comment as of Thursday evening.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Leah F. Campos announced the closure of the DEA’s office until further notice, without initially providing a specific reason. “It is a disgusting and disgraceful violation of public trust to use one’s official capacity for personal gain,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I will not tolerate even the perception of corruption anywhere in the Embassy I lead.”
Statement by U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Leah Campos
Dominican Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Álvarez stated that the closure was not related to the Dominican government, but rather an internal U.S. Investigation.
The DEA, the FBI, and other federal law enforcement agencies annually sponsor the entry of hundreds of foreign nationals into the United States who might otherwise be considered inadmissible due to their connections to criminal activity. Many of these individuals eventually become eligible for permanent residency as they assist investigators.
A 2019 report from a Department of Justice oversight body identified several shortcomings in the visa program, finding that law enforcement agencies had lost track of up to 1,000 sponsored individuals, potentially posing risks to public safety or national security due to their involvement in criminal activities.
The Dominican Republic serves as a significant transit point for drugs originating in South America, and Dominican law enforcement has long collaborated closely with its U.S. Counterparts. In November, Dominican President Luis Abinader authorized the U.S. Government to operate within restricted areas at the San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport to aid in counter-narcotics efforts.
