Carib Scope

分类： politics

  • Randy Jagdeo surrenders for seized AK-47s probe

    Randy Jagdeo surrenders for seized AK-47s probe

    A major illegal firearms investigation in Guyana has taken a new turn, with a local city businessman turning himself in to authorities on Sunday, June 14, 2026, following a massive seizure of 23 US-manufactured AK-47 assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition earlier this week.

    Randy Jagdeo, 40, surrendered peacefully at the headquarters of the Guyana Police Force’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in the company of his legal representation, confirmed Deputy Police Commissioner Wendell Blanhum, who heads the CID. As of Sunday afternoon, Jagdeo remained in police custody as investigators continue to unpack details of the smuggling case.

    The large cache of weapons — 23 assault rifles and 503 matching rounds of ammunition — was intercepted by law enforcement late Thursday during a seizure at Schoonard, on the West Bank of Demerara. Blanhum previously confirmed that all the firearms originated in the United States. While one weapon still retained its original factory serial number, investigators found that the identifying serial numbers on every other rifle had been intentionally erased, a common tactic for illegal arms traffickers.

    One suspect has already been taken into custody in connection with the Schoonard bust: 28-year-old Jonathan Gans, a Venezuelan man who resides in Third Street, Grove, East Bank Demerara. Authorities have also issued an official wanted bulletin for a second Guyanese suspect, Orlando Gabriel, who is still being sought on charges of unlawful weapons possession linked to the case.

    This seizure marks the second large interception of illegal assault rifles in Guyana in just one month. Just last month, authorities seized 10 AK-47 rifles in Berbice, and three Guyanese nationals have already been formally charged and are currently going through court proceedings for that incident.

    As of Sunday, top Guyanese security officials have declined to comment on the driving forces behind what appears to be a growing influx of high-powered assault weapons into the country, leaving many open questions about the intended destination and use of the seized contraband. The case underscores growing regional concerns over cross-border illegal arms trafficking in South America.

  • Danny Lugay announces candidacy for bi-election in Roseau North Constituency

    Danny Lugay announces candidacy for bi-election in Roseau North Constituency

    A newly circulating video posted across social media platforms has formally launched Daniel “Danny” Lugay’s bid for the vacant parliamentary seat in Dominica’s Roseau North Constituency, marking the first public step in what is set to be a competitive local by-election race.

    Lugay, who is running under the banner of the United Workers Party (UWP), one of the country’s main opposition political groups, confirmed in the footage that his party will fully comply with constitutional requirements to participate in the upcoming vote. The announcement comes after the seat was left vacant following an unplanned departure, triggering the mandatory by-election process outlined in the nation’s electoral laws.

    Since the video was shared, it has quickly gained traction among local constituents, with many political observers noting that the campaign is already focusing on connecting with grassroots voters through digital outreach, a strategy that has grown increasingly popular for Caribbean political candidates in recent election cycles. Lugay’s team has indicated that additional campaign events, including in-person town halls and policy announcements focused on local infrastructure, community development, and economic opportunity for Roseau North residents, will be rolled out in the coming weeks leading up to polling day.

  • Hope lays out ‘tale of two cities’ as SVG seeks to grow out of debt crisis

    Hope lays out ‘tale of two cities’ as SVG seeks to grow out of debt crisis

    At the SVG Development Partners Roundtable held in Kingstown on Tuesday, Ambassador of Finance and Investments Kevin Hope laid out an urgent, bold strategy to pull St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) out of deep fiscal distress and persistent systemic poverty. In a presentation framing SVG’s current reality as a “tale of two cities,” Hope outlined the stark macroeconomic challenges facing the island nation and introduced a coordinated five-year Growth and Stabilisation Plan for 2026–2030, paired with a newly launched 15-year long-term national development framework.

    According to official data, SVG will end 2025 with a fiscal deficit equal to 12.3% of gross domestic product. A decade of consecutive shortfalls, compounded by a string of devastating external shocks, has pushed the country’s fiscal and debt trajectory into unsustainable territory, Hope warned. Prime Minister Godwin Friday previously raised alarm that public debt has already climbed above 113% of GDP, and on current policy trajectories, it will surge to 144.5% of GDP by 2031 without immediate intervention. Hope echoed this warning, noting that inaction would only force far harsher austerity measures on the country in the future.

    Hope traced the origins of the current crisis to a combination of sequential global and local shocks: the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 eruption of the La Soufriere volcano, economic spillovers from the Russia-Ukraine war, 2024’s Hurricane Beryl, and accumulated long-term fiscal slippages. Beyond these one-off events, deep structural weaknesses have exacerbated the problem, including unsustainable expansion of the public wage bill, widespread tax concessions and expenditures, and inconsistent effectiveness and efficiency of public capital spending, he added.

    The fiscal crisis has unfolded alongside fragile social conditions that any policy correction must account for, Hope emphasized. Data from the 2018–2019 Country Poverty Assessment puts national poverty at 25.8%, with 33.7% of households classified as vulnerable to falling into poverty, and 5.9% of the population experiencing food indigence. These figures mean one in four SVG households lives in poverty, and one in three faces immediate risk of poverty.

    Hope also highlighted a puzzling “labour market paradox” plaguing the country: between 2016 and 2024–25, the formal labour market grew by 22.5%, yet 2022 data puts overall unemployment at 20.8%, with youth unemployment reaching nearly 35%. Large-scale infrastructure projects, including the modern port development and the new Arnos Vale Hospital, face high demand for certified technical trades, but most skilled workers on these projects are imported from other regional countries. This gap exposes a critical national skills mismatch, Hope said. Compounding the issue, anecdotal evidence suggests nearly half of all unemployed people have stopped actively searching for work, driven by geographic barriers or misalignment between expected and offered wages.

    To reverse these trends, Hope placed micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) at the core of the government’s new growth strategy. MSMEs currently generate roughly 60% of total national output and 45% of all jobs in SVG, a country where the services sector makes up 81% of GDP. The path out of indebtedness relies on intentional public-private partnership, Hope argued, with the government’s role shifting to creating incentives, providing critical tools and resources, and enabling the private sector to drive sustainable expansion.

    Several foundational institutional reforms are already underway to support this shift: a new Department of Private Sector Development has been established within the Prime Minister’s Office under the Ministry of Finance, and a Private Sector Advisory Committee has been convened to identify regulatory barriers, cut red tape, and reduce the time and cost of doing business. Other ongoing initiatives include strengthening the investment promotion agency Invest SVG and the Centre for Enterprise Development, and drafting new MSME and Investment legislation through the Attorney General’s Chambers.

    A key distinction of the government’s new plan is its prioritization: it is framed as “Growth and Stabilisation,” not “Stabilisation and Growth.” While restoring fiscal and debt sustainability is a non-negotiable goal, Hope explained, the government’s top priority remains creating quality, well-paid jobs for Vincentians, and growth must precede harsh austerity to protect livelihoods. Alongside the five-year immediate plan, the government is launching a 15-year national development strategy running from 2027 to 2042 to anchor long-term progress.

    Core macro-fiscal targets for the plan include doubling SVG’s baseline trend growth from 2.5–2.7% to 5% in the medium term, then sustaining 4–5% annual growth; achieving and maintaining a 3% of GDP primary surplus by 2030; and meeting the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) mandatory debt target of 60% of GDP by 2035. “Fiscal sustainability is non-negotiable, growth must be structural, not subsidised, and ultimately… people are the ultimate dividends,” Hope said.

    On public sector reform, Hope framed proposed rationalization of ministries and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as a productivity improvement exercise, not an austerity cuts program. “Rationalisation ought not to be a bad word,” he said. “It really speaks to how do we make the public sector more productive and more efficient, and as such, how do we do more with less?” Rapid assessments of SOE performance are already underway, with public expenditure reviews, strengthened tax administration, and better utilization of administrative data central to the government’s efficiency goals. Recognizing that sharp fiscal adjustment can carry social costs, Hope said the government is pursuing a home-grown, phased reform approach that explicitly protects poor and vulnerable households from adverse impacts.

    To finance the plan, Hope called on international development partners to support SVG’s priorities, outlining four core financing pillars: better leveraging of global climate finance to address climate vulnerability; developing innovative debt instruments to lower government borrowing costs; expanding public-private partnerships across key sectors; and boosting domestic resource mobilization by cracking down on tax leakages and strengthening compliance. The government is also actively engaging the SVG diaspora, with recent outreach events across multiple international cities, and is exploring initiatives to allow diaspora members to take equity stakes in national development projects.

    In closing, Hope reiterated that all macroeconomic targets and policy reforms must be measured by their impact on the daily lives of ordinary Vincentians, with a core commitment to cutting poverty and unemployment to single digits. “This is ambitious, but this is again why we’re here — to really work towards trying to solve around the socio-economic challenges for St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he said.

    Representatives from a wide range of international and regional partners, including the United Nations, Caribbean Development Bank, World Bank, CAF development bank, European Union, Canada, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, CARICOM Development Fund, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, PAHO, and GIZ, broadly endorsed the government’s strategic direction. Partners called for stronger cross-stakeholder coordination, integration of a regional perspective into planning, and explicit ongoing focus on supporting the poorest and most vulnerable Vincentians throughout reform implementation.

  • Dominican Defense Minister meets with U.S. Southern Command delegation

    Dominican Defense Minister meets with U.S. Southern Command delegation

    In high-level diplomatic defense talks held in Santo Domingo, senior military leaders from the Dominican Republic and the United States have moved to solidify decades of collaborative ties, reaffirming their shared commitment to deepening bilateral military cooperation. The gathering brought together Dominican Republic Defense Minister Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre with a high-ranking delegation from United States Southern Command, headed by the command’s Deputy Commander Evan Pettus and senior enlisted leader Rafael Rodríguez.

    Discussion at the meeting centered on multiple priority areas designed to strengthen collaborative work across the two nations’ armed forces. Key agenda items included advancing joint action in regional security, expanding tailored military training opportunities, boosting the operational capacity of both defense forces, developing advanced professional military education programs, and improving tactical interoperability between the two countries’ military units. Beyond these core focus areas, participating officials also exchanged perspectives on new initiatives to upgrade military readiness, drive forward the modernization of defense infrastructure and equipment, and support continuous professional growth for service members from both nations.

    Both delegations used the meeting to restate their shared dedication to growing joint defense programs that deliver tangible benefits to regional stability. Leaders emphasized that the long-standing strategic partnership between the Dominican Republic and the United States has been carefully built over generations of collaboration, spanning everything from targeted technical assistance and large-scale training initiatives to regular professional exchanges between military personnel. This latest high-level visit serves as a public demonstration of the ongoing strength of this defense relationship, and signals both nations’ intent to continue expanding cooperative work to address shared security challenges in the region.

  • UK PM announces ban on social media for under-16s

    UK PM announces ban on social media for under-16s

    LONDON, United Kingdom – In a landmark policy announcement made from Downing Street on Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to introduce a full national ban on social media use for children under the age of 16, framing major platforms as a direct threat to young people’s mental wellbeing.

  • Environmentalist renews criticism of Dominican Republic’s ‘sun tax’

    Environmentalist renews criticism of Dominican Republic’s ‘sun tax’

    In the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, prominent environmental activist Enrique De León has reignited public debate over the country’s controversial distributed electricity generation rules, reiterating his fierce opposition to a long-criticized policy that imposes a 25 percent levy on residential solar power fed back into the national grid. Opponents of the charge have widely dubbed it the unfair “sun tax”, a policy that has been a major point of friction between climate advocates and national energy regulators for months.

    Speaking during a recent appearance on the current affairs radio program *Alternativa*, De León revealed that members of the RD 100% Renewable Coalition — a broad alliance of environmental groups, clean energy advocates, and community organizations pushing for a full transition to renewable power in the Dominican Republic — are deeply frustrated by the failure of the Superintendency of Electricity to follow through on its public pledges to revise the controversial regulation. He added that energy officials have cited growing uncertainty stemming from global geopolitical frictions, including the escalating tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, as the official reason for delaying any planned adjustments to the policy.

    The timeline of broken promises dates back to March of this year, when Superintendent of Electricity Andrés Astacio held formal talks with representatives from the RD 100% Renewable Coalition. During that meeting, De León confirmed, Astacio explicitly committed to eliminating the 25 percent surcharge on grid-injected residential solar power, alongside a suite of other regulatory provisions that clean energy advocates have repeatedly flagged as unnecessary barriers to the expansion of renewable energy across the country. Shockingly, the revised distributed generation regulation entered into force at the end of March without any of the promised changes being implemented, leaving advocates blindsided by the regulator’s last-minute reversal.

    In a stark warning about the long-term consequences of retaining the levy, De León emphasized that keeping the “sun tax” on the books will almost certainly dissuade residential property owners and private investors from committing capital to new rooftop solar installations across the country. This slowdown in residential solar adoption, he argued, will create a major drag on the Dominican Republic’s broader push to scale up clean energy production, cut the nation’s costly and polluting dependence on imported fossil fuels, and meet the country’s legally binding and nationally stated energy transition and climate action targets. For the coalition, De León stressed, removing this and other regressive regulatory barriers remains a non-negotiable priority to advance meaningful climate action in the Dominican Republic.

  • Young Jamaicans encouraged to engage in policy discussions and to drive innovation

    Young Jamaicans encouraged to engage in policy discussions and to drive innovation

    MONTEGO BAY, St James – Against the backdrop of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, a senior government official has made a forceful case for centering young Jamaicans – both domestic residents and members of the global diaspora – in the island nation’s policy development and growth agendas. Speaking at the opening commencement session held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on the event’s opening day, Alando Terrelonge, Minister of State in Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, laid out a clear vision for expanded youth participation in shaping the country’s future.

    Terrelonge opened his remarks by celebrating the strong representation of young professionals, students, and emerging leaders in attendance at the four-day gathering, which runs from June 15 to 18 under the overarching theme “Diaspora Partnerships: Rebuilding a More Climate-Resilient Jamaica”. He referred to these young attendees as Jamaica’s “young kings and queens”, stressing that their active involvement in national efforts is non-negotiable for meaningful progress.

    The state minister emphasized that young people bring unique, irreplaceable value to national problem-solving: they carry the creative drive, relentless energy, and unfiltered fresh perspectives required to tackle not only Jamaica’s most urgent domestic challenges, but also pressing shared issues facing the global community. “The future we seek to build belongs to you,” Terrelonge told the young audience. “It belongs to your ideas, your creativity, and energy, which are indispensable to that effort.”

    Against the backdrop of an increasingly interconnected and complex global landscape, Terrelonge argued that young Jamaicans must be intentionally empowered to contribute across four critical pillars: policy design, entrepreneurial innovation, technological advancement, and sustainable development initiatives. To unlock this potential, he said, the government and broader stakeholders must consistently build intentional pathways that open doors for youth, regardless of whether they live on the island or abroad as part of the diaspora.

    Crucially, Terrelonge pushed beyond the common practice of token youth consultation, noting that genuine engagement requires far more than just hearing young voices. Young people must be integrated directly into decision-making processes, he insisted, so their input directly shapes the policies and initiatives that will define Jamaica’s long-term trajectory. “Your voices must not only be heard but actively incorporated into the decisions that shape our future,” he said.

    Terrelonge highlighted the biennial diaspora conference itself as a model of the kind of opportunity that should be expanded for young leaders. The event brings together hundreds of stakeholders, including diaspora members, government policymakers, private sector leaders, global development practitioners, and innovators, creating space for cross-community dialogue that would not otherwise happen. This exposure to a wide range of diverse perspectives and lived experiences, he explained, helps young people build the skills, connections, and professional networks they need to drive impact at both the national and global level.

    He urged all attendees – especially young participants – to make the most of the conference’s full slate of programming, including plenary discussions, skills-focused workshops, and structured networking sessions. Meaningful, long-lasting partnerships that drive real change often grow out of intentional dialogue and collaborative problem-solving, he noted, and the conference is designed to foster exactly those kinds of connections.

    In closing, Terrelonge framed youth empowerment as a foundational priority for Jamaica’s long-term success. Investing in the next generation of leaders, he argued, is the only way to guarantee that Jamaica remains resilient in the face of emerging challenges, competitive in the global economy, and innovative in its approach to national development.

    Hosted this year in St James, the 11th iteration of the conference brings together a diverse cohort of stakeholders united around two core goals: advancing inclusive national development and strengthening Jamaica’s capacity to adapt to and withstand the impacts of climate change. The gathering provides a dedicated space to co-design actionable solutions that leverage the resources, expertise, and connections of the global Jamaican diaspora to support progress on the island.

  • Haitian group welcomes US immigrant rights protection task force

    Haitian group welcomes US immigrant rights protection task force

    In a bold rebuke of harsh federal immigration policies, Maryland Governor Wes Moore has signed an executive order launching the Maryland Immigrant Rights Protection Task Force, a move that has earned widespread praise from immigrant advocacy organizations across the country.

    Based in California, the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), a leading group focused on defending the rights of Haitian and Caribbean immigrant communities, has lauded Moore’s action as a critical stand for justice at a moment when immigrant populations across the United States face growing hostility from the Trump administration.

    The 12-month interagency task force will bring together multiple state bodies, including the Maryland Attorney General’s office, to coordinate cross-system efforts to shield immigrant residents from widespread harm, including fraud, economic exploitation, and systemic discrimination. Speaking to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) from San Diego, HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef emphasized that the new initiative arrives at an urgent turning point for vulnerable immigrant communities.

    “Across the nation, immigrant groups are facing increasingly sophisticated scams engineered by bad actors who exploit their fear of deportation, on top of the Trump administration’s draconian, racist policies that target and persecute immigrant communities,” Jozef explained. “This task force is both a protection for our communities and a direct response to these harmful actions. Over the next year, its core work will focus on strengthening existing safeguards and enforcing accountability for those who harm immigrants.”

    Jozef commended Moore for taking decisive, proactive action to protect immigrant families, noting that the executive order sends an unmissable message: all people residing in Maryland, regardless of immigration status, deserve dignity, safety, and equal protection under the law. “By proactively addressing the unique challenges immigrant communities face and holding bad actors accountable, Maryland is showing the country what courageous, principled leadership looks like,” she added. She also reaffirmed HBA’s longstanding commitment to partnering with policymakers, community organizers, and local leaders across the U.S. to advance policies that protect the rights and well-being of all immigrants.

    For his part, Governor Moore highlighted the massive, underrecognized contributions that immigrants make to Maryland when he signed the order. Immigrants make up roughly 17% of the state’s total population and account for nearly 22% of Maryland’s entire labor force, meaning they are a core pillar of the state’s economic and social fabric.

    “Despite the enormous contributions immigrants make to our state’s economic, social, and cultural life, many immigrant Marylanders have faced systemic discrimination and substandard access to critical services for decades, from legal support to employment opportunities and housing,” Moore said. “More recently, we have seen a sharp rise in predatory new schemes that target immigrants, who are often too fearful of federal immigration enforcement to report abuse to authorities.”

    The governor stressed that this exploitative activity does not only harm immigrant families—it also undermines fair market competition, distorts local economies, and erodes public safety for all Maryland residents. “Our immigrant communities make Maryland a better, stronger state. I have been clear: we will not stand idly by while bad actors prey on members of our community,” Moore said. “By forming this task force, we are demonstrating the unity and strength of our state when we stand together against injustice.”

    The new executive order follows Moore’s pledge to address the fraud and exploitation of immigrant residents during his annual State of the State address earlier this year. This is not the first pro-immigrant action Moore has taken: earlier in 2025, he signed legislation designating schools and hospitals as “safe spaces” that are off-limits for federal civil immigration enforcement, and banned state and local governments from deputizing local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration actions. In February, Moore also publicly raised objections to the Department of Homeland Security’s plan to develop and operate an ICE detention facility near Williamsport, in a letter sent to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

    The task force will be chaired by Moore’s own Office of Immigrant Affairs, and its work will center on addressing rising exploitation, strengthening anti-discrimination protections, and coordinating state resources to better serve immigrant communities across Maryland.

  • UDC advances major development and housing plans for St Ann

    UDC advances major development and housing plans for St Ann

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s Urban Development Corporation (UDC) has laid out an ambitious slate of cross-sector development projects for the parish of St Ann, spanning affordable housing, public recreational space, tourism infrastructure and community upgrades, as a core part of the national government’s push for inclusive, sustainable long-term growth across the island.

    The comprehensive development plan was formally presented during a high-level stakeholder meeting held June 10 at the UDC’s downtown Kingston headquarters, with Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, UDC leadership including Chairman Norman Brown and General Manager Bobby Honeyghan, and other key partners in attendance.

    During the meeting, Honeyghan detailed the slate of place-focused projects set to transform the popular resort town of Ocho Rios and its surrounding St Ann communities. Upgrades are already underway at high-traffic public and tourist destinations including Ocho Rios Bay Beach and Waterfront, Turtle River Park and Shaw Park, while a major new 9-acre development is proposed for central Ocho Rios. Iconic national tourist sites will also see full redevelopments, including the world-famous Dunn’s River Falls and Park, Belmont Cove (locally known as Little Dunn’s River) and Laughing Waters.

    Beyond tourism and public space improvements, the UDC is advancing a large-scale affordable housing program across St Ann, with three new developments planned at Mansfield, Chalky Hill and Malvern Park. Honeyghan confirmed that the three sites will deliver between 1,500 and 2,000 new housing units, a contribution designed to ease the country’s persistent unmet demand for accessible housing.

    Prime Minister Holness praised the UDC’s progress and emphasized that the agency plays a critical underrecognized role in advancing the government’s national housing agenda. “Many Jamaicans don’t realize that our national housing policy isn’t delivered only through the National Housing Trust and the Housing Agency of Jamaica,” Holness noted. “We are receiving substantial support from the UDC through projects spread across every region of the country.”

    The prime minister added that housing initiatives are already moving forward in parishes across Jamaica, including Portland, St Catherine, Caymanas, Portmore, Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, in addition to St Ann. Across all UDC-managed development portfolios, the agency is on track to deliver roughly 12,000 new housing solutions nationwide, adding significant new supply beyond the units already planned by the NHT, HAJ and the government’s New Social Housing Programme.

    UDC Chairman Norman Brown reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to ensuring all new development delivers measurable, tangible benefits for everyday Jamaicans while aligning with national long-term growth targets. “At the UDC, our mission is to create opportunity through strategic investments that expand access to affordable housing, upgrade public spaces for community use, strengthen Jamaica’s global tourism offering, and stimulate local economic activity,” Brown explained. “The projects we are advancing in St Ann embody our commitment to building communities where people can live, work and prosper, with development that remains inclusive and sustainable for generations.”

    Wednesday’s meeting forms part of the Jamaican government’s ongoing work to accelerate national economic growth, expand housing supply, improve public amenities, and unlock new development opportunities across all parishes. As the UDC continues to advance its project pipeline island-wide, the agency remains focused on delivering developments that attract private investment, create local jobs, strengthen communities, and raise the overall quality of life for Jamaican residents. The St Ann initiative marks another key milestone in the UDC’s ongoing work to build dynamic, resilient, sustainable communities aligned with the country’s core national development priorities.

  • Dominican Army Chief inspects military units along southern border

    Dominican Army Chief inspects military units along southern border

    In a strategic move to reinforce national border protection, the top commander of the Dominican Republic Army, General Jorge Iván Camino Pérez, has completed a comprehensive inspection of military assets and personnel positioned along the country’s southern border. The tour covered critical military outposts, detachments, and control checkpoints spread across two border provinces, Independencia and Pedernales, with the core goal of evaluating both operational preparedness and the on-the-ground conditions for deployed troops.

    The inspection itinerary started at the Cambronal Fortress based in Neiba, which serves as the command center for Company B of the 14th Infantry Battalion. From there, General Camino Pérez traveled through a string of remote advanced positions and detachments, including sites at El Aguacate, Don Juan, Cabeza de Agua, and strategic military positions nested within the protected terrain of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park.

    Throughout the visit, the army commanding general conducted detailed reviews of ongoing border security operations, assessed troop performance, and checked the functionality of critical infrastructure, including border surveillance systems and communications networks. He also made a stop at Loma del Toro, a key site where military units are stationed to guard critical communications antennas that provide connectivity for the entire southern border region.

    The tour wrapped up at Enriquillo Fortress in Pedernales, the headquarters location of the 16th Infantry Battalion. During a meeting with frontline soldiers stationed at the facility, General Camino Pérez underscored the non-negotiable importance of maintaining strict discipline, constant vigilance, and full adherence to official military protocols. A statement released by the Dominican Republic Army following the inspection noted that these on-site assessments play a critical role in gauging overall operational capacity, addressing unmet personnel needs, and strengthening the country’s ongoing border security initiatives.