Colombia and the Dominican Republic successfully completed joint exercise El Caribe that was aimed at combatting drug trafficking in the Caribbean, Diario el Gallo reports.
According to chief of air operations for the Colombian air force Flavio Enrique Ulloa, El Caribe improved the security forces’ ability to detect airplanes suspected of carrying drugs and weapons and improved the communication between the two countries.
It is important to share information between the two control centers because smugglers fly along the borders to avoid action taken by either country, Ulloa explained.
The air operations chief added that this year, Colombian authorities have been able to stop between 25 and 30 aircrafts through cooperation with other countries.
According to Ulloa, it is estimated that about ten tons of cocaine a month are smuggled through the maritime border of the Dominican Republic and Colombia.