Corruption and Government Oversight

U.S. Ambassador Leah F. Campos has closed the Drug Enforcement Administration’s office at the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic "until further notice," saying on X that she will not tolerate even the perception of corruption inside the mission and calling abuse of public office for personal gain a "disgusting and disgraceful" breach of trust. Dominican Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Álvarez said he spoke with Campos and stressed the shutdown stems from an internal U.S. embassy investigation and "categorically has no relationship" to the Dominican government or its officials. The move comes just months after Dominican President Luis Abinader, standing with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, authorized U.S. personnel to operate inside restricted areas at San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport to target drug trafficking, underscoring how closely the two countries’ security apparatuses have been intertwined. It remains unclear what specific conduct is under investigation, whether DEA or other U.S. personnel are implicated, or how the closure will affect ongoing joint counter‑narcotics cases in a key Caribbean transit hub for cocaine and other drugs bound for the United States. For Washington, the episode raises hard questions about oversight and integrity inside its own law‑enforcement footprint abroad even as it publicly leans on Caribbean partners to crack down on corruption.