Santo Domingo.- Dominican authorities have incinerated 1,450 kilos of cocaine seized this month during three coastal operations carried out in support of Operation Southern Spear, a U.S.-led initiative targeting drug trafficking in Latin America. The actions coincided with the visit of U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Sonia Elizabeth Lebrón, director of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF), emphasized that destroying seized drugs ensures they never return to the streets. The incineration, accompanied by additional confiscations, was conducted at the Army’s First Infantry Brigade in Santo Domingo. It takes place as the U.S. intensifies efforts to intercept speedboats departing South America, which the Trump administration says are bound for the United States.

Lebrón noted that each drug seizure reduces the harm caused—particularly among young people—and highlighted the “phenomenal” work of the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. So far this year, INACIF has destroyed 28,452 kilos of narcotics, mostly cocaine.