Santo Domingo – U.S. Ambassador, James Brewster, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andres Navarro, signed a new extradition treaty to strengthen law enforcement cooperation and enhance the extradition process between the United States and the Dominican Republic. Also attending the signing ceremony was U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo’s Legal Attaché Alan Santiago and Dominican Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito.
The current treaty was created in 1909. The new treaty will broaden the scope of extraditable offenses and establish clear and contemporary extradition procedures. “This is a monumental day for law enforcement cooperation between the United States and Dominican Republic,” said Ambassador Brewster at the signing. “History will surely view the modernization of this treaty as an important contribution to the growing legacy of collaboration between our governments.”
Both the United States and the Dominican Republic recognize that extradition is a vitally important tool in the fight against crime. Extradition sends a message that neither the United States nor the Dominican Republic will become a safe haven for persons who are accused of committing crimes.
The language of the new treaty was agreed upon in October of 2014 after a three-day negotiation between delegations of technical experts from both governments. The United States delegation was comprised of attorneys from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Dominican delegation included experts from the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the Presidency.
With the new treaty the United States renews its commitment to working with its Dominican partners to hold criminals accountable for their violations of the law, utilizing extradition as a critical tool to reduce crime and improve citizen and national security.
