MANPADS CONTROL AND SECURITY GUIDELINES -

S E C R E T SANTO DOMINGO 003898

SIPDIS

NOFORN

DEPT FOR WHA (SNIDLE),WHA/CAR (NICHOLS, SEARBY),PM;
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2015
TAGS: PARM MASS EAIR ETTC PREL DR
SUBJECT: MANPADS CONTROL AND SECURITY GUIDELINES -
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

REF: STATE 113041

Classified By: Economic and Political Counselor Michael Meigs for Reaso
ns 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (S/NF) Summary: There are no MANPADS in the weapons
inventories of the armed forces of the Dominican Republic,
nor are any known to exist within the country. The Dominican
Government does have import)export controls on arms
purchases, but high levels of corruption call into question
the effectiveness of these controls. Corruption also results
in poor control of stockpiles of other types of weapons. End
summary.


2. (C) There are no Man-Portable Air Defense Systems
(MANPADS),nor any components, spare parts, training systems,
or simulators, in the weapons inventories of any of the three
services of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic.
There are no known MANPADS or associated components present
within the Dominican Republic.


3. (C) Representatives of the Dominican Armed Forces state
that they have not ever made any effort to obtain MANPADS or
associated systems and that neither the military services nor
any criminal or terrorist groups in the country have obtained
such weapons. A database search of past reporting for
MANPADS in the Dominican Republic within the last four years
yielded nothing. There are no known MANPADS present in the
Dominican Republic to control, inventory, destroy, or
transfer.


4. (C) Authority to import or export arms, explosives,
ammunition, or designated hazardous cargo requires
authorization from the Office of the Secretary of State of
the Armed Forces. The existence of this requirement does not
guarantee that all such items receive the required
authorization. The Armed Forces and police in the Dominican
Republic are known for corrupt practices, and there have been
many suspected and confirmed cases of involvement in the
illegal smuggling of arms, ammunition, narcotics, persons,
and contraband. However, Embassy is unaware of any cases in
which MANPADS were smuggled into or through the Dominican
Republic.


5. (S/NF) Embassy believes that the Dominican Republic's
export and import controls on arms and munitions comply with
the OAS MANPADS Guidelines. However, should anyone attempt
to transfer MANPADS into or out of the Dominican Republic,
the controls could be circumvented because of inefficiency or
incompetence on the part of the officials responsible; and if
the items were detected, there is a high probability that the
inspecting official might be induced by corrupt payoffs to
let them proceed.
KUBISKE