Pubdate: Fri, 03 Mar 2006 Source: Dominican Today (Dominican Republic) Contact: http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/contact.aspx Copyright: 2006 Dominican Today Website: http://www.dominicantoday.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4101 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption - Outside U.S.) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States) U.S. IS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF INEFFICIENT WAR ON DRUG-TRAFFICKING, OFFICIAL SAYS SANTO DOMINGO.- The Executive Branch's legal Adviser affirmed yesterday that the United States is the best proof that no country in the world is efficiently structured to fight drug trafficking. Cesar Pina Toribios statement refers to the U.S. State Department's annual report, which blames corruption and weak institutions as the main obstacles in the war against drug trafficking in Dominican Republic and Haiti. Pina, interviewed in his National Palace office, said that the present Government has at no time been allied to sectors related to drug trafficking, but agreed with the report when affirming that wherever drug trafficking could not be controlled, there is necessarily deficient institutionality and authority. "That is a characteristic of all the countries. No country has the sufficient structure to stop drug trafficking and the best proof of that is the United States," he said. It explained that in the case of countries such as Dominican Republic the problem worsens from the conditions of development, poverty and problems of a cultural nature. He said that Latin Americas governments are responsible of the future task to solve that situation. "This Government is a brake for drug trafficking, because it has conducted concrete battles aimed at confronting drug trafficking and because it has not allied itself in any circumstance nor at any moment with sectors linked to narcotics trafficking," said Pina. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman