Last week, Perry Center Director LTG (ret.) Frederick Rudesheim, Professors Boris Saavedra and Celina Realuyo, and Educational Outreach Specialist Kara O’Ryan traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to conduct a series of official visits and academic exchanges with institutional partners as a part of the WJPC’s Sustained Regional Engagement Program.

On Wednesday, January 22, the WJPC delegation met separately with Gen. Valerio García Rivas, director of the Superior Institute for Defense (INSUDE), Col. Nelton Baralt, director of the Graduate School of Advanced Strategic Studies (EGAEE), and the Minister of Defense of the Dominican Republic, Lt. Gen. Ruben Dario Paulino, along with Vice Adm. Edmundo Felix Pimentel and Brig. Gen. Melido Barrios Marte, to review ongoing collaboration and explore ways to strengthen security cooperation efforts between the United States and the Dominican Republic. Following these visits, WJPC professor Boris Saavedra delivered a lecture at EAGEE to 65 Joint Staff master’s program students, INSUDE and EGAEE cybersecurity students, and WJPC graduates, about the roles and responsibilities of the military in cyberspace. Later that evening, WJPC and EGAEE co-hosted an alumni event for WJPC graduates at the Joint Doctrine Graduate School. Lt. Gen. (ret.) Rudesheim delivered opening remarks and emphasized WJPC’s continued commitment to creating spaces for dialogue and collaboration between security and defense professionals – both in the Dominican Republic and across the Western Hemisphere.

On Thursday, January 23, the WJPC delegation visited the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and met with its President, Vice Adm. Felix Alburquerque Compres, and DNCD Academy Director Col. Raul Mora to discuss opportunities for mutual cooperation and future engagements. Professors Celina Realuyo and Boris Saavedra participated in an anti-money laundering forum at the DNCD, which focused on the risks associated with digital currencies and the ability of criminals to use these technologies to launder money, extort, and buy illicit goods on the darknet. The WJPC team concluded its visit to the Dominican Republic that evening by signing an official academic cooperation agreement with the DNCD. Under this agreement, both institutions committed to working together to identify and support opportunities for collaboration, such as academic exchanges, publications, and research projects.