Deputy Director visits the Dominican Republic to mark TCIU anniversary
To commemorate the 10-year anniversary of ICE’s Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU), Deputy Director Dan Ragsdale earlier this month traveled to the Dominican Republic for a reception at the Museo de Casas Reales in Santo Domingo, where he was joined by members of the TCIU, as well as numerous government, diplomatic, and law enforcement partners.
Deputy Director Ragsdale noted that the original agreement between our nations to dedicate resources and personnel to a committed relationship helped revolutionize investigations of transnational criminal organizations that were operating seamlessly between the United States and the Dominican Republic.
“Our original goal was to combat transnational criminal organizations exploiting United States and Dominican borders for human smuggling, human trafficking, drug smuggling, money laundering, child sex tourism, firearms smuggling and bulk cash smuggling,” Ragsdale said, adding “there is virtually no crime we investigate at ICE that does not have a nexus to a foreign country.”
What began in August 2005 as an idea to engage in a shared law enforcement commitment between ICE and the Government of the Dominican Republic was formally recognized as a global initiative in 2011.
“The attendance of key partners such as the Chief of the National Police, Attorney General, Director of Migration, Director of Tourist Police and Director of Port Security underscores the daily collaboration between us and the Dominican law enforcement agencies we depend on to further vital transnational criminal investigations,” said ICE HSI Country Attaché Larss Counsil.
The TCIU program has grown to include investigative units in Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Spain, Jamaica and Panama.
As the United States’ principal border enforcement investigative agency, ICE is uniquely positioned to investigate all incidents of transnational criminal activity. ICE is uniquely situated as the only law enforcement agency with trained investigators that have border search authority, full access to Bank Secrecy Act reports, and exclusive access to international trade data.
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