SANTA DOMINGO –U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary Marshall Billingslea issued the below statement following his meeting with President Danilo Medina:

I thank President Medina for his hospitality and for a productive series of meetings with him and his financial authorities today. We discussed a number of global illicit finance threats and identified concrete areas to strengthen our cooperation.

The United States government, and Treasury in particular, is grateful for its partnership with the Dominican Republic. We look forward to working with the Dominican Republic and countries throughout the region to support the Venezuelan people in their efforts to restore democracy, support the Venezuelan National Assembly and interim President Juan Guaidó, and hold the corrupt and repressive Maduro regime accountable.

The Treasury Department is committed to expanding its relationship with Dominican Republic authorities to stem money laundering generated from drug trafficking, human trafficking, and corruption. We want to continue to work together to take action against criminals such as Dominican narcotics trafficker and money launderer Cesar Emilio Peralta, who OFAC designated as drug Kingpin in August 2019.

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