The U.S. Navy has recently begun transferring lands from the massive Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico, closed several years ago. But it seems the United States is beginning to make up for it in by constructing a base in the Dominican Republic. Local activists are pushing back.

By Rachel Glickhouse, from Council of the Americas. 
February 27, 2012

As May presidential elections approach, a proposed naval base in the Dominican Republic has much of the country up in arms. The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) will finance the construction of a naval base and dock on Saona Island, investing $1.5 million to curb drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. The project is slated to begin in March with contruction lasting nine months. During the February 17 launch with the minister of the Dominican armed forces, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Advisor in Santo Domingo Todd Haskell said: “This investment…will lead to greater long-term effectiveness in the fight against common threats that affect our two nations. Once completed, the project will also allow the Dominican Navy to have a continuous presence in the Isla Saona.” He also noted the island’s location in a “vulnerable” area and that the base’s presence will allow monitoring of the Mona Passage, a strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico frequently used by smugglers. Officials said that given the island’s biodiversity, the project aims to protect the local flora and fauna. But with national sovereignty and security at play, many Dominicans are concerned over what they see as increasing U.S. military influence.

With a population of only 300, Saona Island is a 42 square-mile national park and protected nature reserve off the southeast coast of the country. It’s also a popular tourist destination that receives around300,000 visitors a year. Environmentalists believe the base would violate environmental laws, given the island’s protected status.

But the more contentious issues is sovereignty, given two occupations by the U.S. military on the island over the last century. Some believe that U.S. funding means that the base would be run by the American military, but the U.S. embassy in Santo Domingo assured that “there will not be any military personnel involved in the construction or operation of the base on the island of Saona.” Congressmen from the Dominican Liberation Party—that of President Leonel Fernández—called for a formal investigation of the project. So far, Danilo Medina, the favorite to replace President Fernández, has avoided comment on the project, saying that the presence of a U.S. base is “speculation.”

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