A collection of 67 artifacts illegally imported into the United States were returned to the Dominican Republic during a joint repatriation ceremony in Santo Domingo. The repatriation of these artifacts is the result of a series of seizures and several investigations conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
ICE HSI Assistant Director for International Affairs Luis Alvarez, Dominican Republic Minister of Culture Jose Rafael Lantigua and U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Raul H. Yzaguirre participated in the repatriation.
"The antiquities we are returning today are treasures that provide clues into the lives of our ancestors," said Alvarez. "Pilfering and trading in a country's ethnic and cultural heritage treasures are major transgressions that will not be tolerated. ICE HSI will continue to work in close coordination with our domestic and international partners to investigate and seize national treasures of other countries that find their way into the United States under false pretenses."
"We are very committed to the ability to fight against the plundering of cultural heritage and the illicit trafficking of cultural property and that, one way or another, they are [this is a way of] stealing from peoples their historic past," said Yzaguirre. "The artifacts that we see here today are a testimony to the rich cultural heritage of this land. Some of these pieces, as the experts have said, are two thousand years old."
In May 2008, 66 artifacts were seized in three locations pursuant to an investigation that began in Jacksonville, Fla. In the first case, CBP officers in Orlando, Fla., seized 11 boxes arriving from the Dominican Republic manifested as "stone figurines" destined for an individual in Jacksonville.
In the second case, ICE HSI agents in Jacksonville identified and seized a shipment consigned to the same individual receiving artifacts in Jacksonville. A curator from the University of Florida determined the artifacts seized in Orlando and Jacksonville date from the periods of Chicoid A.D. 1200 to 1500; Archaic or later 2000 B.C. to A.D. 1200; or Ostionoid A.D. 1000 to 1500.
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| Some of the illegally imported artefacts [Credit: ICE] |
"The antiquities we are returning today are treasures that provide clues into the lives of our ancestors," said Alvarez. "Pilfering and trading in a country's ethnic and cultural heritage treasures are major transgressions that will not be tolerated. ICE HSI will continue to work in close coordination with our domestic and international partners to investigate and seize national treasures of other countries that find their way into the United States under false pretenses."
"We are very committed to the ability to fight against the plundering of cultural heritage and the illicit trafficking of cultural property and that, one way or another, they are [this is a way of] stealing from peoples their historic past," said Yzaguirre. "The artifacts that we see here today are a testimony to the rich cultural heritage of this land. Some of these pieces, as the experts have said, are two thousand years old."
In May 2008, 66 artifacts were seized in three locations pursuant to an investigation that began in Jacksonville, Fla. In the first case, CBP officers in Orlando, Fla., seized 11 boxes arriving from the Dominican Republic manifested as "stone figurines" destined for an individual in Jacksonville.
In the second case, ICE HSI agents in Jacksonville identified and seized a shipment consigned to the same individual receiving artifacts in Jacksonville. A curator from the University of Florida determined the artifacts seized in Orlando and Jacksonville date from the periods of Chicoid A.D. 1200 to 1500; Archaic or later 2000 B.C. to A.D. 1200; or Ostionoid A.D. 1000 to 1500.