Spanish
President Luis Abinader will nominate lawyer Leandro José Villanueva Acebal as a candidate to head the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), representing the government of the Dominican Republic.
The application is made at the request of the United States Government, which proposed that a Dominican representative head this important UN body, in charge of coordinating the fight against drugs and organized crime worldwide.
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Recently, Rebecca Márquez, director of the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, processed the proposal to President Abinader, highlighting the Dominican government's "solid record of commitment to the UNODC and firm drug control practices."
Márquez explained that the current executive director of UNODC, Ghada Waly, will leave her position in November 2025, which will open a selection process to fill the vacancy. The United States considered that the Dominican Republic has the necessary track record and commitment in terms of drug control and the fight against organized crime, so the nomination of a Dominican candidate would contribute to strengthening the role of UNODC as a specialized agency in the matter. President Abinader accepted the proposal and expressed his gratitude for the recognition of the country's efforts in the fight against drugs, emphasizing that this constitutes a State priority. Therefore, the Dominican government officially announced Leandro José Villanueva Acebal as its candidate to occupy such an important position. Leandro José Villanueva Acebal is an executive with extensive experience in finance, public management, and international cooperation. He has led institutional transformation processes and regulatory reforms in the areas of medicines, food, and controlled products, serving as Vice Minister of Public Health and later as General Director of DIGEMAPS. His management has been characterized by strengthening regulatory frameworks, reducing regulatory times, and coordinating actions against counterfeiting, smuggling, and diversion of controlled substances. Villanueva Acebal is also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and has actively collaborated with international organizations in the development of technical capabilities, regulatory harmonization, and multilateral cooperation. He currently participates in boards of directors in the financial and investment sector, integrating the public and private vision for the formulation of sustainable policies. He holds a degree in Finance and Risk from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, has an MBA from the University of Miami, and specializes in Control and Investigation of Drug Precursors, in addition to complementary studies in Global Diplomacy, Operations Management, Health Technology Assessment, and Emerging Trends in Synthetic Drugs.
