The Dominican Republic announced the construction of a wall on the border with Haiti

HOLY SUNDAY.- The Dominican Republic will build a wall along the 380 kilometers of the border that separates it from Haiti, with the objective of stop illegal immigration, drug trafficking and the entry of stolen vehicles. This was announced by Dominican President Luis Abinader, who indicated that the work would start in one year and be completed in two.

The two Caribbean countries, which share the island of Hispaniola, have always had difficult relations. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The Dominican Republic has 11 million inhabitants and around half a million Haitian migrants, who will soon receive identity documents.

There are already sections of the barrier between the two countries, at the hottest points of the border. But the new wall, the cost of which was not anticipated, It will be equipped with a double grid with motion sensors, infrared cameras and facial recognition systems..

In his first accountability speech to the National Assembly, Abinader announced new measures to strengthen security in the region, which includes double perimeter fencing in the most conflicting sections and a single in others. “Within two years, we want to put an end to the serious problems of illegal immigration, drug trafficking and the trafficking of stolen vehicles that we have been suffering for years and are obtaining the protection of our territorial integrity that we have been seeking since our independence, ”he declared.

The possibility and viability of building a wall on the Dominican-Haitian border has for decades been an issue that has generated pro and con positions and, in recent years, has motivated reactions even from the current president of Haiti. Haiti itself. Jovenel Moise.

In December 2019, while discussions were underway on the construction of the wall on the border of the United States and Mexico by then-US President Donald Trump, Moise was consulted on a possible erection of a wall. “I am the president of Haiti. What interests me is the protection of the citizens of Haiti. I am interested in working for the development of my country. I am interested because the 27,750 kilometers of land and nearly 90,000 kilometers of sea are respected, because that is what the Constitution says, ”he then underlined.

In his speech, Abinader clarified that in his administration, they are “Determined to maintain mutually beneficial relations with Haiti”. It also provides international collaboration to build maternity hospitals on the Haitian side of the border, the first of which will be built in the town of Juana Méndez.

In the Dominican Republic, the fact that about 30% of deliveries in public hospitals are for Haitian women, a figure that exceeds 60% in border regions. However, most of these working women are Haitians residing in the Dominican Republic, although many do not have visas or immigration permits.

ANSA Agency

THE NATION

More information